- This page is about the television program. For the rock band of the same name see Ryan's Hope.
| Ryan's Hope | |
|---|---|
| Format | soap opera |
| Created by | Claire Labine Paul Avila Mayer |
| Starring | Helen Gallagher Bernard Barrow Michael Levin Ron Hale Nancy Addison Altman John Gabriel Malcolm Groome Louise Shaffer, et al |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 3515 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | July 7, 1975 – January 13, 1989 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Ryan's Hope (RH) was a soap opera which aired for fourteen years on ABC, from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989. In late 1974, ABC Daytime approached Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, who were the Head Writers of CBS' Love of Life at the time, about creating a new soap opera. The network wanted a series similar to General Hospital. The proposed title of the new serial was City Hospital. Labine and Mayer added a large Irish family to ABC's vision of the show -- the Ryan family. RH was created, owned, and originally written by Labine and Avila Mayer, who had previously written Where The Heart Is and Love of Life. The show aired a total of 3515 30-minute episodes.
Contents |
Creative Zenith
- See also: List of Ryan's Hope characters
The series was about a large Irish-American family living in the Riverside district of New York City. The patriarch, Johnny Ryan (Bernard Barrow) owned a bar, Ryan's, which was across from Riverside Hospital. His wife, Maeve (Helen Gallagher), would help in the bar's upkeep, as would their children. The Ryans and the wealthy Coleridges were the original core families of the daytime drama. Labine and Mayer also served as the Executive Producers of the show at this point, with George Lefferts as the producer. Lefferts would soon be replaced by Robert Costello, who remained with the show until 1978. After Costello, the role was occupied by Ellen Barrett (1978-1982) and Felicia Minei Behr (1982-1988). The original cast consisted of Nancy Addison Altman, Bernard Barrow, Faith Catlin, Justin Deas, Michael Fairman, John Gabriel, Helen Gallagher, Malcolm Groome, Rosalinda Guerra, Ron Hale, Michael Hawkins, Earl Hindman, Ilene Kristen, Frank Latimore, Michael Levin, Kate Mulgrew, Hannibal Penney, Jr., and Diana van der Vlis. As the seventies progressed, numerous actors and actresses appeared in various roles. One of the most noteworthy was Louise Shaffer (1977-1984) as the conniving Rae Woodard. Two others included Sarah Felder as Siobhan Ryan Novak and Richard Munez as Joe Novak.
Multiple Recasts
By the end of the seventies, many characters had been recast. This practice continued into the eighties and somewhat hindered the show at times when the recast did not work out. After Michael Hawkins left the role of Frank Ryan in 1976, subsequent replacements included Andrew Robinson (1976-1978), Daniel Hugh-Kelly (1978-1981), Geoffrey Pierson (1983-1985), and John Sanderford (1985-1989). Mary Ryan Fenelli was played by Mary Carney (1978), Kathleen Tyan Tolan (1978-1979), and Nicolette Goulet (1979) after Kate Mulgrew departed in 1978. Between 1977 and 1979, the show underwent several changes. At the beginning of 1977, it's timeslot changed from 1:00PM to 12:30PM, serving as the anchor of the ABC daytime line-up. In late 1977, Kate Mulgrew announced she would be leaving in early 1978 after completing location footage shot in Ireland which depicted Mary's second honeymoon with Jack. Between January 1978 and December 1979, three different actresses played Mary. Although Labine and Mayer wanted to kill her character, ABC refused. However, after ABC realized no one other than Mulgrew herself would be accepted in the role, they agreed to let Mary be killed off. Mary died on the day of her sister Siobhan's wedding to Joe Novak. Mulgrew made brief appearances as Mary's spirit in 1983, 1986 and 1989. Malcolm Groome chose to leave the role of Pat Ryan in 1978 and was replaced with John Blazo (1978-1979), Robert Finoccoli (1979), and Patrick James Clarke (1982-1983); Groome returned to the role in 1983 and remained with the show until 1988. Sarah Felder left the role of Siobhan in 1980 and was replaced with Ann Gillespie (1981-1982), Marg Helgenberger (1982-1986), Carrell Myers (1986-1987), and Barbara Blackburn (1988-1989). Other characters not related to the Ryans were also recast. After Ilene Kristen left in January 1979, the role of Delia Reid was played by Robyn Millan (1979), Randall Edwards (1979-1982), and Robin Mattson (1984); Kristen returned to the show in the role from 1982-1983 (when she was fired due to weight gain) and 1986-1989. After Faith Catlin was dropped from the show as Faith Coleridge in May 1976, she was replaced with Nancy Barrett (1976), Catherine Hicks (1976-1978), and Karen Morris-Gowdy (1978-1983). Joe Novak was also portrayed by Roscoe Born (1981-1983, 1988), Michael Hennessy (1983-1984), and Walt Willey (1986-1987).
Deceased cast members
| Actor | Character | Year of Death | Show Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wesley Addy | Bill Woodard | 1996 | 1977-1978 |
| Nancy Addison Altman | Jillian Coleridge | 2002 | 1975-1989 |
| David Bailey | Teddy Malcolm | 2004 | 1988-1989 |
| Bernard Barrow | Johnny Ryan | 1993 | 1975-1989 |
| Nell Carter | Ethel Green | 2003 | 1978-1979 |
| Earl Hindman | Bob Reid | 2003 | 1975-1989 |
| Frank Latimore | Ed Coleridge | 1998 | 1975-1976 |
| Irving Allen Lee | Evan Cooper | 1992 | 1986-1989 |
| Kenneth McMillan | Charlie Ferris | 1989 | 1975-1976 |
| Anne Revere | Marguerite Beaulac #2 | 1990 | 1977 |
| Sylvia Sidney | Sister Mary Joel | 1999 | 1975-1976 |
| Gale Sondergaard | Marguerite Beaulac #1 | 1985 | 1976 |
| Diana van der Vlis | Nell Beaulac Sherry Rowan |
2001 | 1975-1976 1988-1989 |
"A Clone of General Hospital"
Several things happened during the late seventies and early eighties to hasten the demise of the series. In 1979, Labine and Mayer were forced to sell the show to ABC due to skyrocketing production costs. ABC soon pushed for more action-adventure storylines, like the ones on their hit serial General Hospital. One of these included a gorilla who kidnapped Delia Reid Coleridge. Another included a search for a lost Egyptian queen. These were not the type of plots the show had previously been known for. At the beginning of 1982, ABC fired Labine and Mayer and replaced them with Mary Munisteri. During Munisteri's tenure as headwriter, the focus began to move to the newly-arrived wealthy Kirkland clan, which was headed by Hollis Kirkland III (Peter Haskell). It soon turned out that he was the father of Rae Woodard's daughter, Kimberly Harris (Kelli Maroney). As more and more Kirklands began to show up (including Christine Jones as Hollis' wife Catsy and Mary Page Keller and Ariane Munker as his daughter Amanda), less attention was paid to the Ryans and Coleridges. Various cast members at this time dubbed the show Kirkland's Hope. Due to falling ratings, Labine and Mayer were asked back at the beginning of 1983. Ratings rose steadily with their return; however, it was not enough. By the end of 1983, they were replaced with General Hospital scribe Pat Falken Smith. Smith, along with executive producer Joseph Hardy, once again shifted the focus from the Ryans. Numerous fan favorites, including Ilene Kristen, Louise Shaffer, Karen Morris-Gowdy were either fired or left of their own accord during Smith's and Hardy's reign. The focus of the series was now centered on Greenberg's Deli, with Cali Timmins' Maggie Shelby and Scott Holmes' Dave Greenberg becoming two prominent characters. In 1985, Smith was replaced with Millee Taggert and Tom King. The show began to go back to its roots during this time. However, the show, which had been airing at 12:30 p.m./11:30 a.m. since 1977, had just been moved to the Noon/11 time slot. Ratings sank to previously unheard-of levels, which led to the 1989 cancellation.
The Final Years
With ratings going further and further south and many ABC affiliates dropping the show altogether, ABC asked Claire Labine to return as head writer, with her daughter, Eleanor Labine, as co-head writer. The Labines revitalized the show. A year after Labine's return, executive producer Joseph Hardy was replaced with Felicia Minei Behr. During the eighties, there were numerous cast changes. Some of the more notable ones included the additions of Yasmine Bleeth, Grant Show, Daniel Pilon, Gerit Quealy, Tichina Arnold, Gloria DeHaven, Jason Adams, Christopher Durham, soap opera legend Rosemary Prinz, and Catherine Larson. However, the end was already in sight; ABC announced its cancellation of the series in fall 1988. The last episode (#3515) concluded with Helen Gallagher's Maeve singing "Danny Boy," like in many previous Ryan celebrations. For the final episodes, numerous cast members who had been on the show in previous years returned.
Scheduling/Ratings History
See: List of US daytime soap opera ratings When RH premiered on July 7, 1975, ABC scheduled it at 1:00 p.m./12 Noon Central, a timeslot previously occupied by All My Children (pushing that soap to the 12:30 p.m./11:30 a.m. slot). After the show's audience grew, it swapped places with All My Children on January 3, 1977. At first, the show experienced low ratings and was ranked dead last among all the soaps during its first season; this was quite customary during that era and did not affect ABC's attitude toward the show, since no other daytime serials were starting up at the time of RH's debut. By 1976-77, ABC's patience paid off with the show's ratings finally rising, and it was now in the middle of the daytime ratings pack, in 8th place, above even fellow ABC serial General Hospital. It would continue to have steady ratings until 1982, although it never quite managed to surmount CBS' long-established Search for Tomorrow, despite the beginnings of that show's eventual decline and death; RH would only do slightly better when SFT moved to NBC in March 1982. Despite the tenacious cult following the soap enjoyed throughout its 13 1/2-year-run, RH never became a big ratings hit, peaking at 7th place during the 1981-82 season. The main culprit for the problem was CBS' Young and the Restless, which expanded to a full hour in February 1980. From 1982 onwards, the show suffered a ratings decline, falling from 7th and 6.9 in 1981-82 to 9th and 5.6 in 1982-83 and 10th place and 5.0 in 1983-84. A move to Noon/11 on October 8, 1984 only enabled Y&R to bear down harder, while NBC's Super Password held down the fort for game show fans. With the change in timeslot (Loving took over the slot previously occupied by RH), ratings would fall even further, and Ryan's Hope spent its last five years on, or near, the bottom of the ratings chart. Y&R's persistence brought about RH's end on January 13, 1989, a very long run when its mediocre ratings are taken into account. Season HH Rating Ranking 1975-1976 5.7 14th out of 14 soaps 1976-1977 7.3 8th out of 15 soaps 1977-1978 7.0 8th out of 14 soaps 1978-1979 7.2 9th out of 14 soaps 1979-1980 7.0 9th out of 13 soaps 1980-1981 6.7 7th out of 13 soaps 1981-1982 6.9 7th out of 15 soaps 1982-1983 5.6 9th out of 14 soaps 1983-1984 5.0 10th out of 13 soaps 1984-1985 3.4 11th out of 14 soaps 1985-1986 3.2 12th out of 14 soaps 1986-1987 2.7 13th out of 14 soaps 1987-1988 2.5 12th out of 12 soaps 1988-1989 2.3 13th out of 13 soaps
Ryan's Hope at the Emmys
Ryan's Hope won sixteen Daytime Emmy Awards.
- 1976: Helen Gallagher, Outstanding Actress (Maeve Ryan)
- 1977: Outstanding Drama Series
- 1977: Helen Gallagher, Outstanding Actress (Maeve Ryan)
- 1977: Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, Outstanding Writing
- 1977: Lela Swift, Outstanding Individual Director
- 1978: Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, Outstanding Writing
- 1979: Outstanding Drama Series
- 1979: Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, Outstanding Writing
- 1979: Jerry Evans and Lela Swift, Outstanding Direction
- 1980: Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, Outstanding Writing
- 1980: Jerry Evans and Lela Swift, Outstanding Direction
- 1981: Sy Tomashoff, Outstanding Set Design
- 1983: Louise Shaffer, Outstanding Supporting Actress (Rae Woodard)
- 1983: Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, Outstanding Writing
- 1984: Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, Outstanding Writing
- 1987: Outstanding Lighting
- 1988: Helen Gallagher, Outstanding Lead Actress (Maeve Ryan)
Actors and actresses nominated for their work on Ryan's Hope included Nancy Addison Altman, Tichina Arnold, Richard Backus, Bernard Barrow, Randall Edwards, John Gabriel, Ron Hale, Andrew Robinson, and Grant Show.
Head Writers and Executive Producers
| Years | Head writer(s) |
|---|---|
| 1975 – 1982 | Claire Labine & Paul Avila Mayer |
| 1982 | Claire Labine |
| 1982 – 1983 | Mary Ryan Munisteri |
| 1983 | Claire Labine & Paul Avila Mayer |
| 1983 – 1985 | Pat Falken Smith |
| 1985 – 1987 | Tom King & Millee Taggart |
| 1987 – 1988 | Claire Labine & Eleanor Labine |
| 1988 – 1989 | Claire Labine & Matthew Labine |
| Years | Executive Producers |
|---|---|
| 1975 – 1982 | Claire Labine & Paul Avila Mayer |
| 1983 – 1988 | Joseph Hardy |
| 1988 – 1989 | Felicia Minei Behr |
| Years | Producers |
|---|---|
| 1975 | George Lefferts |
| 1975 – 1978 | Robert Costello |
| 1978 – 1983 | Ellen Barrett |
| 1983 – 1988 | Felicia Minei Behr |
| 1988 – 1989 | Nancy Horwich |
Other RH Writers
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Before They Were Stars
Many primetime stars got their start on Ryan's Hope, including Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris), Catherine Hicks (7th Heaven), Yasmine Bleeth (Baywatch), Grant Show (Melrose Place), Nell Carter (Gimme a Break), Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law), Marg Helgenberger (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), Christian Slater (numerous films), Dominic Chianese (The Sopranos) and Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek: Voyager). Rosie O'Donnell has been known to claim that Ryan's Hope was her all-time favorite soap opera. Due to the show's setting and the predominant ethinicity of its central family, the Irish Catholic and Long Island-sprung O'Donnell obviously had a lot to relate with. When she mentioned the late ABC soap during her controversial hosting stint on The View in late 2006, O'Donnell remarked "As much as I love ABC daytime soaps and [current daytime president] Brian Frons, I am still to this very day mad that they cancelled Ryan's Hope. Y'know, I blame the people at Loving for doing that, they basically moved in and mowed down my Ryan's Hope. I never liked Loving".
Daytime Stars on RH
Numerous actors and actresses from Ryan's Hope can still be seen in daytime. They include Ilene Kristen (One Life to Live), Ron Hale (General Hospital), Justin Deas (Guiding Light), Walt Willey (All My Children), Maureen Garrett (Guiding Light), Tracey Ross (Passions), Judith Chapman (The Young and the Restless), Alexandra Neil (One Life to Live), and Scott Holmes ( As The World Turns).
In America and Overseas
In 2000, SOAPnet picked up reruns of Ryan's Hope, which was one of the few daytime dramas from before 1978 which saved all of its episodes. They aired the July 1975 through December 1981 episodes from 2000 to 2003. While reruns were originally abundant (airing daily in one-hour installments every six hours starting at noon, with two marathons of the week's episodes on weekends), by 2005 the show was only aired one hour per weekdays, and for a brief time, one hour a week. Currently, reruns are broadcast daily at 5 am EST. Ryans Hope has also run on RTÉ 2 in Ireland and has previously aired in Australia. On January 3, 1994, a soap opera, Onderweg naar morgen (which literally means On the way to tomorrow), debuted on Dutch television; the Dutch writers based their show on story bibles originally written by Labine and Mayer.
