Going Green! Tom Lisanti On His New Book, Ryan’s Hope: An Oral History of Daytime’s Groundbreaking Soap
With this being St Patrick’s Day, I wanted to remind people that there once was a soap that would be celebrating the holiday in the most festive way possible. Even when the show, Ryan’s Hope (1975- 1989), after 13 years, went off the air. Who could forget the show’s matriarch, Maeve Ryan (Played by Broadway legend, Helen Gallagher) singing the song, “Danny Boy” as the last frame faded to black.
When Tom Lisanti’s book, Ryan’s Hope: An Oral History of Daytime’s Groundbreaking Soap, came out last fall, I requested a copy, as someone with Irish roots, I started watching the show with my mom in
1976, and became an avid fan in 1980. I chatted with Lisanti’s through email this past week.
The loss of Ryan’s Hope from the ABC schedule is something that is still lamented by soap fans to this day. There was nothing else like it in the daytime landscape, and there’s never been another show that has come close to replicating the tight-knit feel of the blue-collar characters. And now, Tom Lisanti’s book, Ryan’s Hope: An Oral History of Daytime’s Groundbreaking Soap, finally gives viewers that jaw-dropping reason why the show was axed — and there’s one shocking “villain” to the entire plot.
TV CONFIDENTIAL commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley is available online for listening on demand. Guests include Steve Binder, director of Elvis: The 1968 Comeback Special; actor Michael Dante (Kid Galahad, Winterhawk); film historian Tom Lisanti (Talking Sixties Drive-In Movies); and renowned Elvis Presley historian Cory Cooper help TV CONFIDENTIAL commemorate the 40th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley. Plus: A replay of our February 2017 conversation with Steve Binder, producer and director of Elvis: The 1968 Comeback Special.
The new episode of the Forgotten Filmcast is here! This time, Todd is joined by Tom Lisanti from sixtiescinema.com to discuss a 1964 film featuring three sixties beauties. Ann-Margret, Carol Lynley and Pamela Tiffin star in The Pleasure Seekers.
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