Harding Lemay
Encyclopedia
Harding Lemay is an American screenwriter and playwright
. Born near the Mohawk Indian
reservation, where his mother grew up, he ran away to New York City at age 17, where he has lived ever since.
of the soap opera
Another World
, from 1971 to 1979. Many family situations and characters were modeled after his own family, such as the Frame brothers and sisters.
He was credited with ratings surges that pushed viewing figures to ten million households, as well as material that earned the series a Daytime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Drama Series in 1976. It was his writing that made the characters of Mac Cory (played by Douglass Watson
), Rachel Cory Hutchins
(Victoria Wyndham
), and Iris Cory Carrington (Beverlee McKinsey
) household names. However, by 1979, Lemay decided not to continue writing the series for a ninth straight calendar year, and first handed over the reins to a new writer before exiting for good later that year. He also engendered some criticism for writing out three of the show's most popular actors George Reinholt
(Steve Frame), Jacqueline Courtney
(Alice Matthews Frame
), and Virginia Dwyer
(Mary Matthews), in 1975.
One of his reasons for leaving was that, first and foremost, writing a serial that aired five times a week proved to be too taxing. In a 1981 interview with PBS, Lemay stated that even mundane occurrences would be ruled by his job. "If I saw a nice dress in the window, my first thought wouldn't be that it would be a nice gift for my wife. I would think, 'That dress would look great on Pat," Pat Randolph being a character on Another World.
Another reason for his exit was that the sponsor of the show, Procter & Gamble Productions Inc., refused to allow Lemay to write controversial storylines. In the late 1970s, Lemay asked the sponsor for clearance on a storyline he was writing, in which the teenage son of a very prominent character was to be revealed as homosexual. According to Lemay, he had already written the story, ostensibly with the sponsor's support, until he was asked to pull the story mere days before the scenes were to be taped. Lemay's 1981 memoir, Eight Years In Another World, indicates that the same-sex story centered around Michael Randolph (Lionel Johnston), son of Pat Matthews Randolph (Beverly Penberthy
) and John Randolph (Michael M. Ryan
).
Procter & Gamble's animosity toward Lemay softened, and he was even asked to return as Head Writer of Another World in 1988. The plan was for Lemay to begin writing the show again after the end of the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike
. The strike lasted from March to September and the entire time Donna Swajeski
was responsible for the storytelling. Swajeski had previously worked for the programming division at NBC, the network that aired Another World, but after writing the show for six months, she wanted to continue writing the series on a full-time basis. When the strike finally ended and Lemay began work as planned, Swajeski and Lemay clashed over Another World's direction and Lemay abruptly quit after writing Another World for only a few weeks. His storyline choices, however, such as the glamorous wedding of Felicia Gallant
(Linda Dano
) to Mitch Blake (William Gray Espy
), and the return of Mac Cory's daughter Iris (Carmen Duncan
) set the stage for engrossing story in the years to come.
With Lemay completely gone from AW, Swajeski became head writer, a position she held until 1992. It has been argued that much of her critically acclaimed storylines came from Lemay's storyline projections.
Coming off his creative zenith in the 1970s, Lemay co-created Lovers and Friends
with Paul Rauch
, later retooled and referred to as For Richer, For Poorer.
Lemay is also a successful playwright, whose works have been produced both Off Broadway and on Broadway
. He was also a friend and mentor to Douglas Marland
, who served as his subwriter on Another World and later became one of daytime's most prolific writers, serving as head writer for Guiding Light
, General Hospital
and As the World Turns
.
Lemay On Rules of Writing: "I don’t have any. I know Doug was rather rigid about a lot of things. I trained Doug actually. Very interesting writer. There was a very very dark underside to all his writing. Good characters though. I think everything you write creates it’s own rules. Whether it’s a play or a book or a script. Every situation you write creates it’s own rules and that rule is the truth of the situation. You can’t have rigid rules. Because you lock yourself into a dramatic box. And it doesn’t work. And that was one of Doug’s problems as a writer. The people who wrote with him would often be confronted with Doug’s rigid idea of what was right and what was not right. My attitude was, “Try it, see if it works.”
As the World Turns
The Doctors
Guiding Light
Lovers and Friends
/For Richer, For Poorer
One Life to Live
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. Born near the Mohawk Indian
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
reservation, where his mother grew up, he ran away to New York City at age 17, where he has lived ever since.
Career
Sometimes credited as Pete Lemay, he is best known for his stint as Head WriterHead writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...
of the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
, from 1971 to 1979. Many family situations and characters were modeled after his own family, such as the Frame brothers and sisters.
He was credited with ratings surges that pushed viewing figures to ten million households, as well as material that earned the series a Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
for Outstanding Drama Series in 1976. It was his writing that made the characters of Mac Cory (played by Douglass Watson
Douglass Watson
Larkin Douglass Watson III was an American actor.Before an acting career, he received two Purple Heart awards for his service in World War II. A character actor since 1950, his most notable roles were in the movies Julius Caesar , Sayonara , and The Money Pit...
), Rachel Cory Hutchins
Rachel Cory Hutchins
Rachel Cory Hutchins is a fictional character on NBC daytime soap opera, Another World.-Casting:...
(Victoria Wyndham
Victoria Wyndham
Victoria Wyndham is an American actress best known for her role as Rachel Cory on the soap opera Another World.-Personal life:...
), and Iris Cory Carrington (Beverlee McKinsey
Beverlee McKinsey
Beverlee McKinsey was an American actress.Beverlee McKinsey was born as Beverlee Magruder in McAlester, Oklahoma on August 9, 1935. She was the daughter of Warren and Jewell Magruder of McAlester, Oklahoma....
) household names. However, by 1979, Lemay decided not to continue writing the series for a ninth straight calendar year, and first handed over the reins to a new writer before exiting for good later that year. He also engendered some criticism for writing out three of the show's most popular actors George Reinholt
George Reinholt
George Kilpatrick Reinholt is an American actor.Reinholt is best known for his soap roles: Steve Frame on Another World from 1968 to 1975, and Tony Harris Lord on One Life to Live from 1975 to 1977.He was fired from Another World in 1975 when head writer Harding Lemay wrote him out of the program...
(Steve Frame), Jacqueline Courtney
Jacqueline Courtney
Jacqueline Courtney was an American actress best known for her work on daytime soap operas.After short stints on The Edge of Night and Our Five Daughters, Courtney became famous for her role as Alice Matthews Frame on Another World; she played the role from the show's debut in May 1964 until July...
(Alice Matthews Frame
Alice Matthews Frame
Alice Matthews Frame was a fictional character on the daytime soap opera Another World.-Actor history:*Jacqueline Courtney...
), and Virginia Dwyer
Virginia Dwyer
Virginia Dwyer is an American actress known for her roles on several daytime soap operas. From 1954 to 1962, she had roles on at least five daytime programs, including The Road of Life, The Secret Storm, Young Dr...
(Mary Matthews), in 1975.
One of his reasons for leaving was that, first and foremost, writing a serial that aired five times a week proved to be too taxing. In a 1981 interview with PBS, Lemay stated that even mundane occurrences would be ruled by his job. "If I saw a nice dress in the window, my first thought wouldn't be that it would be a nice gift for my wife. I would think, 'That dress would look great on Pat," Pat Randolph being a character on Another World.
Another reason for his exit was that the sponsor of the show, Procter & Gamble Productions Inc., refused to allow Lemay to write controversial storylines. In the late 1970s, Lemay asked the sponsor for clearance on a storyline he was writing, in which the teenage son of a very prominent character was to be revealed as homosexual. According to Lemay, he had already written the story, ostensibly with the sponsor's support, until he was asked to pull the story mere days before the scenes were to be taped. Lemay's 1981 memoir, Eight Years In Another World, indicates that the same-sex story centered around Michael Randolph (Lionel Johnston), son of Pat Matthews Randolph (Beverly Penberthy
Beverly Penberthy
Beverly Penberthy is an American actress, best known for her role as Pat Matthews Randolph on Another World, which she played from 1967 to 1982.She also had a small role in the film Judas Kiss.-External links:...
) and John Randolph (Michael M. Ryan
Michael M. Ryan
Michael M. Ryan is an American actor, best known for his long-running role as John Randolph on the serial Another World, which he played from November 13, 1964 until his character's death in a fire on March 6, 1979. Among his big screen credits are the films 'Tootsie', 'Slayground', 'The...
).
Procter & Gamble's animosity toward Lemay softened, and he was even asked to return as Head Writer of Another World in 1988. The plan was for Lemay to begin writing the show again after the end of the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike
1988 Writers Guild of America strike
The 1988 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike action taken by members of both the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West against major United States television and film studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers...
. The strike lasted from March to September and the entire time Donna Swajeski
Donna Swajeski
Donna Swajeski is an American television soap opera screenwriter with experience at all three major American networks. She has been a head writer, co-head writer and screenwriter on award winning daytime drama for NBC Daytime, ABC Daytime and CBS Daytime....
was responsible for the storytelling. Swajeski had previously worked for the programming division at NBC, the network that aired Another World, but after writing the show for six months, she wanted to continue writing the series on a full-time basis. When the strike finally ended and Lemay began work as planned, Swajeski and Lemay clashed over Another World's direction and Lemay abruptly quit after writing Another World for only a few weeks. His storyline choices, however, such as the glamorous wedding of Felicia Gallant
Felicia Gallant
Felicia Gallant is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Another World. The character is a professional romance novelist who lives in Bay City....
(Linda Dano
Linda Dano
Linda Dano is an American soap opera actress. A longtime performer in daytime dramas and a bestselling author and businesswoman, Dano was married for over 20 years to advertising executive Frank Attardi....
) to Mitch Blake (William Gray Espy
William Gray Espy
William Gray Espy is an actor, best known for roles in serials such as The Young and the Restless as William "Snapper" Foster and Another World as Mitch Blake ....
), and the return of Mac Cory's daughter Iris (Carmen Duncan
Carmen Duncan
Carmen Joan Duncan is an Australian actress.-Biography:Carmen Duncan is known to Australian audiences as a character actress in films and on television...
) set the stage for engrossing story in the years to come.
With Lemay completely gone from AW, Swajeski became head writer, a position she held until 1992. It has been argued that much of her critically acclaimed storylines came from Lemay's storyline projections.
Coming off his creative zenith in the 1970s, Lemay co-created Lovers and Friends
Lovers and Friends
Lovers and Friends is a short-lived American soap opera that premiered on NBC on January 3, 1977 and ended on September 29, 1978. The show was created by Harding Lemay and Paul Rauch, both of whom were also working for the daytime drama Another World...
with Paul Rauch
Paul Rauch
- Another World :Rauch is best known for his work on Another World, which he produced from 1971 to 1984. For much of that time, he worked in conjunction with Head Writer Harding Lemay, and the team garnered the show critical acclaim and strong ratings....
, later retooled and referred to as For Richer, For Poorer.
Lemay is also a successful playwright, whose works have been produced both Off Broadway and on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. He was also a friend and mentor to Douglas Marland
Douglas Marland
Douglas Marland was an American actor and writer of soap operas.-Career:He began his soap opera career as an actor, appearing on the Irna Phillips series The Brighter Day and As the World Turns. He also did odd jobs on the side as a director for small theatre groups...
, who served as his subwriter on Another World and later became one of daytime's most prolific writers, serving as head writer for Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
, General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
and As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
.
Lemay On Rules of Writing: "I don’t have any. I know Doug was rather rigid about a lot of things. I trained Doug actually. Very interesting writer. There was a very very dark underside to all his writing. Good characters though. I think everything you write creates it’s own rules. Whether it’s a play or a book or a script. Every situation you write creates it’s own rules and that rule is the truth of the situation. You can’t have rigid rules. Because you lock yourself into a dramatic box. And it doesn’t work. And that was one of Doug’s problems as a writer. The people who wrote with him would often be confronted with Doug’s rigid idea of what was right and what was not right. My attitude was, “Try it, see if it works.”
Positions held
Another WorldAnother World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
- Story ConsultantCreative consultantCreative consultant is a credit that has - particularly in the past - been given to screenwriters who have “doctored” a movie screenplay. It is often given by producers in lieu of official credit. Those given this credit in the television field work closely with an Executive Producer, Head...
(1995-1997) - Head Writer (1971-1979; 1988)
As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
- Story Consultant
The Doctors
- Head Writer (1981-1982)
Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
- Writer (1980-1981)
Lovers and Friends
Lovers and Friends
Lovers and Friends is a short-lived American soap opera that premiered on NBC on January 3, 1977 and ended on September 29, 1978. The show was created by Harding Lemay and Paul Rauch, both of whom were also working for the daytime drama Another World...
/For Richer, For Poorer
- Co-Creator
- Head Writer (1977)
One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
- Story Consultant (1998)
Awards and nominations
- Daytime Emmy NOMINATION (1977, 1996; Best Writing; Another World)
- Daytime Emmy WIN (1981; Best Writing; Guiding Light)
- Daytime Emmy WIN (1975; Best Writing; Another World)