''The Young Marrieds'' is an American daytime

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

which aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

from October 5, 1964 to March 25, 1966. The program was created by

James Elward James Elward (Chicago, November 22, 1928 – August 30, 1996) was an American author, actor, screenwriter, and playwright. Personal life and education He was born in Chicago, Illinois to Daisyann Lenert Elward and Joseph Francis Elward. He was th ...

and written by Elward with Frances Rickett. Authors

John Pascal John Pascal (July 8, 1932 – January 7, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter, author, and journalist. Education John Robert Pascal was born on July 8, 1932 in Brooklyn, New York. He received his journalism degree at New York Unive ...

and

Francine Pascal Francine Pascal ('' née'' Rubin, born May 13, 1938) is an American author best known for creating the Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. ''Sweet Valley High'' was the backbone of the collection, and was made into a popular television se ...

also wrote for the series. It was produced in Hollywood by Selig Seligman through his production company Selmur Productions. Producers included Richard Dunn and Eugene Barr. The serial was directed by Frank Pacelli. Mike Lawrence was the series announcer. Schemering, Christopher. '' The Soap Opera Encyclopedia'', January 1988, pg. 249, (Revised Edition).

Overview

''The Young Marrieds'' focused on the conflicts between three married couples in the

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

community of Queen's Point. Dr. Dan Garrett and his wife Susan Garrett, commercial artist Walter Reynolds and his wife Ann Reynolds, and Matt Stevens and Liz Stevens, a young couple who were engaged and ready to begin their married life together. Shortly into the soap's brief year-and-a-half run, the Stevenses were wed then written out of the storyline, which was refocused almost solely on the marital problems of the Garretts and the Reynoldses. Susan Garrett struggled with the knowledge that she was the biological mother of 10-year-old Jerry Karr, who had been adopted years before by Lena Gilroy, an

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. Susan wanted to gain custody of the boy, but Lena was unwilling to give him up. Meanwhile, the Garretts' neighbor Walter Reynolds saw his marriage unravel as wife Ann, his former

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

, embarked upon a career as manager of Halstead's, a successful local

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

. Ann and Walter eventually agreed to

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

, but they secretly remained in love with one another, although circumstances continued to keep them apart.

Ratings

''The Young Marrieds'' aired immediately following ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'' (another soap opera produced by Selmur Productions) at 3:30ET/2:30 CT. Though it rated fairly well for fledgling

ABC Daytime ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime programming block on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game ...

, the serial aired directly opposite ''

The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that networ ...

'', a top-rated soap opera on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, and failed to maintain enough of ''General Hospital''s

lead-in A lead-in is a short phrase, usually five words or less, that starts off a photo caption in a newspaper, high school yearbook, magazine or other publication. Lead-ins (a.k.a. "kickers") are used to catch the reader's attention and "lead in" to t ...

audience to make it viable. The final telecast on March 25, 1966 ended with a

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

that would remain forever unresolved, as a despondent Walter, having learned he would go blind from a serious illness, locked himself in his studio with a loaded gun, apparently ready to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

Main crew

*Dick Dunn *Paul Nickell *

(

Head 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. In fictional comedy o ...

for the first 10 weeks) *John D. Hess *Frances Rickett

Cast

* Susan Brown as Ann Reynolds #2 *

Brenda Benet Brenda Benet (born Brenda Ann Nelson; August 14, 1945 – April 7, 1982) was an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the soap operas ''The Young Marrieds'' (1965–1965) and ''Days of Our Lives'' (1979–1982). She was also fea ...

as Jill McComb #2 * Les Brown Jr. as Buzz Korman * Norma Connolly as Lena Karr Gilroy * Floy Dean as Liz Forsythe Stevens *

Charles Grodin Charles Sidney Grodin (April 21, 1935 – May 18, 2021) was an American actor, comedian, author, and television talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including '' The Virginian''. After a small part ...

as Matt Crane Stevens #2 *

Ted Knight Ted Knight (born Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka; December 7, 1923August 26, 1986) was an American actor well known for playing the comedic roles of Ted Baxter in ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', Henry Rush in ''Too Close for Comfort'', and Judge Elihu ...

as Phil Sterling *

Peggy McCay Margaret Ann "Peggy" McCay (November 3, 1927 – October 7, 2018) was an American actress whose career began in 1949, and includes theatre, television, soap operas, and feature films. McCay may be best known for originating the roles of Vanessa ...

as Susan Garrett * Michael Mikler as Walter Reynolds *

Constance Moore Constance Moore (January 18, 1920 or January 18, 1921Additional on April 23, 2017. – September 16, 2005) was an American singer and actress. Her most noted work was in wartime musicals such as ''Show Business'' and ''Atlantic City'' and the ...

as Irene Forsythe #2 *

Paul Picerni Horacio Paul Picerni (December 1, 1922 – January 12, 2011) was an American actor in film and television, perhaps best known today in the role of Federal Agent Lee Hobson, second-in-command to Robert Stack's Eliot Ness, in the ABC hit televisio ...

as Dan Garret * Pat Rossen as Jerry Karr * Barry Russo as Roy Gilroy * Michael Stefani as Paul Stevens *

Susan Seaforth Susan Seaforth Hayes (born Susan Seabold; July 11, 1943) is an American dramatic actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Julie Williams on the NBC drama '' Days of Our Lives'', and her intermittent portrayal of Joanna Manning on the C ...

as Carol West *

Irene Hervey Irene Hervey (born Beulah Irene Herwick; July 11, 1909December 20, 1998) was an American film, stage, and television actress who appeared in over fifty films and numerous television series spanning her five-decade career. A native of Los Angeles ...

as Irene Forsythe #1 *

Donald Randolph Donald Randolph (January 5, 1906 – March 16, 1993) was a film, television, and radio actor. The actor, who appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's '' Topaz'' (1969), acted in dozens of radio dramas, television programs and over thirty films. Randolph ...

as Theo Stevens *

Maria Palmer Maria Palmer (born Maria Pichler, 5 September 1917 – 6 September 1981) was an Austrian-born American actress. Early life Palmer was born and raised in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Vienna, Austria) on 5 September 1917. She first appeared on st ...

as Mady Stevens *

Lee Meriwether Lee Ann Meriwether (born May 27, 1935) is an American actress, former model, and the winner of the Miss America 1955 pageant. She has appeared in many films and television shows, notably as Betty Jones, the title character's secretary and daught ...

as Ann Reynolds #1 * Robert Hogan as Gillespie *

Frank Maxwell Charles Francis Maxwell (November 17, 1916 – August 4, 2004) was an American actor who served as president of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists from 1984 to 1989. Life and career A native of The Bronx borough of New Yo ...

as Henry Korman *

Maxine Stuart Maxine Stuart (June 28, 1918 – June 6, 2013) was an American actress. Biography Stuart was born in Deal, New Jersey as Maxine Shlivek, and raised in Manhattan and Lawrence, Nassau County, New York. Stuart was a life member of The Actors S ...

as Mrs. Korman * Betty Conner as Jill McComb #1 * Ken Metcalf as Jimmy Dahl *

Irene Tedrow Irene Tedrow (August 3, 1907 – March 10, 1995) was an American character actress in stage, film, television and radio. Among her most notable roles are as Janet Archer in the radio series ''Meet Corliss Archer'', Mrs. Lucy Elkins on the TV sit ...

as Aunt Alex *

Scott Graham Scott Graham (born June 10, 1965) is an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of the Philadelphia Phillies, his work with NFL Films, and his studio hosting of '' The NFL on Westwood One''. He has lived and worked near Philadelphia ...

as Matt Crane Stevens #1

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Young Marrieds, The American television soap operas American Broadcasting Company original programming 1960s American drama television series 1964 American television series debuts 1966 American television series endings Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows Television series by Selmur Productions