The Journal News from Hamilton, Ohio • Page 17

Movies i i a 9 i Jaanll Ohio Fate i I i moikt a rporlrdbt ii.diildu.,1 mavi ihralrtt i i i arm 1 arc Ig piior 4 i IV Mother. Jugi 4 Speed W.W. Dantekings 'I'GJ Murder Uy UcaLh I I i I. I PKIMCKTCIM Ptler I'an I. 3:05.

10. 9:70 I I I I lU.vn.pri i i 2. 7:10. 9:35. David Hartman Another Dave Garroway in the making? CAIltllSKI.l Silent Movie IPO rjS.

11 -Si AHIHSKI.M Murder By IJeath "HUi I'l A Ode to Billy Joe lEfii 2. 5, 7, 9 UirJUVMUIHIVK-lX iHGi Kiger Sanction iKi roi'kr All Ihe PrwkJenfs Men UGJ 7. ItOI.IDAVhK.VK-IX HlAckbeard's Ghost iGi Isbrxi at Ihe Top ol the U'orld (1:50. Ghust iGi 1:13 jmj.YH'KiCKimiVK-IN Ui 9:30, Great Waldo i'tpjwr H(j) 12 i6 MAI.iBU liunny Superslar 3. 7, MUMIMKSTKKM Sol reported MMTWi.VTKI Taxi Driver (IU ro.

V.15. 7:33. 11. 50 NIIHTIK'ATKIL I'cler I'an t(5i 5:10. 7:15.

9 20 SlHlTlHiATKIII IhiHalo Hit) Ji'Ci 4:30.7:30, Midway il'Ci 2:10, 4:13. 7:20. 11:21 Hjdru-us Itcars i ('(I J. 4. 6.

8. 1( SHIWASKHL Loan's Kufl PUi 2:30. 5-IS. 7:40 IMS SilOWOKK IV Omen iK) 2 KHHHCASKY Thai's Kntcrtaininent 2 iGi Ill: lo. lijtt Djmbo ti 1 7 i Itiite a Wild 1'ony TIMKS Galof 'PCJ( 11 J.I5.

11:55 Driver HH 4: 10. 9 THU'DLiYIY 11 (Me in Billy Joe l'Gi 2:15, i 11. TH1 t'Ol'NTY 111 Tom Jones 2. 4. 0.

B. 9 15. 11 VAI.l.KYl Etulfalollill lp(i 3: IS, Si VAI.1.KY11 Taxi Driver "111 5:30. 1. 12 LO.

8 1 5 7 11 7 50. 7:40. I A I (0 Joe it'CJl A i i i I 2 L'pVogr Alley Film Guide I i is Hit "ilmi ihwlnx In surrounding Ihc Ihf l.rral»r KimiltM area. MrEndH i WorU War a rci.TKa.cd in lashwn. "Kor whal is suppcscd to be an action picture.

'Midway' has as much movement as a race between iwo cxlremcly slow snails the lack of a viable plot, solid aclinfc. good action and proper dirtclion dooms 1 lo a iecofld rate dim," Sure Chartton I lesion. Hcno Konda, filennKord.JamcsCobum. Hal Holbroofc. KiiU-rt Milchum, Toahiro Mifunc and Itobert Wagner.

Haled 1'G. pW stiHimiriM. by Ihf I'klure AisocUtion of Amcrka. awl irilkal rommfnli in ti Jotinul- Ntui Uhm-r Uitor Kts Milliai Here utial the raL.ngt ratan -Mdiencti. a a uleritl may blc tor pn- IT rrqulm ac- cflmpjnying pirnl adull guardian, X--Adults onlv.

No ander 11 id- miLU4. (ARt UmK rarks In certain Some vioU'Jicc star. nd profanity. Hated 1 I I comedy by i Simon i spoofs mysteries 'Murder Uy Death' is one of Simon's finer elfocls on Ihe screen, mostly bccauM of ils consistency. The excellent acting, in add.tion lo Ihe well wril ten screenplay by Nvil Siman and eiipcri direction by Kobert Moofp.

makes Ihis txie the Euniest rf the year." Stars lin diabolical order! Eileen Bob Hrennan, Truman Capote, James Coco. WoodwardamlCarlBemstein.lracingthe Peter Kalk. Alec Cuiiuiess. Kka Un- Watergate scandal (rom the breaV-in ai David Vetcr Sellers, the Democratic National CommHtee MaRgicSmilh. Nancy U'alkw and Kslelk headquarters.

Uinwood. Directed by Kobcrl Moore. "Doth technically and stylistically, the listed lilm is constructed well. While not a Vvry lillle profanity usert, and violence rnaslerM example of exlraorrfinary is as psrl o' the spoofing ol filmmaking Ihe film can pride i i hwtver in ils slKairiciuee of realiilically jeciionable malerial Kaltd 3-stars. Slars--The number of stirs, ranging from one to lour, are used by Journal- News reviewers in judging the quality of the Til making.

Kour stars wwld be Ihe highest rating, Coltowed by three sUrs for belter than average, two stars for averdge, and, one sU Cor below average. T1F. PftESinKVrS MEN-A iealing one ol Ihe biggest scandals in political history. In this caw, wtvWEhs art!" Slars Robert Kcdford and Dustin Hoff- min. Directed by Alan J.

PuituXa. Rated PC. I'nrfanity is only offensive material. Hated i-stars. HAD NEWS comedy about a terrible sandlol baseball team coacfced by a Iried-and true failure.

"The film is oflen hiUrious. often staring, and often unbearable- The problem is Ihallhe tbe filRi is never clearly stales, a i i i a i a vague and ambiguous throughout." "TIIK CiMKV--A susponw film about an American ambassador's child fulfills the prophesy in the Book of about the coming of Ihe An1i- Chml. "Donncr has expertly crafted an exploitation film v.hich almost rivals the lineal ItilchcocX in terror. lc Luo muleriul scenes of horror among others SLars Gregory Peck and Lee Remkk. Uirwk-d by Hichard Dor.iier.

K- Vtotrnce used for shock eflect. Some profanity. Not recommended for viewers wilh weak Rated 3-slara. "DDK TO RIL1.V lender and By CKCII, SMITH I XK Angeles Times HOLLYWOOD-So spectacular has been the success of ABC's prime time programs in its rise from the doormat of TV networks to No. 1 in the ratings since the start of the year that little attention has been paid to its equal successes in other program areas.

Particularly, ils upstart Good Morning. America! and ils assault on NBC's venerable Today. By the yardstick of Ihe Nielsen ratings. Today has dropped about a million viewers in Ihc last year, most of whom are now watching Goal Morning, America! A year ago. Today had C2 percent of the early morningaudience nationally: it has slipped to48 percent.

While ABC's brash newcomer in ils first six months on the air has climbed from 16 percent to 27 percent of Ihe audience. CBS with its excellent Morning News with Hughes Rudd has also been increasing ils audience, (hough not so dramatically. The ABC brass believe with the departure of Barbara Walters and ber gutsy interviews from Today that things can only get belter for Good Morning, America! Oddly enough, it seems to me that Good Morning, America! is really what Today was when Pat Weaver first put it on the air in 1952 with Dave Garroway. The original Today was essentially an entertainment that provided a li'ttle news, a little conversation, some bright patter and gossip, a vaudeville turn'or two and even a resident chimpanzee, the justly celebrated J. Fred Muggs.

Though Garroway's agile mind and essential dignity gave the show a high quality quotient, there was a lot of fun about it and considerable irreverence. I recall the British were outraged when the films of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II were shown on Today in juxtaposition with the antics of Mr. Muggs. When Garroway left in a lot of the fun leftwilh him. and in the ensuing years under John Chancellor, Hugh Downs.

Frank McGee and. since McGee's untimely deatb. Jim llarlz, the program has moved steadily toward sober-sided hard news. Not that Good Morning, America! avoids hard news-- there are solid morning reports from the team of Steve Bell and Margaret Osmer in Washington. But it was ABC vice-president Bob Shanks' notion lo create what he calls "a people-to-people magazine," to surround the hard news wilh any and all kinds of features from Erma Bombeck's wonderfully lopsided view of housewifery to Jack Anderson's muckraking in Washington sewers.

Geraldo Rivera's voyages among the disenfranchised and Rona Barrett's eyeballing Hollywood gossip. Add John V. Lindsay's reports on political bedfellows and Helen Gurley Brown's reports on all other kinds of bedfellows and there's quite a morning mix. To cement il together, Shanks, who produced the old MervGriffinShow from New York and made a kind of history wilh the Great American Dream Machine, went about as far into left field as you can get and chose an actor who had never hosted a talk never read a news report or conducted an interview: David Hartman. To aid Hartman, he brought in Ihe redheaded musical comedy actress Nancy Dussault, another stranger lo this whole TV talk field.

I can't imagine two happier choices. Particularly, Hariman. who played Lucas Tanner on NBC and spent three years as one of the doctors on The Bold Ones and once even rode the range wilh The-Virginian. Hartman gives the show Ihe kind of affable intelligence and humor and dignity that Garroway once gave Today. Towering David Hartman I he's and his wife Maureen were here recently for the first time since David started saying "Good Morning, America," last Nov.

3. Maureen was so delighted lo be back in California she asked: "Do you mind if I go outside and hug (he grass?" David said he's adjusted again to living in New York-- he last lived there when he was playing on Broadway in "Hello. Dolly!" He's even shifted his loyally lo the New York Mets and works out regularly with the team. He said their infant son Sean, who will be a year old this month, doesn't mind New York at all. "Rut il still astonishes me that I'm there," he asked how it happened.

"It goes back a few years," said David. "Bob Shanks, whom I'd never met, called me several times lo do the narration on documentaries I hey were doing on ABC's lale-nighl Wide World of Entertainment. But the subjects never interested me. Finally, he asked what subject would intrigue me. 1 lold him television worried me because it was so occupied wilh death, whether it was the wars and murders or the news or the shootings and killings on the cop shows and westerns.

Outside the comedies, everything is concerned with death. I asked why can't we do a show about life, about giving birth-show a baby being born and Ihe whole miraculous process. He said: Great. Do it." The result was that remarkable documentary: "Birth and Babies," for which Hartman was executive. producer, collaborated on Ihe script, narrated and was on-the-air hosl.

It was first shown in the spring of 1974. "Shanks lold me if I had another idea lo call him," said a a "but I got married and went into Lucas Tanner. Our baby was born. After Tanner was cancelled, I was in New York on business last fall and I got a call from Shanks. I remember il exactly.

It was Oct. 10. He asked how I'd like to host a morning show. I said I'd have to think about it. He said: 'Don't think too long.

We go on the air in four weeks!" Hariman was an absolute novice. Not even in (College (he graduated with honors in economics from Duke University) did he ever appear as an emcee or interviewer. He's marvelous at il. He's the rare interviewer who knows how lo listen, who makes you believe he is more interested in Ihe answers than the questions--which he is. But it's brainnumbing work.

He spends every waking hour when he's not on Ihe air reading and studying and doing research on politics, domestic and foreign affairs, the thousand and one subjects thai Good Morning. America! touches on. "What il's been for me is Ihe most concentrated education you can imagine," said Hartman. "Il's like cramming for a test every morning but on every A I A i A America!" un AliC-TV. says "Good Morning, subject imaginable.

The staff prepares digests of malerial for me, bills in Congress, scientific development, who won the National Book Award for poetry. Ihe situation in Rhodesia, the fluctuations of the Swiss franc. But I have to read beyond the digests in case some olher development comes up. "I gel up al 4 a.m.' a studio limo picks me up at 5. We do Ihe show live 7-lo-9.

Then we have a briefing on Ihe nexl day's shows and work all day on subsequent shows, research, studies. I gel home in time for dinner and bed. It's tough on Maureen. We can't enjoy the cultural advantages of being in New York because I have lo gel to bed so early." Bui ho seems to thrive on the most exciting, the most exhilarating thing I've ever done." He's very proud the show has made when Sen. Barry Gotdwater snarled that he wished Richard Nixon would stay in China.

David has made his bloopers. But he laughs so hard al them, they work for him. His most famous--he turned from a guestand said: "And now a word from General Fools." What about Hartman, the actor? "I'll get back to it," he said. "I may make a movie when get a break next spring. Shanks wants me to produce and narrate some late night things.

But the trouble is I'm having so much tun it's hard to think about it." America may be waking for a long time to David Hariman saying good morning to it. cvenlualty heartbreaking slory of young Stan Waller Mallluu. Talum 0 Neil. romanceinlheJIiuiuiptii Delta basedM Jackie Earle Haley and Alfred W. Luttcr.

Directed by Michael Rated PC. Loll of profanity, mostly from the tea m. Baled 2 Ihe tut record by Bobby Ci 'Ode lo illy Jof' is a warm, charming and film ich touches base wilh many things, il is Ihe kind ol film you can enjoy despite swne obvious flaw's. And if you arc a hopdess romantic lUe me, Ihcn you love this enry Fielding in his im-cl. "Tom Jones." -UXe most dotations.

Ihe imilAttons ra 5x CP are just ihal. So Ihis film. One lady Uir led MAX Baer Raled re saw the film angrily Cold her husband Irtai Ihe film -was the biggesl ripoff: So suc- ctnciiy said!" "KAWUV AIIVKVTL'RES 0V TOM further adrrnlurcs of Tnm Jones, the heroic character created by Henry Fielding in his novel, "Tom Jones." entry. A lev profanilies. Jimilfd vioJence, suggestion of sex.

Rated 3-stars. Theatre in Greece two seasons, one for classics, other for modern ANIIT11R IMItAVS. UK SITTIM; I I I brilliant bolh debunks and admirei the Icgetxl of Buffalo Bill Cody. "AHman has circled another maiier- piecf. H'Uhoul question, (his is Amman's fiiKst uork.

a finely crafted and con- itrucied him. All in all. Ihis LS helluva Stars Paul NeMtnin, with hosl of fascitulinfc pertormarKcs by Jcol JoH Cre. Etan'ey Keilel, Geraldine Chaplin. JWflVfr IH-lc.

Will Sampson and Pat Mct'ormatk. Uirwted by llobert All man. lUiLM I'G Very lilOe objectionable material. Raled, jileiH picture "Urooks, uho directed and slarred in Ihe film, has made available every hnou-n gag. i i and comic line to creale another classy comedy, uhich JU51 may be Ihe best of bis career." Stars Mel Brooks.

Marly Feldman, Dom De Luise. Sid Caesar, Harold Gould and Peters. Cameos by Bun JimmyCaan. Lira Minnelli and Anne Bancroft Directed by Brooks. Riled Very lillle objectionable.

Rated 3-stars, "SEVEN film by Uu about the 2 NraiMliUn soWkr a Nui "GATt)R 1H Tile further adventures of ailer Cator McClusky. i i in Itnplte UWie nd conniclln); Ideals. hrr are 1 Irnmn. Wfrt- tv as oftrn "While UjtWening" has Galor by the errmenl lo help its agents ctea up crime in. Dunston City.

"The pJol is sometimes ihin. and the vkriepcc oiten overexposed, bul overall is winning. I would say Bud Urvnotds could be quile prood of hii first diredorul effort." Slare Hurt Reynolcb, Uuren Ifutlon. JacV Wnlon, Alice Choslley and Jerry Reed. Dirrcled by Rrinoldi Baled PC.

A few profanities and violence. Rated 3- 5UTS. "CONK WITH THE classic film tjul ranks as one ot A merica's all lime fatroriles. story of Scartel o'Hara and Rhelt Butler as toid against the backdrop rf the Civil War. "inefilmbooeollhe best ever created, andilstands Ibe lime test thai a true piece of art rill lasl forever." Stars Clark Cable.

Vivien Olivia dellavitlandandUslieKoward. Directed ty Vktor Kleming. Rated G. Limiled violence, lesser profantity. Pure family entertainment.

Haled 4-slars. "IjOGAN'S A sctence.fiction thriller sei in the Brd century in which I ife filled with total pleasure, but only (or 3n years. 'Lofran'l Rim' tJ a solid erift stoo 1 Director Michael Anderson's heavy- handed direction almost sLiflcd action Ihotigh the i eventually overcomes thw shortcoming Stars Michael York. Jrnry Agutler. Peter Vslmov.

Farrah -ind Michael Anderson Jr. Directed by Mirhari Anderson Rated TG Bnef glimpses it nudity and a litr.itcd amount cf vwlefxe Rated 3 stars Dieting E.IK.MCI. Ibe film notli rniRrifkcnttj. partkuUriy for ill nalirt." Sun an4 Rry. Dirtflrf by Una Wcrlmulkr.

KaiH H. Some ilotr.Kf. wdit). noar ol'lhh pcrwnled ui an eMetnlve minoer. Ralrd TAXI hoely Uil driver.

benl on Irectton faHowing the rejection ol Ihe vtman who he thinks he kr.es. rrukrs a rlesperale effort to prove he's somebody. Dm-tr' is a jjfcndid fiim, especia.ly i.rxe it makes a powerful Malrmenl about man's alienation in the modem vori'J. shoeing how one isolated Irom his fellow man. facing the rejeclktt of a woman who couldn't love him.

rinjaE)- etplodei against the alllo- human injtctice lo present hb vr-n sumval 1 rough btoody acts of violence." SUrs Rrert le Niro, Cyhll Shepherd, llan-ey Keilel. Jody foster, Albert Brooks and Boyle. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Ratrd R. Two gory acts of riotencc aod atso profanity.

Rated 4-iUn. "niATS KVTKRTAtXMF.VT. PART lo "That's Fjilerlainrnenl" featuring litm clipi fron MGM "TTMTt are Kist many beautiful rfreams which ran be relived a pa in uiih ihn film Ihr memnrirt- r-f Ihe rrwvtc ir.rtknlnc?i polikti jrars he slimed by Irtc surry eed srq-Jcl Man. fictv Kelly and prod AMaire as rarratori. Kralures 100 Mars froni Ihc rnusicaU.

New sceno (tirrtlcd hy Kelly. Itatrd Absolutely nothing objectiimaWc. Hated Editor's Note In the land of Aeschylus and Aristophanes, thespians are still a treasured breed. Two seasons, one for the classics, one for modern efforts, dominate Greek theater, and ancient al fresco playhouses keep alive a glorious tradition. Bv WILLIAM CLOVER 'AP Drama Writer ATHENS, GREECE (AP) The land where western theater began 2.500 years ago is still busy with drama.

There are in fact two very different seasons of thespic activity: Summer brings the famous classic festivals, performed in ancient amphitheaters from the foot of the Acropolis here to the hills of Macedonia. Then there is a season only natives really know, a sevenmonth foray when most tourists are gone into plays by modern domestic and foreign heirs of Aeschylus and Aristophanes. "In both," insists Dimitri Malvetas, "we are expressing ourselves and our heritage." The comment by one of the National Theater's leading actor-directors, is frequently echoed in the stage community. Evident is a fierce determination to defend theater in Attica from travel ad insinuations thai all the action is primarily designed to attract tourists. "One might as well say the Parthenon is here for the sake of visitors," declares Dora Tsatsos, a choreographer who studied with Martha Graham and whose father Constantino is the nation's president.

An educated guess is that 70 per cent of summer audiences at big Epidaurus and rival arenas comprise homeland Hellenes. As evidence of the particular pride the country still takes in being the birthland bf stagecraft is a government regulation about actors. A performer can get a permit to tread the boards only after three years of study al a drama school. No such license is required however to emote in movies or on television. The 30-odd surviving scripts by the master playwrights of the age of Pericles are also exempt from the censorship possible on contemporary authorship.

This immunity enabled opponents of the regime lo insert a certain amount of subliminal political comment in classic presentations during the military junta which fell Iwo years ago. Miss Tsatsos and Malavelas are typical of craftsmen who over many seasons have taken part in multiple productions of everything from "Prometheus Bound" to the "Oresteia." "Interpretations constantly change," the choreographer explains the ever-fresh challenge of Ihe works which traditionally and totally dominatethe annual festivals that are held in about 20 of the 30 remaining ancient al fresco playhouses. The old texts, come autumn, go back on the bookshelf and are replaced by modern scripts more suited to performance indoors. Although no latter-day Sophocles has yet emerged from such endeavor, a large group of Greek writers has developed during the past 20 years. "Primarily," says one observer of the more serious scribes, "they have been less interested in protest than in trying to find the place of Greeks in today's world." Among authors whose works have travelled through Europe, though rarely into the Anglo American ambit, are Miss Loula Anagnoslaki, Pavlos Matesis, Stratis Karras and Costas Moursellas.

The main esthetic ramparts are guarded by three slate-subsidized organizations: the Athens National Theater, the National Theater of North Greece, anri Ihe Chariot of Thespis, a travelling group formed last year which so far has visited 50 communities with two modern plays. The two national theaters also have road companies. The Athens ensemble of 110 actors performs a half dozen plays in each of two midtown theaters, including off-Broadway type experimentation in the smaller house. By law. no National production can run more lhan four weeks, a precaution against development of a hit syndrome.

Box office prices have doubled in the past three years, but you can still get a seat for 50 cents and the lop scale is S2.15. Aside from the big three, shows are mostly put on by actor-managers Ihe system which dominated Broadway a half century ago. The top ticket in this sector costs $4.50. The playbill assortment includes, according to Malavelas, many pieces written to order for a particular star and imitative of French boulevard comedy, some more serious texts including an occasional Arthur Miller or Tennessee Williams play; and musically, old-fashioned operettas and a few new- technique revues. "Our anathema and our advantage," the actor says, "is that we speak a language which is not international." The classics have been translated into modern Greek "but there the intense emotions are universally understandable," he says.

"Abroad our musicians can be understood more readily than our modern writers." Inversely, a good many Broadway musicals are difficult to adapt lo Grecian understanding. One of the most famous of all, "Fiddler on the Roof," hasn't been done, but that was the result of legalistic rather lhan linguistic problems. Despite all the activity, Athenian actors share a complaint wilh colleagues around the world there just aren't enough jobs around. And from impresarios comes another ecumenical protest critics have a lot of clout at the box office. The day the world stopped turning for Grandpa Hughes, Santos Ortega Theatre Guide i Simon's rtunedy 'Tlaa Suilf." is an crAemble et Ihrw one pi icd tosethtr by beini: Ml the Mmr suite ol New Vert i TUu -HwuRh ion rfTla SuH lU the tv.0 perform en Coca X-nft Mill manatf to nvfrcome early pronlcms limtnit (he Oliver? erf comic linrs lo turn ttili prodoclior.

winning effort i Stan Imnfene Coca. Poncvan Riclord He wet Thwnis M.i«*r,i, Directed by Jim Kargo Rated 3-stan Simon's "The MA fiiV; i i loyrthcT all lurawl games il fun and g.3mn lor Lhe audience the castinn in one Ihe weak points ihc The comrdy limity mi, and a ol "iho play ilwlf is lurmv in Lhe Itidilicwi nl Sinnn Tt fi'l a a more p1a before ihn Udd iU pnfCTiLial Sun Witltt. Havkl riart. Mkrurl JurSy and Sarii.y liirrct.il b) KJu.ibrth Wilkcs Kaicd 3 BjrAUr.HENNIGER I-osAnRHcs Times HOLLYWOOD--The observance of the Fourth of Ihis Bicentennial year lakes on a special significance for those who've followed the daily fortunes of the people on CBS' As the World Turns. Grandpa Hughes, who epitomizes all that is traditional in the American family structure, a kind, warmhearted, scholarly man.

made a ritual of raising Ihe Stars and Stripes on the Hughes family front lawn each July 4. But a won't happen this year. Grandpa Hughes died April 10. The oayfime serial world mourns his passing as much as the series' cast members mourn lire loss of Santos Ortega. 76.

who played the role of Grandpa Hughes since the series' inception on TV April 2. 1956. The label "soaper" bears a stigma. Some critics, oblivious of anything that goes on TV before 6 p.m., lend to lump daytime serials, including As the World Turns, into whal is now the nincompoop world of the Mary Hartmans 11 is impossible for these critics to comprehend the impact of the loss of Santos Ortega and Ihe pleasure he brought lo millions through his sensitive portrayal of Grandpa Hughes. In the terminal ward of Soulhcrn California's Sawlelle Veteran's Hospital 17 years ago an old marine lay dying of pneumonia.

He briefly came out of a coma. A nurse rushed to his side. She thought he might ask for water as he struggled to speak, or maybe he just needed the comforting touch of someone's hand. He stared blankly at her for a moment, then asked, "Did the ground thaw enough for Grandpa Hughes lo get in the early tomatoes?" The puzzled nurse, thinking he was delirious, just smiled warmly, nol quite knowing how to respond. But any As the World Turns follower would have known that that was a nagging problem confronting Grandpa Hughes that year and could have answered.

The point is, that 69-year-old vet cared about Grandpa Hughes as if he were a longtime friend living next door; it was IJial important to him even though lie lay dying. Because Santos Ortega was somebody important to faithful viewers of the series, and was a beloved friend, fellow actor and confidant of all the cast members, some thing unique occurred on Friday, June 4. over CBS. A eulogy was held on TV for Ortega as part of the regular As the World Turns episode. Only once before has the death of an actor on a popular day time serial been publicly revealed and the sadness of his passing been shared with viewers.

That was on Guiding Light in 1973 when Thco Goclz, who played Papa Bauer, died suddenly al age 7S. There have been many "deaths" written into scripts of daytime serials. Sometimes il's a device for eliminating a character from the story or when an nclor becomes ill and is forced lo leave Ihe cast. Viewers usually left puzzled by the change because no reason is announced. But Santos Ortega was too much a human being to his colleagues: loo much a friend to millions of As Ihc World Turns fans not to receive Ihis special final tribute.

Ortega was particularly known by those who recall radio's "golden days." Ortega, who mastered many accents, began bis career in the 1920s on Broadway. Hut he became one of radio's pioneer performers. He was the original Ellcry Queen and Nero Wolfe. He had featured roles in The FBI, in Peace and War, Perry Mason. The Shadow, True Detective Mysteries.

Counterspy (svhich starred Don MacLaughlin, who plays Chris Hughes on As the World Turns), The Green Hornel, Boston Blackic, Lux Radio Theater and many, many more. Grandpa ilughes won't be replaced in the cast. He couldn't be. The world slopped turning briefly when he left. But maybe he's found another world, one wilh green pastures and Ihe soil just right for planting lomalocs.

And he's got some help, loo, from that marine veteran..