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Firstly,
can you tell us a bit about yourself - when you started writing, and what
you're doing now?
I
was born in Canada, went to England when I was five, returned to Canada
when I was eighteen,had a ten year career as an actor and started writing
in 1957. Wrote hundreds of Variety
shows and some twenty hour comedy dramas before going to L.A. where I
worked as a story editor and writer (16 episodes) on Bewitched. After Love
created a number of T.v. series...The Partridge Family, The Flying Nun,
Bridget Loves Bernie etc before leaving T.V. and writing the play Same
Time Next Year which was hugely successful all over the world and also
became a movie. Followed this with sixteen other plays (Tribute starring
Jack Lemmon, Romantic Comedy, with Mia Farrow, Special Occasions etal),
Am still writing plays.
Since
most of the people connected with Love are now dead Peter Deuel, E,W.
Swackhamer, Harry Ackerman, Herb Voland, Edith Atwater etc, my answers are
from memory. Barbara Bostock,
Rich Little and I (I believe) are still alive.
How
was the series conceived? What was the original idea behind it?
(Was
the concept influenced or inspired by Neil
Simon's Barefoot In The Park?)...
Can you tell us something about the
creative process - how you came up with the idea? What you wanted to
achieve with it (other than a successful and funny show of course)?
Creative
process: I simply wanted to
do a comedy about young marrieds. Barefoot in the Park did not influence
me any more than thousands of other plays of that genre.
I
did not have any story lines in mind but once the pilot sold it was easy
for me to think up stories.
Did
the scripts stay pretty much as you wrote them or was there a lot of
re-writing? For example, was there much actor input back then? How
about the producer, did he leave you (trust you? (-:) to get on with it so
to speak, or was there much interference in the writing or how you
envisioned the series?
I
was left almost completely alone to write the shows with almost no input
from anyone else. EW
Swackhammer who produced and directed number of the shows was a very good
friend and protected me from interference.
I was also the story editor so had say over all the acripts.
Also, at the risk of being immodest, the scripts were first rate.
Actually, nobody has ever rewritten me in T.V.
Unusual but true.
Did
you have any part in (or influence over) the casting? - And if you did,
what were you looking for in the lead characters?
Yes
I was involved in the casting, Rich Little who I knew when we were both in Canada was my
idea.
Did
you like the casting of Pete Deuel and Judy Carne in the leads?... Some
people love the casting of Judy Carne against Peter, others think the pair
lack chemistry - what did/do you think?
We
tested a number of actors and Peter was by far the best.
We went with Judy because of her comedic ability and gamin quality.
Possibly someone with more sex appeal would have helped us more but
she was the best choice at the time.
Was
it generally known amongst cast and crew that Pete and Judy were lovers
during the show's run? And if so, did this cause any problems?
I
don't know if she and Peter had an affair.
I suspect that if they did it was short lived.
I
believe at the time Pete was under contract to Screen Gems; one of their
stable of actors who attended in-house acting classes and appeared on
their various shows... was he known to you as an actor at the time? Was he
your 1st choice or just one of many who auditioned (in which case, what
sold him for the role of Dave?)
Peter
was a natural actor, enormously talented who could play both comedy and
drama.
It's
said Pete was often late on set. Was this true and did it cause problems;
(quoting Judy; "I think a lot of our tangles could be avoided if
Peter wasn't given to being late--it seems I'm always kept waiting because
of him.")
Yes,
he had a reputation for being late (the first day of shooting of the first
episode!!) and obviously had some demons to fight that we weren't aware
of. I wasn't aware of his drinking.
I
knew Judy better than Peter. She
was always on time because she never seemed to sleep.
She was very funny offstage (somewhat outrageous) and was fun to be
around.
Did
you spend much time on the set? (assuming
you did...) What
was the atmosphere like on set? Was it friendly, or was there a lot of
rivalry?
I
was in San Francisco when they shot the pilot but once the series was
underway was not on the sound stage much as I was busy writing almost all
the scripts in my office. However,
I don't remember it being a tense set.
Swack ran a tight ship but liked actors so I believe it was a happy
group.
Was
there any thought given to the rapidly changing society in the late
sixties (even though 'The Sixties' as such don't really appear in the
series) - or was it just a regular sitcom in every respect?
The
show was a conventional format with almost none of the sixties mores
intruding. Essentially we
were after a romantic, charming, funny series.
Do
you have a favourite episode - and if so, what do you like about it
particularly?
My
favorite episode was the pilot script and "My husband the
Knight" which was based on an incident that had happened to me when I
was an actor.
Do
you ever watch LOAR now?
I
don't have any copies of the show...I do have some copies of the scripts
(at least the ones I wrote) which have even survived a fire and I obtained
from Bridget Hanley who is Swack's widow.
What
were the reasons given for the show being cancelled when it was getting
good ratings and reviews? (Was it just difficult scheduling, being up
against NBC's Petticoat Junction? )... Do you think the show could/should
have carried on? How did you feel about it at the time, and what do you
think now?
I
enjoyed working on this show more than others because I had a completely
free hand and my scripts were fully realized on the screen without stupid
network or "executive" suggestions. It is baffling
why we weren't picked up because we had a higher rating than That Girl
which got the nod over us. This
maybe was because Marlo Thomas had a close relationship with one of the
executives at A.B.C. This could be sour grapes but I believe we were a far
superior show to That Girl.
The
series is almost forgotten today and even excluded from certain books and
checklists claiming to be complete histories of sitcoms. You've expressed
great love and pride for the show, are you disappointed it hasn't really
been remembered very well?
Yes,
I was disappointed but my career was in full flower and I simply went on
to writing other shows. Swack however, was devastated and vowed never to
do another series again. And
he never did.
It
is not rerun because we didn;t have enough shows in the can to syndicate.
I don't know what happened to the seven missing episodes.
You might try Rich Little or Bridget, Swack's widow
I
did recently come into possession of a folder containing about twenty
production stills of the show which I am sure you would find fascinating
but I am loathe to let them out of my hands.
Maybe if you sent me a mailing address I could get them copied and
sent to you. Can't promise
anything because I am busy working on a new play.
Btw,
is Peter's brother Geoff still alive?
Probably because I think he was younger.
He is or was an actor so I imagine is reachable.
Hope
this has all been of some help. Can't imagine why younger people would become intrigued with
a long dead actor and a series from forty years ago but it does show that
they have good taste!
All
the best,
Bernard
Slade.
August 2003
A very special thank
you is due to Gilly
for all her hard work on this
and for bringing it about in the first place. |
