Thursday, August 19, 2010

CLASSIC ATWT Photo of the Day: Patricia Bruder

In 1960, Patricia Bruder took over the role of Ellen from actress Wendy Drew on AS THE WORLD TURNS and played the part through 1995, when the character disappeared from the canvas without explanation (although we later learned that Ellen had moved to Atlanta to work in AIDS-related fundraising).

Unlike today's storylines which are resolved in a matter of weeks, the saga of Ellen and her illegitimate son, Jimmy aka Dan Stewart, lasted for over a decade, and included a stint in prison for Ellen after she killed housekeeper Franny Brennan, who had threatened to reveal Ellen's secret in order to stop her from marrying David Stewart.

8 comments:

  1. Hi Rob... PB took over the role from actress Wendy Drew--not Wendy Dress! Patsy Bruder was missed and needed over the last 15 years of ATWT.

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  2. In 1984, I visited NYC. Before my trip, I mailed a letter to Patricia Bruder asking if I could meet her or visit the studio when I was visiting from Texas. I knew her husband's family in Houston, so I mentioned their names. One day, not too long after I had mailed my letter, I came home to find a voice message from Patricia Bruder! She said she would love to have me as a guest at the studio, and left me her phone number to call her when I got to NYC, which I did. Thanks to her kindness, I got to watch the taping of the Whit McColl murder trial where the murderer was exposed. I was told to keep this silent, as they were taping 2 weeks in advance. From that day forward, I was a Patsy Bruder fan, and we corresponded for years. Was so disappointed when she was dropped from the cast, and had hoped she would return before the end. Thanks so much for this grest photo of Patricia/Ellen!

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  3. (Nelson Aspen here) I interviewed Ms Bruder years ago when I writing celebrity fitness articles for Soap Opera Magazine. We went to Central Park and did some "power walking." She was a delight! (OMG I should dig up those article for you guys at WLS...Jerry ver Dorn cycling, John Callahan baseball, Amelia Marshall ballet...)

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  4. Would love to see those articles. Amelia Marshall was once married to my Pediatirician's son, whose last name was Schaffer. I remember Paticia Bruder as being so genuine, funny, and just a simple and low key person. She was certainly dedicated to ATWT for many years even though she was mainly in the background for the last 10 years of her appearances.

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  5. Thanks, Rob. Really loved Ellen. It's so weird that we have Emily connected to the Lowells, the other originally core family of the show, but her mother and sister/daughter are both using the Stewart name. Alison is just a case of the producers thinking fans aren't smart enough to know which characters are related so they give them the same last name syndrome we see from time to time on soaps.

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  6. I met & spoke to Patsy Bruder at the 2006 ATWT Fan Club Luncheon in NYC. She wore a beautiful spaghetti-strapped dress & looked terrific even then. She displayed very firm forearms & biceps & she said that she kept in shape with pilates, yoga, & lifting light weights. Patsy is a terrific class act! :-)

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  7. Patsy went to Madison High School in Brooklyn when I was there. She was in my class- I loved looking at her ponytail - and a couple of years later I saw her on TV on "As the As World Turns" in a hotel I was working in. Very sweet young lady. Something like 20 years later I was sick, lying in bed, flipped on the TV and there she was - still on "As the As World Turns" but this time as a much older character.

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  8. I met Patsy Bruder. She is my second cousin.She was 14 and visited her relatives living in Worcester,MA.

    We were all excited to meet her.

    Barry J.

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