Gloria Monty

Gloria Monty (August 12, 1921 - March 30, 2006) was an American TV producer working primarily in the field of daytime drama.

Education

Born Gloria Montemuro, she attended the University of Iowa, New York University, and Columbia University, where she earned her master's degree in drama.

Theatre Work

In 1952, she married writer and editor Robert O'Byrne, with whom she had founded a New York theater group, Abbe Theater School. With O'Byrne, Monty directed summer stock productions and led acting and speech workshops, where her pupils included Marlon Brando, Bea Arthur and Tony Curtis.

TV career

After directing shows such as The First Hundred Years, The Secret Storm (for many years), and Bright Promise, she is best known for taking over the ailing ABC Daytime serial General Hospital in 1978 as Executive Producer. Fred Silverman, the head of ABC, gave Monty thirteen weeks to turn the show around, with cancellation threatened if she did not succeed. It subsequently became the top-rated American daytime drama for a nearly a decade.^{[citation needed]}

To accomplish this turnaround, she increased the show's pace, and focused main storylines on younger characters to reach out to younger viewers, particularly the pairing of ingenue Laura Spencer (Genie Francis) and troubled criminal Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary, whom she knew from his stint on her previous series, Bright Promise). She gave the sets a more contemporary look and feel, and employed production techniques once used only in primetime. One major result of the "Monty Revolution" was the faster pace of the show, effectively doubling the number of scenes in each episode. She was known for her rigid work ethic and for being tough with the cast and crew. “She demand[ed] excellence, but she reward[ed] it,” said coordinating producer Jerry Balme.^{[citation needed]}

Monty was accused of perpetuating dangerous misconceptions about rape, implicitly exalting violence against women. But Monty viewed the “rape” as a “choreographed seduction.” Under Monty's tenure, GH rose to the top spot in the ratings, with Luke and Laura's 1981 wedding being the highest rated episode in daytime history (about 30 million viewers and 13 million households). The Monty Revolution consisted of couples such as Luka/Laura, Frisco/Felicia, and Robert Scorpio/Holly. She and various Head Writers also created the Quartermaine family, Bobbie Spencer, Luke Spencer, Robert Scorpio, Anna Devane, Robin Scorpio, the Cassadine family, and many others who would dominate the show in the 80's and early 90's.

General Hospital snagged cover stories in both People, Soap Opera Weekly, and Newsweek, which referred to Luke and Laura the “Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara of Soapland.” Included in the show’s massive fan base were such celebrities as Elizabeth Taylor and Sammy Davis, Jr., both of whom guest starred on the series. She was also the executive producer of the primetime serial The Hamptons. She employed many former daytime performers for this show. The serial was unusual because it was videotaped rather than being filmed.^{[citation needed]}

Monty quit GH in 1987 but returned in late 1990 to increase the serial's sagging ratings. She had always been known for her tough, dictatorial attitude, but her ideas no longer seemed in touch with the world of Port Charles and viewer expectations. In early 1991, she lured Anthony Geary back to daytime, not as the popular Luke Spencer, but instead went along with his demand to play a brand new character, Bill Eckert, Luke's look-a-like cousin. An entire new family, the blue-collar Eckerts (one member was played by former Broadway star Carol Lawrence), was ushered in, and quickly dominated storyline, taking up four to five days a week of airtime while the popular and wealthy Quartermaines were phased out (rumor has it that Monty wanted to get rid of the Quartermaines altogether^{[citation needed]}).

Monty also fired a dozen actors, in what the press described as a "bloodbath," including popular actress Jennifer Guthrie, who played heroine Dawn Winthrop on the show. After appointing her sister, Norma Monty as Head Writer, the ratings further eroded.

This, combined with the refusal of stars such as Tristan Rogers, who played Robert Scorpio, to continue working with Monty, left ABC with no choice but to fire her. In early 1992, after only a year, Monty was replaced with Wendy Riche. Monty produced several made for television moviesm based on her friend Mary Higgins Clark's novels. She also chaired the New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission.^{[citation needed]}

Death

Monty died in 2006 from cancer, aged 84.

Preceded by Tom Donovan	Executive Producer of General Hospital 1978 - 1987	Succeeded by H. Wesley Kenney
Preceded by Joseph Hardy	Executive Producer of General Hospital 1990-January 1992	Succeeded by Wendy Riche

External links

• [1] IMDB profile
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