Diva wrangler

Gloria Monty, the TV producer who helmed General Hospital during the golden “Luke and Laura” years, died on April 4. She was 84. Perhaps Ms. Monty’s greatest claim to fame was the stunt casting of a 60-something Joan Crawford as an emergency substitute for daughter Christina Crawford on the soap Secret Storm. As Bob Thomas tells the story in Joan Crawford: A Biography:

Joan’s adopted daughter Christina was hospitalized for an abdominal operation and could not perform. Joan contacted Gloria Monty, director and offered to step in for her. Gloria accepted, delighting Fred Silverman, chief of daytime programming at CBS. He cleared the use of a studio for rehearsals. On the night before rehearsal, Gloria visited Joan at her apartment; Joan was excited about the role she was to play, comparing it to “Mildred Pierce.” Joan asked that no publicity be issued for her appearance but the network couldn’t resist the temptation . . . . On the day of taping, Joan brought a Pepsi-Cola cooler of vodka. Monty attempted to keep her away from the alcohol during taping but Joan’s performance was poor . . . . When asked to comment, Christina said “I couldn’t exactly jump and down in bed about it, but it was fantastic she would care that much.”