YESTERDAY'S TOMORROW

P&G soap fans tuning into Showtime this weekend to watch Martha Byrne (Lily; ATWT) in Life After Tomorrow, a documentary on the little girls who passed through the Broadway and national companies of the phenomenal musical hit, Annie, got a bonus.

Also briefly appearing in the retrospective was Kimi (now Kim) Parks, who, from 1986-1987, played Dorie Smith von Halkein on GL.

Pre-teen Dorie held the distinction of melting not just one, but two hard hearts in Springfield. First, the spunky orphan (obviously a holdover from her Hard-Knock Life days) won over the haughty India during the latter's court-ordered community service stint at a summer camp for troubled kids.

India was so charmed by the little con artist who reminded her of herself, that she resolved to adopt Dorie. But there was a problem. Dorie was determined to find her "real" family, her big sister, who turned out to be none other than Dinah Marler.

The girls had been raised in the same foster home prior to Dinah's being sent to live with the circus and Dorie being shipped off to reform school/camp. Though they weren't blood relatives, the girls insisted they were sisters nonetheless.

India agreed and, despite legally adopting Dorie, convinced Ross to let Dorie live with him and Dinah for part of the time.

India and Dorie eventually left Springfield together. The last we heard of Dorie was when India, on a 2002 visit home, told Phillip that Dorie, "was the most beautiful, wonderful girl in the best boarding school in Europe."

Now, far be it for me to argue with a proud mom. But, according to my calculations, by 2002, Dorie was at least twenty years old. Shouldn't she have been in college or something by then?

Kim Parks, meanwhile, is working as an Associate Producer on the FOX animated hit, Family Guy, as well as periodically doing some voice-over work for it. (The show is well known for its movie musical parodies -- wonder if she does some singing for it, as well?)