Monday, November 26, 2007

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: KIN SHRINER (EX-KEITH; ATWT, EX-JEB; TEXAS)

The musical legacy of a famed South Florida humorist may live on in the U.S. soldiers serving overseas. Wil and Kin Shriner say when they went to clean out a warehouse their father kept near the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport they found about 400 vintage harmonicas. The harmonicas, made in Hohner Co. in Germany 1949, are the blues harp or Marine Band model. They told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that they considered donating the instruments to schools or to youth groups, but now want to send them to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Complete story, here.
THE BUTLER DID IT

The Nanny's connection to soaps is well known. Not only was Charles Shaugnessy a daytime vet (ex-Shane, DOOL; ex-Alistar; GH) and Nicholle Tom the sister of Heather Tom (ex-Victoria, Y&R; ex-Kelly, OLTL; Katie; B&B), but star and creator Fran Drescher was such a fan that she cast Eric Braeden (Victor, Y&R), Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki, Y&R), Stephen Nichols (Patch, DOOL), Lauren Koslow (Kate, DOOL), Maree Cheatham (Stephanie, SFT), Lesley Anne Down (Jackie, B&B), Lane Davies (ex-Mason, SB; ex-Cameron, GH), Christopher Rich (Sandy, AW), Ian Buchanon (ex-Duke, GH; ex-James, B&B, ex-Greg, AMC), Brian Bloom (ex-Dusty, ATWT), Sean Kanan (ex-AJ, GH; ex-Deacon, B&B) and Joan Collins (ex-Alexandra, GL), among others in various roles throughout the series' six seasons.

Less well known, however, is that co-star Daniel Davis, who played the oh-so-English butler, Niles, not only hailed from a Southern US state (Arkansas), but also appeared on a daytime drama about one - Texas!

In addition to guest shots on primetime shows as diverse as Cheers, The A Team and Highway to Heaven, Davis spent 1980-1982 as Texas' Eliot Carrington, heroic Vietnam vet and dupe (to be fair, who wasn't?) of Iris Cory. She'd let him believe and almost singlehandedly raise their son, Dennis, only to later reveal that the boy was actually Alex Wheeler's biological child.

To watch Eliot deal with Iris' betrayal, tune in to the AOL/PGP Classic Soap Channel's broadcast of Texas! (It will make a nice birthday gift for the actor, who turns 62, today!)

Thursday, November 22, 2007

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

As The World Turns and Guiding Light are preempted this Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

But while others are glued to the football games on TV, you can still get your fix of P&G soaps via the web!

Check out Another World, Edge of Night, Search for Tomorrow and Texas on the AOL/PGP Classic Soaps Channel!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007




GL: THANKSGIVING FLASHBACK PART #2

Cooper festivities: 2004. Rick (Michael O'Leary) and Mel were on their way to splitting up, Blake (Elizabeth Keifer) and Ross (Jerry ver Dorn) were still together, and Marina (Mandy Bruno) was dating a reformed mobster (Paul Anthony Stewart) instead of a reformed jewel thief.

Ah, memories....

ATWT: THANKSGIVINGS PAST PART #2

Oakdale 2004: Aaron (Agim Kaba) recovers from a boxing-induced brain injury with Alison (then-Jessica Dunphy), Nancy (Helen Wagner), Lily (Martha Byrne), Emma (Kathleen Widdoes) and a tiny Luke (Christopher Tavani) and Faith (Cassidy Hinkle) by his side.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007


ATWT FLASHBACK: THANKSGIVING 2005

My how they grow... Check out Parker, JJ, Sage, Natalie and Faith Snyder a mere two years ago....

GL: THIS TIME LAST THANKSGIVING...

Happy (almost) birthday, Sarah Randall!

Monday, November 19, 2007



LOOK AT ME NOW

ATWT's Jennifer Landon (Gwen) joined the show in 2005 and, in less than three short years (and two Daytime Emmys), has managed to sport a variety of different looks.

Check out our pictures above and let us know which one is your favorite!
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: JAMES LIPTON (EX-DR. DICK GRANT; GL)

In the Big Apple, he intended to pursue a career as an attorney, but the acting he did to pay for a law education eventually became his trade. He later wrote for several soap operas, including "Another World" and "Guiding Light," a soap he also starred on.

Read more here.

Meanwhile, what I want to know is, was Dr. Grant a relative of the other Grants -- David, Gilly, Vivian and Dr. Charles, who arrived in Springfield in the 1990s. Long-lost cousins, perhaps?

Friday, November 16, 2007


THANK HEAVEN FOR GUIDING LIGHT!

Mandy Bruno (Marina) , Marcy Rylan (Lizzie) and Gina Tognoni (Dinah) will be among the guests visiting Hanna Storm and Dave Price on The Thanksgiving Day Parade on CBS .

(Check local listings for showtimes).

Thursday, November 15, 2007


ACTOR APPEARANCE: RON RAINES (ALAN; GL)

Ron Raines (looking a lot less scary than he does above) will appear in a performance of Broadway by Request at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, California, on Friday, November 23 at 8:00pm, Saturday, November 24 at 2:00pm and 8:00pm and Sunday, November 25, at 2:00pm and 7:00pm.

For more information and tickets please visit
www.mccallumtheatre.com .

ATWT: DADDY KNOWS NOTHING

Brian Delate appears as Maj. McLane and has some words for Noah (Jake Silbermann) on Tuesday, November 20. That same day, Daniel Hugh Kelly returns as Col. Mayer and has an intense confrontation with his son and his son's boyfriend, Luke (Van Hansis).

Make sure you tune into As The World Turns next week to watch!
PROBLEMS VIEWING AOL/PGP CLASSIC SOAPS VIDEO?

If this is your error message: C00D1197: Cannot play the file
Windows Media Player cannot play the file.

You might encounter this error message for one of the following reasons:
  • Your computer is not connected to the local area network (LAN) or to the Internet. Connect to the network or Internet, and then try again.
  • The path to the file is not valid. If you typed a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in the Open URL dialog box, verify that the file name is spelled correctly and that the path to the file is correct, and then try again. If you clicked a link on a Web page, the link might not be valid.
  • The server is not available (for example, the server is busy or not online). Try again later.
  • Some network protocols in the Player are not enabled. Enable all network protocols, and then try again.
  • The proxy server settings for the Player are not configured properly. Verify that your proxy settings are correct, and then try again.
To enable all network protocols
1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Networktab.
2. In the Streaming protocols area, select all the protocol check boxes.

To verify your proxy server settings
1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Networktab.
2. Verify your settings in the Streaming proxy settings area.
http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html#morehelp- Support on Windows Media Player

Q: Where do I find information about how to get actual support on WMP?
A: I do not track this area and cannot presume to speak upon it. The options I know about are the Microsoft support site, the Do It Yourself options, and then actual player support options. But my investigation here should be deemed amateur at best. You may find other/better support options - these are simply the ones I know about offhand.

One important thing to note is that product support helps let the product teams know what needs to be fixed - they have more say than someone like me does. So while alerting me to your problem seems productive, it's actually quite not. If you really care about the issue, take it to product support.

Q: I don't want to go through support for some reason.
A: Your other options are:
1. The actual Microsoft support site. Search for more information on your issue.
2. The "Contact MS" page.
3. Deja's UseNet archives (now known as Google Groups), where you can look for previous answers to your questions. This is hugely useful - don't underestimate or overlook this vital Internet resource.
4. Official WMP9 and WMP10 FAQ
5. WMP information (FAQ, troubleshooting, etc)
6. Win98 WMP FAQ
7. The WMPSDK on-line.
8. All official Windows Media FAQs.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: PETRONIA PALEY (EX-QUINN; AW, EX-VIVIAN; GL)

Ensemble Studio Theatre proudly announces the World Premiere of
On The Way to Timbuktu, a new play written by and starring Petronia Paley, directed by Talvin Wilks. Performances begin December 6 as a limited engagement through December 21 only. Ensemble Studio Theatre is located at 549 West 52nd Street (between 10th & 11th Avenues).

"Dr. Selene Slater-Bernaud, also known as Slim, teaches a class scrutinizing Shakespeare's sonnets titled The Poetics of Race…The Politics of Beauty. After years in a caring interracial marriage, she finds herself in love with a female student. Grappling with personal demons that threaten to destroy her, Slim's past and present collide as she confronts the poetry and politics of her heart," explain press notes.

More, here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: JULIANNE MOORE (EX-FRANNIE & SABRINA; ATWT)

What were the highlights of appearing in a daytime soap?

I was happy with the fact that I didn’t have to work in a restaurant any more and that I got to act every day.

Read Julianne's entire interview, here.

DOUBLE BUBBLE

Cast members from As The World Turns and Guiding Light will participate in the first ever Daytime Fights Pancreatic Cancer event on Thursday, December 6 from 7:00-10:00 PM at Blondies, located at 212 W. 79th Street in New York City.

Cost is $25.00 at the door and all proceeds will go to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.

Organizing the event is As The Worlds Turns director Sonia Blangiardo.

Talent scheduled to attend include Martha Byrne (Lily), Jennifer Landon (Gwen), Grayson McCouch (Dusty) and Guiding Light’s Rob Bogue (Mallet), Frank Dicopoulos (Frank), Beth Ehlers (Harley), Ricky Paull Goldin (Gus) and Gina Tognoni (Dinah).

Please visit
www.soapoperaweekly.com for more information.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

TEAM TEACHING

Wikipedia was created to give everyone a chance to spread the word about their passions.

Check out these fan generated entries on Another World, Edge of Night, Search for Tomorrow and Texas, then view actual episodes on the AOL/PGP Classic Soaps Channel!

And if you feel so motivated, add some info of your own!
THE SON ALSO RISES

(Jesse) Harris' name has been in the media lately more than usual because of his involvement in the 2006 film "The Hottest State," which was written and directed by Ethan Hawke (who also played a role in the film). Harris not only wrote the songs for the film, he played a bit role, as a singer-songwriter, and composed the score.

You might think Harris had to submit 50 resumes or knock on a thousand doors to get such a gig, but you'd be wrong.

He just had to pick up his telephone.

"Ethan Hawke approached me about it — he needed songs for the lead female character in the film," Harris said. "She's a songwriter so he needed original songs. He called me up and that was the first order of business regarding the film. But he also said 'There's a small part you could play and your character would be performing too, and also I need score music and I need a soundtrack.'"

The end result was that Harris' songs were sung in the film by an impressive array of artists, including Cat Power, Bright Eyes, Feist and Willie Nelson.

Harris said that acting in the movie, which was released on DVD this year, was "a bit nerve racking" because it "was an indie film, so they didn't have much time. They'd set up the shot and we'd go. Two takes and they'd move on."

The singer-songwriter grew up knowing about acting. If you need a bit of trivia to tell at parties, make note of the fact that his mother is actress Marie Masters, who has played the long-running role of Dr. Susan Stewart on the soap opera "As the World Turns."

It's music that's Harris' priority, though.

Read entire article, here.

Monday, November 12, 2007

YOU DON'T KNOW JACK!

ATWT fans know Michael Park as loyal, stalwart, upstanding, still-shocked-every- time-Carly-lies-to-him, family man Jack.

But check out this pic of the other Michael Park, star of Broadway's Smokey Joe's Cafe.

Jack could learn a thing or two from this guy....



"HARLEY" WORKING

A photographic peek back at the many looks of Guiding Light's Harley Cooper (Beth Ehlers), with a special, Irna Phillips bonus from GL's 70th Anniversary episode.

Friday, November 09, 2007

EDGE OF EAGLES

From 1979 until the show went off the air in 1984, Dennis Parker played Police Chief Derek Mallory on The Edge of Night.

Also in 1979, Parker recorded the disco song, Like An Eagle. Watch him performing in the music video, here.

But, fair warning: it was 1979. With all the costume, hair and production choices that implies.

And to see Dennis at his day(time) job, check out The Edge of Night on the AOL/PGP Classic Soap Channel!

MATH TEST

One thief + two cops = a pair of stolen hearts.

You do the math.

Only on Guiding Light.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: SUSAN KEITH (CECILE; AW)

On the latest AOL/PGP Classic Soaps Channel episode of Another World, Rachel is horrified to learn that her son, Jamie, has married Cecile, a woman Rachel believes is only after Jamie's money and position (in other words, a girl exactly like the one Jamie's dad married lo these many years ago; after she'd divorced the man she'd initially cuckolded into believing he was Jamie's father and broken up dear old dad's marriage to the love of his life. Ehem).

AW's first Cecile was played by Susan Keith, who'd previously portrayed Samantha on OLTL (teen Sam eventually married the much, much older Asa, though Keith wasn't playing her by then). After AW, Keith spent 10 years playing Loving's Shana, a woman with a tendency to fall for unavailable men. A married cop with post-traumatic stress issues. A Catholic priest....

Luckily for Keith's personal life, the married cop was first played by James Kiberd. The actors wed in 1986 and, in 1989, Kiberd began playing Trevor on AMC.

Since leaving Pine Valley in 2000, Kiberd briefly filled in as Hal on As The World Turns. He has also focused on his career as an artist and as a Unicef Ambassador.

Susan Keith is a bit harder to track down. She seems to have retired from acting. In 1998, a Susan Keith-Kiberd wrote into TheStreet.com wondering about the capitol gains tax on her IRA.

If this is indeed the former Another World star, we can presume she is hard at work managing the family finances, so that Susan Keith never ends up like Cecile -- her inheritance gone and desperately searching for another meal ticket.

G_IDI_G _IGH_

Gina Tognoni (Dinah) will appear as a contestant on the celebrity edition of Wheel of Fortune, airing on Friday, November 16.

Check local listings for show time.
ONE FOR FIVE

Even being the mom of quintuplets doesn't stop one fan from watching her favorite shows:

Naps are taken from 1-3 p.m., leaving mom with two hours to clean up the kitchen, eat her lunch and relax — ever so briefly.

“I watch my soaps,” she said.

There are two she doesn’t like to miss — “The Bold & the Beautiful” and “As the World Turns.” Even that is timed.

Read her entire Herculean schedule, here.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

WALSH WONK

Ryan Serhant, the latest Inturn winner, debuts on As The World Turns today in the role of Evan Walsh IV.

So who, you may well ask, was Evan Walsh III (or the Second and First, for that matter)?

James Evan Walsh III arrived in Oakdale in 1990. He was the grandson of James Walsh, Lucinda's late husband. Evan and his sister, Conner, believed that it was Lucinda's take-over of Walsh Enterprises that led their father, James II, to commit suicide. (For those keeping score, Lucinda's first husband, Martin Guest, Lily's adoptive father, also committed suicide. Obviously putting up with Lucinda can push even the heartiest of men over the edge).

Evan briefly dated Rosanna Cabot during her I-may-be-a-stinking-rich-heiress-but-I-prefer-mucking-
out-stinking-stalls-on-the-Snyder-farm phase (thank goodness she eventually got over that). Rosanna dumped Evan for Mike, and Evan retaliated by getting the mechanic in trouble with his parole officer.

Evan's next love interest was Barbara Ryan (proving, once again, that she and Rosanna must have something in common, for men like Evan, Craig, James and, to an extent, Paul, to be drawn to both of them; for those wanting to take the comparison further, Evan also had a one night stand with Emily). Barbara convinced Evan to give up the straight-laced life of a businessman and search for his true passion in life. Evan responded by signing up for the merchant marines and setting sail out of Oakdale in 1995.

Presuming he met a girl in the very next port, Evan Walsh IV should be 11 years old right about now. However, to be fair, we don't know for a fact that this isn't a son he father before arriving in Oakdale -- and just neglected to mention.

In any case, Evan the son comes to town as a hot-shot research scientist, top of his graduate school class and the youngest one in it, to boot. He's a friend of Chris Hughes, looking to use Bob's doctor son as Evan's entree to doing some cutting edge biotechnology wonk-work at Memorial Hospital.

How will the Hughes' family react to the 22nd century crashing in on them in the form of Evan Walsh IV? Tune into ATWT every day and find out!
SAY MY NAME!

Several fans have written to mention the crisis that is Guiding Light's Coop and Ashlee's lack of cute, combined nickname.

A few have been bandied about, but nothing has stuck yet. So, for your consideration, here are some ideas. Vote below on which is your favorite:

Cashlee
Asher
Coolee
Or, my personal favorite, though it does take a bit of thinking about: A-lee-Oop.

Let us know what you think!

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

ATWT: PRE-HOLDEN PERIOD

With Lily (Martha Byrne) and Holden's (Jon Hensley) marriage once again on the rocks, and the mother of four seemingly drifting back to her first love, Dusty (Grayson McCouch), now is a fun time to remember that not only was Holden not Lily's first lover, but he also wasn't her first husband, either.

That honor belongs to Derek Mason, as played by Thomas Gibson (above), formerly of Dhama & Greg, now starring in Criminal Minds.

Derek wed Lily while plotting with his father to kill the blushing new bride for her money. Of course, as happened to everyone in Oakdale during those days, Derek fell in love with Lily and tried to get dear old Dad to call off the scheme. Dad didn't, and Derek died in an explosion meant for Lily, trying to protect her.

Lily survived, but was badly burned enough to leave town for a while seeking plastic surgery. She returned a few months later with a new face. And several inches taller. It was that Lily (actress Heather Rattray) who actually wed Holden. For the first time.

Monday, November 05, 2007


TELEVISION AND THE ASIAN-AMERICAN WOMAN

The blog AfterEllen.com writes

Network TV used to have an unwritten rule that there could only be one Asian American woman, if that, in a leading (or even prominent recurring) role on TV at a time. Or in a few-year span....

But a few years ago, something happened — more specifically, Lost and Grey's Anatomy happened, or maybe common sense just finally kicked in — and we began to get three or four Asian American women in regular roles on network TV shows. Then last season, it was five.

And the networks discovered something odd: people of color tuned in, and the white people didn't stop watching. In fact, ratings even went up on some of the shows. (Gee, maybe this whole diversity thing isn't such a bad idea, after all!)

Now, going into the 2007-08 season, we're looking at a record seven shows with prominent leading or supporting roles on primetime network TV (eight if The CW renews Smallville).... The short-lived Vanished took Ming-Na with it only a few months after it debuted last fall — but if Ming-Na has proven anything over the last 20 years, it's that she has more lives than all the stray cats in Manhattan.

Read the entire post, here.

Last week, Ming Na (ex-Lien; ATWT) finished up a multi-episode arc on the CBS sitcom, Two and a Half Men.

What was most interesting to me about it was that her character was judged to be all wrong for childish philanderer Charlie (Charlie Sheen) because she was mature, professional, intelligent and a single mom. Her being Asian never came up once.

The script, presumably, was written for a white actress, then cast with the fantastically talented Ming Na, color-blind style. (I've always suspected that Ming Na's breakout sitcom role on Jonathan Silverman's The Single Guy was also originally written for a white actress. Her sharp-witted, sarcastic Trudy was so different from how any other Asian-American woman on television had been written up to that point, it was hard to imagine the part was conceived with a Chinese actress in mind).

Click here to read about Ming Na's commitment to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Ming-Na never imagined that a real health crisis – breast cancer – would strike so close to home.

“Vivian is one of my closest friends and godmother to my daughter,” says Ming-Na, who has played Dr. Jing-Mei Chen since ER’s sixth season. “When she told me she had breast cancer I was in shock because she’s young, and she had no family history of the disease.”

The Vivian she refers to is Vivian Gundaker, ATWT's producer.

Ming Na is pictured above left with Michael Louden as Duke, and right with Andrew Kavovit as Paul and Scott Defreitas (now Mr. Maura West) as Andy.

A FAN REMEMBERS ANOTHER WORLD

I shouldn’t tell you this, but from 1971 until 1980, I was hooked on the soap opera “Another World” and absolutely enthralled with the actress who played Carol Lamont (I forget her name) and Beverly McKinsey, who played the evil Iris Carrington. I started watching it when I was working nights at the New Haven Register, and just by accident — it came on after the World Series, or maybe before, it was a long time ago. In those days, it was only 30 minutes but later, when I was in New Jersey and writing a column for the Herald News of Passaic, it was an hour long, starting at 3 p.m. Fortunately, as a columnist, I made my own hours, so I was nearly always at home to see Iris battle Rachel over Mac, Iris’s dad, whom she had wanted to marry Aunt Liz because she could control her. Nobody could control Rachel, except maybe Steve, but he was killed in a helicopter crash in Australia while he was married to Alice but then, when they got a new Alice that nobody really liked — including the viewers — they brought Steve back from the dead but by that time, his brother Willis was in town and working with Carol Lamont to take Frame Enterprises away from Alice. To this day, I have no idea what Frame Enteprises did.

To read the entire column, click here.

And to watch Another World on the AOL/PGP Classic Soap Channel, click here.
HOME VISIT

Shirley Biere, 60, has been watching "Guiding Light" for 40 years. So imagine her surprise upon opening the door to her College Hill home Friday to find actress Marcy Rylan, better known as Lizzie Spaulding on the CBS soap opera, standing on her front porch with a bouquet of flowers.

Complete story, here.

Friday, November 02, 2007

SHOP AND DO A GOOD DEED!

GL's Robert Newman (Josh) and Nicole Forester (Cassie) talk about the show's charitable activities at nonprofitshoppingmall.com!

Thursday, November 01, 2007

BOO!

Halloween may be over, but those looking for an extra creepy chill should check out Episodes #8707 and #8708 of Search for Tomorrow on the AOL/PGP Classic Soaps Channel.

TR Sentell (Jane Krakowski) is being stalked by a would-be robber who has already knocked out the family servant (the guy was initially in on the robbery, then changed his mind) and is now getting ready to cut TR's throat... all the while singing about it.

Spooky stuff.




THROUGH THE YEARS

ATWT's Agim Kaba assumed the role of Holden Snyder's first-born son in 2002. He played the part until 2005, then returned in 2007.

Please enjoy our photographic look back at Aaron Snyder's evolution from teen rebel without a cause, to adult knight in shining armor.

(If you turn it into a flip book, you can actually watch his hair grow and shrink right in front of your eyes).
WRITE TURN

The international best-selling suspense, romantic and paranormal novelist Maggie Shayne will give a talk and book signing on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at SUNY Cortland's Memorial Library.... She has written for CBS daytime dramas "Guiding Light" and "As the World Turns." One of Shayne's novels, Eternity, was optioned for film.

More here.