Contessa Donatella

Any time anyone asks me about Lipton as a soap writer, I reply telling them how remarkable he was as the host of INSIDE THE ACTORS' STUDIO & add that in his book INSIDE INSIDE Chapter 8 is devoted entirely to actors who worked on soaps. For some time I've had a request in at SOAP WORLD wanting a copy of the SOAP OPERA WEEKLY 9-15-2009 issue "Guiding Light Collectors Edition" & I finally have it & will be posting from it. First, an overview of the headlines: Looking Back at Our Town Through the Years Roger Thorpe Holds Ex-Wife Hostage, Falls Off Cliff Reva Lewis Drives Off Florida Bridge Blackout Darkens Springfield Town Races to Restart Lighthouse Lighter Times Maureen Bauer, Wife and Mother, Dies My Two Mommies Find Love It's Triangle City! New Bride Killed In Hit-And-Run Hometown History Springfield Yearbook The Four Musketeers We Knew Them When ... With These Rings ... A GL Wedding Album and the final page with a letter from the Weekly Editor who did this edition & pictures of the radio cast in 1947, the radio cast in 1950, Alexandra & Henry in 1991, Ed & Mike & Bert in 1977, Billy & Vanessa & HB in 1984, and the entire cast & crew on the last day in the studio on 8-7-2009. Hope this will be fun!

I just this second got a notification about her in the bottom right corner of my screen & I've got to go find out what is up!

Very true but also right after Mulcahey was pushed out there was dead silence for months! Only recently have they begun to actually deign to speak to us common people. And, I'm not at all sure what they're saying is effective.

In this she talks about Tom Donovan. For starters he was at LIAMST. Then he went to GH & talked her into auditioning for Monica. Then, things got hairy & he had quit GH & moved on! So, when she needed him, at GH, he was long gone. The way she tells it, it's pretty funny. Oh, yeah, she joins the legions of actors to describe the truly awful working conditions at GH BITD. Interesting factoid: Her family gave her 3 months to find a job in her chosen profession, which was acting. She barely made the deadline.

Oh, thanks. Interesting.

I found myself wondering if Stephanie was being funny, but, ... it just doesn't sound like her.

This is amusing if looked at in a certain light. But, basically, it's a competition to see who can set this bar lower? Or really I mean lowest.

I would suggest if they wrote Marty better, they'd be nicely surprised at the results.

Uh, they're submitting their best episodes, which is arguably what any show should always do. Is their strategy involved? Sure. It's a strategy any show could employ.

Yep. Saw. Also love the actor. I'm critical of GH for not being as good as it could ... I'm proud of GH for everything they get right. Tracy & Carly, cannot wait.

You have to admit that it is really something when you have a set that can be your neighborhood sports bar OR Prague!!! I am finding it difficult to give a flying puck about Cyrus Reneau. I just hope that Felicia, Joss & Liz are safe. Of course, this is so. The other day GH fandom did 2 things. They judged Willow & they cheered Tracy on. Then yesterday, Sonny proved to be the worst negotiator that has ever lived. He gave everything & in return he got ... a maybe. Now, today, absolutely everyone is in love with Jane Elliot. Plus, Steve Burton acted! And, if Jason is the cause then all the better. You know, Tracy has never liked Carly. Despite this, I am hoping for a rapprochement.

Excellent choices by DAYS & there are plenty of losers that were shown last year.

Yes, I thought of Bobbie's funeral immediately. But, was Gregory's good enough? What about the ChaLynn wedding?

Believe it or not, it's better. Jane & Steve today, WHOA!! And, the press site finally has new episodics up for yesterday.

https://www.tvinsider.com/1171067/general-hospital-changes-storylines-2025-writers-interview

I hope we find out what 3 episodes each submitted!

They ran a scroll announcing full episode beginning at 8 eastern.

Russell, M. (1995). Days of Our Lives: A Complete History of the Long-Running Soap Opera. McFarland and Company, Publishers, Ltd. ISBN 0-7864-0112-5 beginning on page 56 This is a Bill Hayes chapter. Bill Bell is speaking: "You can't write in a vacuum, you can't create story for an actor who doesn't give you something in return. The writers conceive the characters, but the actors bring them to life. And some actors have brought their characters to vivid life, creating more than the writer ever hoped. One prime example is the character of Doug Williams, crafted by Bill Hayes. There's no question but that Bill Hayes has not only made the character come to life, but has also become very popular with the audience. He's really quite a unique character among all of daytime largely because we've incorporated his singing talent into the show. However, as this character gestated over many months, what has emerged bears only slight resemblance to our original brainchild. This is in no way a criticism because due to the casting of Bill Hayes we now have a much more faceted character than originally planned. However, over the months I think we all became a little carried away with this character, your head writer being no exception. We had something very delightful, charming, and unique, and we played these qualities to full advantage. But in the process we tended to forget that Doug is essentially an opportunist, a very likable and lovable one to be sure, but nonetheless a man who is dedicated to feathering his own nest, a man who you can never be certain is completely sincere, that you want very much to believe and believe in. These are the qualities that make a Doug Williams so potentially devastating." Bill Hayes speaks: [After crediting the writers with collaborating with him] "Bill Bell was wonderfully creative about Doug. I wrote him a letter describing Doug as I saw him, and he wrote back and talked about Doug as he saw him. And I remember one thing that I wrote to him, which was so wonderful about Doug--you never knew if he was helping a lady across the street and being nice or unhooking her brassiere as they went across the street. You never really knew. And as long as he had that quality, he was wonderful to play." Bill Bell speaks: [After mentioning Doug's rogueish charm he went on to speak about his singing talent] "I was there for that casting (Doug's) and Bill Hayes came in. I had adored him going back to Your Show of Shows and I could not believe it was the same Bill Hayes. And it took me six to nine months to have him sing. People didn't sing much that way. But I thought that music, if used prudently, could have a lot of impact. And if you remember when he sang to Julie, 'The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,' that was electric." Frank Parker speaks: "Bill Hayes is one of my favorite people. I miss him so much. I miss listening to him sing. In the original wedding of Roman and Marlena, when Wayne was playing Roman, Bill sang a great song. It was magic." Bill Hayes speaks: "What they did was to write in the song, not just as entertainment ever, but as part of the show. And it always made a comment on either Doug or Julie's plot or somebody else's plot and it was great. The only songs that we repeated were those that Columbia owned, such as 'I'm a Believer,' 'The Look of Love,' 'The Last Train to Clarksville.' But they owned those so it didn't cost as much money. And, fortunately, 'The Look of Love,' was a terrific song and we got to use that frequently. And it was a wonderful part of the show. People loved the singing." The author speaks: Doug and Julie stayed apart as long as Bill Bell remained head writer, but when he left DAYS to create Y&R , the decision was made to marry the two characters. A dazzling wedding was planned. Bill Hayes shares: "The first marriage of Doug and Julie, those were our [Bill & Susan's] wedding vows. They wanted to know what we wanted to use. The producers & the writers asked us, and we said, 'Why don't we use what we wrote, what we used to get married? And, of course, they couldn't do the whole thing, it was too long. But do you think Susan was acting that day? When Doug and Julie got married? That was not acting. That was total involvement." The author again: And that involvement mesmerized the fans. Bill Hayes has proof, Bill Hayes again: "Do you know how many people came to our [Doug and Julie's] wedding? People sent us snapshots. They took off work the day we got married. And they got dressed up, and they would set up a card table with champagne & doilies. And the ladies wore hats, and they came all dressed up, and they came to our wedding. And when we got married, they announced that we would have a reception at NBC, and there were about 4,000 people out there that day. They had a big cake and champagne for everybody. They were out in the midway, like a driveway. That is where it was. And we finished shooting the show--it took us a long time--and they just waited out there, and they watched. They showed the wedding on monitors. And then we came out, and we were all dressed up, and they threw rice, and they came to our wedding. It was a national experience."

We had been talking about the fact, going by spoiler/previews, that Jason was about to make a decision that would 'let Sonny down' & what if it gave him a heart attack. And, then, boom. Woah. Jane E so amazing today & Steve B stepping up. YES! Plus, the continued "Monicaness" of so much dialogue. Carly MUST get on the phone to Diane & get her underway challenging this health care proxy!!!!!

GH Daily Drama podcast with Steve Burton & Bradford Anderson, a Tribute to Leslie Charleson, and it's a podcast they did with her 5 years ago. They give this great introduction, which she acknowledges & then she slightly alters her tone & says, "Now, go to your room." Yes, I'm gonna love this.

I truly do not understand this newish thing where fans demand that actors share their grief. It's lunacy. It's rude. It makes no sense.

Oh, darn. But, sure, I can laugh that I made that mistake. Yeah, like obvi, E, no, didn't even occur to me. D'oh! The joke's on me!!! 😲🥴

It just makes me think instead of these are the days of my life, ... these are the UGH days of my life.

RIP Linda Nolan of the Nolan Sisters https://www.msn.com/en-ie/health/other/brave-linda-nolans-final-days-from-worrying-symptom-to-peaceful-passing-surrounded-by-her-side And, I totally freaking love this song.