Santa Barbara Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

Thanks. That's fascinating. I'd never seen her. She's very pretty. I'm surprised she didn't have more acting work.

[amybrickwallace]

You're welcome. As I understand it, she wanted to concentrate on her music - recording and then touring. Stacy was on SB in 1992 - I think she even might have been on in the last episode.

Turning back the hands of time, going back to the beginning of SB's run in 1984, Kelly and Joe had a true ally and friend in the form of La Mesa waitress Sally Taylor (Maylo McCaslin). Her last appearance was as a bridesmaid in Kelly and Joe's wedding in 1985.

Maylo McCaslin went on to marry (and many years later divorce) Eight is Enough and Charles in Charge star Willie Aames. During their marriage, they co-authored a book called Grace is Enough and went on Today to promote it. Now Maylo goes by her newest married name of Anderson, is a yoga instructor, lives near her grown daughter in the Kansas City area, and seems to have no regrets leaving show biz behind.

In the book, she didn't name names, but mentioned that while she was on SB, she was doing coke with one of the show's makeup people. She was able to get through her scenes fine and no one was the wiser. On her FB page, she had nothing but kind things to say about the two people she had the lion's share of her scenes with - Robin Wright and Dane Witherspoon. Maylo said they were both wonderful to work with and were very nice to her. She also said that Robin had that wild sense of humor even back in those days.

Here's a review and cover art of the book. Sadly, it was not long after this book was published that Maylo and Willie's marriage fell apart. It's still an interesting read, however - especially how Maylo escaped from horrific neglect from her mother and sexual abuse from her mother's boyfriend. It's a miracle that she lived not only to tell the story, but how she went on to LIVE.

http://www.titletrakk.com/book-reviews/grace-is-enough-review-aames.htm

Here's her most recent bio as a yoga teacher:

http://lifespringmedspa.com/staff/maylo-anderson/32557/

Here she is as Sally Taylor opposite Dane Witherspoon as Joe Perkins on SB, 1984:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS2It78v2Wg

...and here she is with now-former husband Willie Aames on TODAY back in 2008:

http://www.today.com/id/22681734/ns/today-today_news/t/willie-aames-wards-demons-armed-robber/#.UxBLY50o5jo

[antmunoz]

Maylo McCaslin's father, Taylor Pero, was Lana Turner's personal assistant for years. He wrote a very unflattering bio of his life with Lana, released after Lana trashed him in her own autobio.

[amybrickwallace]

Yeah, Maylo mentions that in her book - that her dad was gay and he was Lana Turner's assistant, sometimes he took Maylo along when he would go to Lana's house. I didn't know that the two trashed each other in their respective books, however. I didn't even know that Maylo's dad had even written a book.

[amybrickwallace]

Someone recently posted the episodes leading up to Amy Perkins Wallace's tragic demise in 1986 - IN ENGLISH!!!

Wednesday, September 10, 1986 (3 parts):

Please register in order to view this content

Thursday, September 11, 1986 (3 parts):

[amybrickwallace]

Carmen Zapata (Carmen Castillo) got a notice in the "In Memoriam" segment of the Oscars last night. (Sadly, she passed on only two days after A Martinez's real-life mother - and ironic.)

A had this to say about the tribute on his FB page: "It was a beautiful picture of a most gracious and beautiful woman."

[DRW50]

I didn't know she'd played his mother.

[amybrickwallace]

Yeah, but another actress was hired to play Carmen when Ric (Peter Love) was on the scene, so she'd look younger. (Ridiculous!) Carmen Zapata did come back to reprise the role at least once before the show went off the air for good.

Here's a very touching scene between Mama Castillo and her son as they get ready for his wedding to Eden in 1988:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJwqKmwHmK4

[Dr Neil Curtis]

Was Gordon Thompson or Terry Lester the more successful Mason after Davies?

[Khan]

Others might disagree, but I think TL made for a better replacement (even if Davies was the "once and future Mason"). But I also think all three men had chemistry with Nancy Lee Grahn (Julia).

[amybrickwallace]

Which is no mean feat!!! (Why did TL leave, anyway? Was it his choice or was he fired?)

[amybrickwallace]

Has anyone ever read the 1987 book Soap Opera Babylon? There's a blurb about Kerry Sherman (Amy):

Kerry Sherman, who created the role of Amy Perkins on Santa Barbara, recently became the soap world's latest single mother - and hardly suffered a single moment's doubt or anxiety over her decision. Even though Kerry and her boyfriend, cameraman Jack English, aren't married, Kerry's pregnancy wasn't accidental. "Like many women my age," says Kerry, who's over thirty, "I had gone after a career, not a family, but then I realized I didn't want to miss out on motherhood. And I'm glad I didn't. Erin's father and I have been living together for four years, and we've agreed that if we should split up, our daughter Erin will remain with me. So far, marriage isn't something we've discussed. I don't really think about it."

Kerry worked on Santa Barbara all through her pregnancy, and shortly before Erin's arrival in 1985, the other actresses on the show organized a baby shower for her. "But the men got very upset that they were excluded," laughs Kerry. "They said, 'This is 1985 and we want to be invited, too!' So the men all chipped in and bought a crib for the baby - then they tried to storm the celebration!" Santa Barbara's head writers, Jerome and Bridget Dobson, sent Erin a pair of mink booties (with a note saying that it's never too soon for a girl to start wearing mink!) and the show's producer, Mary-Ellis Bunim, let Kerry install a crib in her dressing room so Erin could come to work with her.

"Everyone on the set adores Erin," says Kerry, "especially the single women who've never had children. Some of the actresses fight over who gets to hold her next. I can't help laughing when they come into my dressing room to play with her, and she throws up all over their cashmere sweaters. Judith McConnell (Sophia) is great with her, though. She'll say, 'Kerry, the baby's crying. Let me take her. I know how to make her feel better.' And I'll laugh and say, 'OK, Judith, knock yourself out!'"

Even Kerry's mom, 1940ish film star Peggy Ryan, has accepted Kerry's decision to stay single. "Jack's family and mine would have preferred us to be married," admits Kerry, "but they know this is our choice and they respect it. Actually, Judith Anderson (who plays Minx Lockridge on Santa Barbara) is the only one who's upset. Dame Judith calls Jack up all the time and says, "So when are you going to propose to her, young man? I think it's high time you two got married, you know!"

Dame Judith Anderson?!

Can this possibly be the same woman who's one of the most renowned stars of the English-speaking stage? Who, as Medea and Lady Macbeth, gave new meaning to the term "blood-curdling?" Turns out even if she is a WASP - and a dame to boot - she's really just a Jewish mother at heart.

P.S. Kerry Sherman and Jack English did eventually marry, and are still together. They are the parents of three children: Erin, Kate and John. (Funny that her real-life son and fictional son on SB shared the same name!) Now she is a family counselor in Burbank.

Erin posted this photo of her dancing parents (from 2012) on her Twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/EnglishErin/status/206965798462427137/photo/1

Edited March 7, 2014 by amybrickwallace

[NothinButAttitude]

AmyBrickWallace posted some videos on here already but that channel has a ton of SB videos:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrxYdoAi62t91ixzIayGI7A?feature=watch

So does this one too but make sure you watch the ones with ENGL in the title.

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3jq7uJ2aZH03JYheLDLbAw?feature=g-subs-u

[amybrickwallace]

Those are both great channels, but I wish I could find more of Amy and Brick in English.

[DRW50]

July 1992 Digest.

What a horrible pose, photo...everything.