Look, I loathe Paul Rauch. He's a loathsome guy. And I'm not saying his Y&R is good or bad. But Y&R's quality is irrelevant to this issue. Chris Engen refused to play a storyline. He refused to play gay. He broke contract. That's on him. Not mean old Y&R.

He probably can't say anything until his contract expires, as well as work professionally again until that contract officially expires...

EXACTLY! For all we know, he'd love to be able to tell his side of this hot issue story.

This whole situation has exposed the online soap community for what it is: a mean, nasty, inbred small town. This is Mayberry and Nelson is Clara Edwards running around spreading gossip. "I hear sumpthin awful happened down at Maria Bell's place! I heared that Chris Engen didn't want to kiss another man and runned off into the woods!" Now everybody is coming into Floyd's barbershop giving their two cents, "I knew he was no good!" "What do you expect from his kind?" "I hear he hates kissing black women too!" Aunt Bee (Perez) is fanning herself in shock that something like that could happen here in this day and age all the while loving the attention. Sheriff Taylor is trying to get the townsfolk to see reason but that's hard to do with Goober screaming "Homophobe!" at the top of his lungs. And Barney Fife is still looking for his bullet.

Mt. Pilot is looking pretty good right now.

LMFAO!! This deep thread needed this! Thanks!

Well, here is the rub. The Engen story could also be a show-planted tale, designed to cast Engen in the worst possible light, to justify replacing a popular actor. I'm not saying that...I don't even believe that...but I'm saying that without independent sources, we'll never know. MAB might be giving NB an interview because NB ran with her story about Engen.

The two go hand in hand and yes, ^^ it does happen.

Look, I loathe Paul Rauch. He's a loathsome guy. And I'm not saying his Y&R is good or bad. But Y&R's quality is irrelevant to this issue. Chris Engen refused to play a storyline. He refused to play gay. He broke contract. That's on him. Not mean old Y&R.

He refused to kiss another guy(which is still just a rumor), that's not the same as refusing to play gay IMO.

What magazine was that, SteveFrame?

Daytime TV magazine. It was one of the first really good magazines dedicated to soaps - maybe even the first.

It started with yearly special editions in 1966, and went to a monthly thing in 1970. They started a fan monthly poll in 1970 that became the most looked to authority in daytime for years as to who was and was not popular. They started yearly awards in 1971. They ran through the early 90's, never becoming tabloidish but the weekly magazines and stuff became so popular by then that sales dropped and they shut down.

He had a massive collection of memorabilia that his son sold off at auction after his death, and a lot of it has been showing up on Ebay the last six months or so. Most of it has gone a lot higher than I can afford to pay.

I used to have every edition of the magazine but lost them all in a "flood". I am slowly trying to buy some of them back on Ebay but lately I keep getting outbid on them.

I am trying to put all the ones that I buy on SoapsWEB. I scan a few pages at a time and post them. Right now I am posting 3 different editions from 1969 and 1970.

He refused to kiss another guy(which is still just a rumor), that's not the same as refusing to play gay IMO.

Whatever. The point is, he refused to play a story as written and walked out on a contract. If this was any other twist, we'd decry the actor's lack of professionalism. Because it's a gay storyline and mean old Y&R, everybody wants to pretend he has a point.

I know I will be told the two situations don't apply because one is more important of a performer than the other, but I have to ask anyway.

All we ever hear in talks about Victoria Rowell is that Y&R was so mean to her or that Y&R writers didn't know how to write her. So she had to tell them how to write her.

And she has gone on about that at times too.

Why was it not expected that she should just act what was given to her. Why was she not just have to do what was given to her? she is an actor drawing a paycheck after all.

I think that Engen did act very bad walking out like he did and acting up on the set with the calling in sick and all. Yes that was unprofessional behavior.

But so was what Rowell did and so was what Jess Walton did. Walton is said to have pretended to be sick by some sources and didn't go in to work.

I mean there is a lot of unprofessional behavior to go around here. If we are going to call one on it then lets call all on it. I'm sorry no matter how many years you have on a show there is no excuse for unprofessional behavior.

Daytime TV magazine. It was one of the first really good magazines dedicated to soaps - maybe even the first.

It started with yearly special editions in 1966, and went to a monthly thing in 1970. They started a fan monthly poll in 1970 that became the most looked to authority in daytime for years as to who was and was not popular. They started yearly awards in 1971. They ran through the early 90's, never becoming tabloidish but the weekly magazines and stuff became so popular by then that sales dropped and they shut down.

He had a massive collection of memorabilia that his son sold off at auction after his death, and a lot of it has been showing up on Ebay the last six months or so. Most of it has gone a lot higher than I can afford to pay.

I used to have every edition of the magazine but lost them all in a "flood". I am slowly trying to buy some of them back on Ebay but lately I keep getting outbid on them.

I am trying to put all the ones that I buy on SoapsWEB. I scan a few pages at a time and post them. Right now I am posting 3 different editions from 1969 and 1970.

I have the Y&R special edition "Library series" from 1976, and WOW was there stuff in that! Interviews with all the cast, the makeup people, the costume people, every damn body. He was a thorough journalist, I'll give him that. I LOVE reading all that stuff, though.

I have the Y&R special edition "Library series" from 1976, and WOW was there stuff in that! Interviews with all the cast, the makeup people, the costume people, every damn body. He was a thorough journalist, I'll give him that. I LOVE reading all that stuff, though.

He interviewed everyone to do with soaps back in the day. I've seen some of the stuff that was auctioned off in his collection and he had notes from interviews with costumers, wardrobe people, and so much more.

He didn't just report soaps, he studied them.

And he and his staff could get interviews that no one else could get. One of his reporters is the one that got the very last interview with Virginia Payne from Ma Perkins. I think it was about 2 weeks before she died. Many had tried, but it was them that got it.

I loved that his mags didn't favor any particular show either. He covered them all equally. They would do more specialty magazines for the more popular shows in the 80's like Days and GH but the others even got those too.

SOD going bi-weekly and then Soap Opera Weekly are what really did the monthly mags like his in. They couldn't get scoops on stories and stuff like the others and good mags were put out of business. And then SOD went from soap opera journalism to soap opera tabloid and that is all we have left now.

Victoria Rowell exited the show the normal way; she voiced her concerns, but played material, and left at an appointed time. What's more, she had years of experience and credit to her name to allow her to be vocal about her discontent; she may or may not have been very difficult, but she had paid her dues and then some for many, many years on the show of hard work and dedication. Chris Engen is a newbie who held up work, called in sick, and acted up to avoid playing standard soap material, then broke contract. There is no comparison.

Edited May 25, 200916 yr by Vee

Victoria Rowell exited the show the normal way; she voiced her concerns, but played material, and left at an appointed time. What's more, she had years of experience and credit to her name to allow her to be vocal about her discontent; she may or may not have been very difficult, but she had paid her dues and then some for many, many years on the show of hard work and dedication. Chris Engen is a newbie who held up work, called in sick, and acted up to avoid playing standard soap material, then broke contract. There is no comparison.

I agree.

Edited May 25, 200916 yr by detroitpiston

So, uh, what happened while I was away?

I knew that is what the answer would be.

I guess things are only applicable when some people say they are.

And I guess you can only crucify certain people on gossip and inuendo alone.

And I guess if you have been around long enough you can act unprofessional and it doesn't matter.

Whatever

I knew what it was going to be. I just wanted to see it in black and white. I love how you can be a fan favorite and you can get by with whatever you want.

Edited May 25, 200916 yr by SteveFrame

OMG This is the thread that refuses to die!

Everyone, move on! Engen is out, Michael Muhney has started taping and I'm going to watch the new Adam with a lot of interest(particularly as the new guy has such a good reputation in the industry).

God, I hated that show...

Who says the smiley is about the show?

As much as I think that everything that could be said has been said,I have to comment about posters talking about straight friends who are cool with the whole gay thing,but do not want to kiss a guy.

What has that got to do with anything?What would a straight guy be expected to kiss another guy?

CE was asked to do it as part of his employment as an actor,where you are often asked to do things out of your real life experience.For whatever reason,it seems he wasn't prepared to do it.

The two situations are exclusive of each other.

It is interesting that some straight guys are so freaked out by this,when it is a customary greeting in many European countries.

It is a learned behavior.

I have straight male friends who are happy to kiss me,when we meet.So everybody is different.There are also gay guys I know,who expect to kiss everytime we meet,and I don't feel comfortable with that expectation,because I don't feel close enough to them.

I hope this thread has made us all think and clarify our positions.

Too often,we have opinions that we [erhaps haven't thought through clearly and haven't had to justify.