The final Guiding Light cast photo

[RoseVioletDaisy]

Zoom-ins:

Top row, left to right: Kim Zimmer-Reva Shayne, Robert Newman-Josh Lewis, Crystal Chappell-Olivia Spencer, Jessica Leccia-Natalia Rivera, EJ Bonilla-Rafe Rivera, Marcy Rylan-Lizzie Spaulding

Bottom row, left to right: Beth Chamberlin-Beth Raines, Grant Aleksander-Phillip Spaulding, Daniel Cosgrove-Bill Lewis

From left to right across: Beth Chamberlin-Beth Raines, Grant Aleksander-Phillip Spaulding, Michael O'Leary-Rick Bauer, Daniel Cosgrove-Bill Lewis, Maeve Kinkaid-Vanessa Chamberlin, Kurt McKinney-Matt Reardon

Top row, left to right: EJ Bonilla-Rafe Rivera, Marcy Rylan-Lizzie Spaulding, Zach Conroy-James Spaulding, Tina Sloane-Lillian Raines, Jordan Clarke-Billy Lewis, Marj Dusay-Alexandra Spaulding

Bottom row, left to right: Daniel Cosgrove-Bill Lewis, Maeve Kinkaid-Vanessa Chamberlin, Kurt McKinney-Matt Reardon, Ron Raines-Alan Spaulding

From left to right across: Murray Bartlett-Cyrus Foley, Yvonna Wright-Mel Boudreau, Jeff Branson-Shayne Lewis, Lawrence Saint-Victor-Remy Boudreau, Karla Mosley-Christina Moore, Gina Tognoni-Dinah Marler

Top row, left to right: Orlaugh Cassidy-Doris Wolfe, Robert Bogue-AC Mallet, Mandy Bruno-Marina Cooper, Frank Dicopoulos-Frank Cooper

Bottom row, left to right: Caitlin VanZandt-Ashlee Wolfe, Bonnie Dennison-Daisy Lemay, Liz Keifer-Blake Thorpe

[Ann_SS]

What a waste of talented actors. Years and years of bad storytelling and bad decisions that led to the departure of much even more talented actors that eventually destroyed GL. They killed off Maureen and drove Beverlee McKinsey out. Kept the dreadful Bradley Cole over immensely talented David Andrew McDonald, fired Grant Alexandre and Rick Hearst. There is a special hell reserved for those people who treated Michael Zaslow like dirt at the end. P&G should be embarrassed.

[DRW50]

I thought Rick Hearst left GL to try his luck elsewhere. They recast him (and not too well) midstory.

I do agree with everything you said.

The cast photo makes me sad. Some of the best actors in the history of anything and yet they've spent most of the year playing second fiddle to horrors like Jeffrey, Marina, Mallet.

The one thing I'm grateful for is that characters I treasured like Billy and Vanessa were never destroyed by the writers. Unlike many other names who got me hooked on soaps, I can see them fade away with nothing but fond, happy memories.

[R Sinclair]

There were black people on this show?

[ian]

Why the hell wouldn't they wait to get all the returning vets in the pics with the cast? Ed, Holly etc... they WERE this show. Have them in there for christ's sake.

[bellcurve]

Wardrobe Provided By The Salvation Army.

Shocking enough, yes. And I'm glad you said black PEOPLE instead of black ACTORS. Obviously, Laurence St. Victor has shown us there is a difference.

[R Sinclair]

Oh, heavens! By the name, let me guess... he showed his pecs more than he show his acting talent.

And the reason I say that about the name is due to the fact that I created a character with the last name of St. John... and he's nothing more than a hunky piece of meat of a boytoy. I knew exactly what I was doing by naming him Saint Anything.

Anyway, I knew there used to be black ACTORS (Nia Long, Amelia Marshall...). But from the folksy, midwestern "feel" this show was trying to go for presently, I didn't expect to see anything non-Caucasian.

[Darn]

Okay, why has no one mentioned Jessica Leccia's head?

And why does Michael O'Leary's face look tighter than a drum?

[Guest dc cubs]

Jessica Leccia was photoshopped into this cast picture. This photo was taken within a day of when she gave birth to her daughter Ivy. She is very slim in this pic so it was an old picture.

Also, I'm not sure why but Justin Deas is not in the final photo. They could have photoshopped him in as well but on another board it was speculated that he doesn't do any publicity for the show.

[bellcurve]

Yes. And sadly enough, they didn't show those nearly as often to get us away from the fact that he was such a bad actor. Especially his first six months on the air.

Nia Long and especially Amelia Marshall were great actresses. People can say whatever the hell they want about Passions, but Marshall was really good on even that show.

And lest we forget Monti Sharp. I can't believe they had the nerve to replace him with Russell Curry, some guy who looked like he was old enough to BE David's father.

[Ann_SS]

LOL! Very true. He was pretty though. I thought he was tolerable in the Ava/Baby Max story. Killing the baby was the final straw for me with GL. I was done after that.

[Kubla Khan]

I'm assuming that Tognoni was photoshopped into this one too?

[UKBoi]

You can tell a lot of Photoshopping was done. It looks like they shot four separate groups, plus some other waifs and strays who could make it, and then pasted it all together. It still looks really nice, though...

And to make that inevitable comment...

That photoshoot clearly cost more to produce than the last year of Guiding Light did...

[JackPeyton]

good God Kurt McKinney <3! That man is sooooo nice to look at!

and Wow beth C! Work it girl! Cuz you got it!

[DRW50]

Victor St. Lawrence has been a lot better over the past year, even if that's not saying much.

Again, not saying much, but GL had more story for black characters this year than they had since probably somewhere around 1996. GL from the late 80s to the mid 90s always tried to keep up a strong black presence, even though Gilly and David were often misused and underused. Laibson/McTavish destroyed the Grants, but it was Rauch who seemed to put the real freeze on black characters, and that never really changed, minus a few tokens (Victoria Spaulding, the Boudreaux family where the only one we ever saw for more than a few days a month was Mel) even after he left.

I still get angry when I think about what they did to Gilly.