@GL Oldtimer 

29:25 start of segment talking about MZ being written off GL.

7 hours ago, MLH said:

Wow! During lunch today, I started watching the storyline Michael Zaslow had on One Life to Live and who do I see with Dorian, but Kim Zimmer! LOL 

It just occured to me that Michael Zaslow and Kim Zimmer were both on One Life to Live in 1983. I was never a ABC soap viewer so I wouldn't know if their characters interacted.

36 minutes ago, GL Oldtimer said:

Second, I have a question about Michael Zaslow. When exactly was he fired from Guiding Light? The way that I understand things is that he left before he had a diagnosis of what was wrong with him. I was always under the assumption that his departure was only going to be temporary. I'm assuming that he took some sort of medical leave with the hopes of getting better and returning. Am I right to assume that is what happened initially - he was initially not fired but went on a medical leave?

I'm guessing that he was then fired at some point when he was on leave. Did he have a diagnosis yet when Guiding Light fired him? 

Decades later, the whole thing still makes me so angry and sad. I can't imagine what it was like for Michael and his family. I just remember feeling such a void when he left Guiding Light. I pretty much stopped watching the show after that. It was never the same for me.

No, you are operating under some false impressions. Zaslow went to them, armed with finally, his diagnosis. That is when he asked them to write his ALS into story. That is when the writing team jumped into action, quickly brainstorming how they would put Holly back into his orbit & how she would see him through this final challenge. 

And, that is also when someone made the decision that they would not do this & Paul  relayed that to the team & to Zas himself. And, that is also when MADD uttered that awful quote.

Subsequent to this he was out at GL & he sued them & it was settled out of court but we at least know he did get some money out of them. 

And you know the rest. 

51 minutes ago, GL Oldtimer said:

Second, I have a question about Michael Zaslow. When exactly was he fired from Guiding Light? The way that I understand things is that he left before he had a diagnosis of what was wrong with him. I was always under the assumption that his departure was only going to be temporary. I'm assuming that he took some sort of medical leave with the hopes of getting better and returning.

Possibly you're mixing up what happened when Chris Bernau left with Zaslow's departure. 

What you say here is extremely close to the story the show put out when Bernau left--that he had (an unnamed) health issue, that he was leaving the show temporarily, that he would return as soon as it was resolved. They stuck to that story for a long time after he left, even though they likely knew he had AIDS and was never going to return. 

Zaslow, once he had a diagnosis, was very vocal about it, while Bernau was not (understandably, because of the stigma surrounding AIDS back then).

58 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

 

I think his marriage to Elizabeth was like that in a sense. My memory is kind of foggy here, but I seem to recall that Elizabeth was raised by a rich uncle who had mills or factories in New England, and that's part of the reason he married her. So you might be right about that.

(Come on, he always thought he was free to have affairs, even when he was married to Hope. 😁 He cheated on Reva, his "great love," with Blake and Sonni.)

I don't know much about Elizabeth's background, but she hardly seems like his type. So I couldd see money being a motivating factor.

True enough. lol In one sense, it's a decent use of Vanessa and Reva's history. It's natural and well-established. But then again, it always stops just short of where it should, because Vanessa's now too much of a lady to really let Reva have it. 

Speaking of that tramp---after Phillip throws Alan out of Spaulding, she's got the nerve to go on about how the Lewis' always use her. I know it's the scabs, but it's like GTFO. 

Here is a copy of the original TV Guide Story from August 1997 -- as you can see @GL Oldtimer's timeline was correct according to contemporary reporting.  However, the narrative of compassionate creative brainstorming followed by executive override is pure fiction. It’s fan revisionism dressed in confident tone. The TV Guide article says nothing of the kind. In fact, the only creative team mentioned is One Life to Live—specifically:

“On July 17, he met with the show's executive producer, Maxine Levinson, and head writer, Claire Labine...”

There is no mention of a meeting with GL’s writers. None. Not even a suggestion that the GL team considered integrating his condition.

Also, worth noting, this article was written before Mr Zaslow filed his lawsuit.  One imagines there were dozens of hungry civil attorneys eager to litigate the suit once the “wizened” quote was published.  You’re talking about a named senior executive at one of the most powerful corporations in American media, giving a nationally distributed, on-the-record statement that describes the actor’s physical state in explicitly negative, ageist, and prejudicial terms during the exact period when the actor was disputing his termination and had filed a grievance, is printed in TV Guide, which at the time had a circulation in the tens of millions. It’s almost comically self-incriminating.

Because there was no trial, there were no depositions, no internal memos made public, and no witness testimony under oath, so anything suggested about the production staff at GL is purely conjecture.

HE'S DOWN BUT NOT OUT
By Michael Logan

Here's one of the wilder soap developments in memory: Guiding Light's
Michael Zaslow (Roger), who has been kept off the show for months due
to a debilitating undiagnosed illness, has been making plans to return
to work--in his old role on One Life to Live!

But fans of the beloved, Emmy-winning star shouldn't get
excited. Just as OLTL was expecting Zaslow's name on the dotted line,
his agents nixed the gig.

Zaslow caused the GL audience great concern early this year when he
began to show signs of trouble -- weight loss, slurred speech, and
facial dis-figurement that suggested he may have suffered a stroke.
For weeks he gamely remained in the role as doctors put him through a
variety of tests, but his continued deterioration became impossible to
overlook. In April, GL's production company, Procter & Gamble, asked
him to take a 13-week hiatus to focus on getting better. They replaced
him with soap vet Dennis Parlato, announcing to the press that they
fully expected Zaslow to return.

Though neither Zaslow nor his agents will comment, the star is
report-edly furious with P&G and is claiming he was fired. On June 23,
he filed a grievance with his union, the American Fed-eration of
Television & Radio Artists.

We did not fire him," says P&G day-time chief Mickey Dwyer-Dobbin. "We
asked him to take a sabbatical and, dur-ing this time, we have been
paying him a small stipend." She says that Zaslow asked to have
his disability written into the show.

But Dwyer-Dobbin says: "Roger is a powerful, active, sexual,
multicolored villain. That's who we need him to be on the GL canvas.
We do not need a wizened little old man. And that's what he would have
to play in his condition. It really hurts me to have to say that, but
all I can do is wish Michael all the best. My heart truly goes out to
him."

The actor, who may be gearing up for a whopper lawsuit and looking to
prove that he's employable, sent word to OLTL that he is eager to
work. On July 17, he met with the show's executive producer, Maxine
Levin-son, and head writer, Claire Labine, who admits they were
reduced to tears during the emotion-packed powwow. They offered him a
three-day stint as David Renaldi, the character he played from 1983 -
86. (To explain Zaslow's condition, they planned to reveal that
Renaldi had been injured in an avalanche.) Labine, who wanted Zaslow
on-air September 1, says: "We were very moved by Michael's courage and
forthrightness and his willingness to do this role." Adds Levinson:
"He feels he can be inspiring, and we quite agree."

Why Zaslow's agents killed the deal is a mystery. At one point they
told OLTL they weren't sure if he is contractually free to take the
job. But P&G has no objections. Says Dwyer-Dobbin: "We're not going to
stop him if he wants to do this ."

Edited July 15Jul 15 by j swift

47 minutes ago, j swift said:

Here is a copy of the original TV Guide Story from August 1997 -- as you can see @GL Oldtimer's timeline was correct according to contemporary reporting.  However, the narrative of compassionate creative brainstorming followed by executive override is pure fiction. It’s fan revisionism dressed in confident tone. The TV Guide article says nothing of the kind. In fact, the only creative team mentioned is One Life to Live—specifically:

WOW.

So they basically treated him almost the same as they did Bernau!

The difference is, Zaslow didn't stay quiet about it.

I'm putting a double curse on Dwyer-Dobbin. Saying her heart went out to him didn't make what she said any less loathsome. 

Also infuriating is this quote appeared, not in a soap magazine, but in TV Guide. Most people didn't read soap magazines, but almost everyone had TV Guide back then. 😡

I am trying really hard to remember if ABC and NBC ever treated actors who became ill this way. Maybe I'm totally wrong, but it seems like it was only CBS.

Edited July 15Jul 15 by DeeVee

Mr. Zaslow’s team likely turned down the One Life to Live offer in August 1997 because he had just filed a grievance against Procter & Gamble for wrongful termination. Accepting a new acting job so soon could undermine his legal claim of lost wages and professional harm. Declining the role helped preserve the integrity of his case.

Which is why he waited until the settlement with P&G before he took the OLTL offer.

28 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

I'm putting a double curse on MADD. Saying her heart went out to him didn't make what she said any less loathsome. 

If it makes you feel any better, although MADD was later promoted within the corporate production framework, her quote remains one of the biggest blunders in employment civil law history.  She said that he was unemployable due to a disease, but made no effort to compensate him for termination.  That's HR 101, and printing her statements in TV Guide (thus implying that he could not be employed elsewhere) was just language Mr. Zaslow's lawyers to get a settlement within weeks that was reported in The New York Times and elsewhere.

In the Times coverage of the settlement, there was no mention of any plans to return Roger to Springfield in the form of Mr. Zaslow after January 1997, otherwise he would not have won the settlement.  Thus, any stories about him meeting with the GL team and getting fired directly by "Paul" should be filed as fanfic that is easily disproven.

Edited July 15Jul 15 by j swift

MADD and everyone thought they could get away with the way they treated Zaslow. It really is unconscionable. From reports, it seems they fired Fiona Hutchison for speaking out. Didn't GL also pull the same thing with Joseph Breen when his HIV status was revealed?  Let's not forget they were livid that Beverlee McKinsey abided by her contract and left the show. As she said in her interview with Logan, they wanted to retaliate for her doing that. Nasty group of people.

9 minutes ago, chrisml said:

MADD and everyone thought they could get away with the way they treated Zaslow. It really is unconscionable. From reports, it seems they fired Fiona Hutchison for speaking out. Didn't GL also pull the same thing with Joseph Breen when his HIV status was revealed?  Let's not forget they were livid that Beverlee McKinsey abided by her contract and left the show. As she said in her interview with Logan, they wanted to retaliate for her doing that. Nasty group of people.

Breen was at ATWT at that time.

6 hours ago, j swift said:

 However, the narrative of compassionate creative brainstorming followed by executive override is pure fiction. It’s fan revisionism dressed in confident tone.

In the Locher Room tribute Maureen Garrrett specifically relates taking Zas to the writers' room & saying, "Talk to this man." and them doing so & mentioning their idea of setting Holly up for taking care of Roger, etc. So, just because one account says one thing, I guess there can be more than one true account, huh?

And, who here can explain to me what in the hell "fan revisionism dressed in confident tone." even means? Of course, you say tone to me about written communication & that's an immediate red flag to me. I thought we were all pretty much in agreement that in text only communication it is next to impossible to correctly assess tone! Apparently I am mistaken & we don't all think that. Live & learn. 

6 hours ago, j swift said:

If it makes you feel any better, although MADD was later promoted within the corporate production framework, her quote remains one of the biggest blunders in employment civil law history.  She said that he was unemployable due to a disease, but made no effort to compensate him for termination.  That's HR 101, and printing her statements in TV Guide (thus implying that he could not be employed elsewhere) was just language Mr. Zaslow's lawyers to get a settlement within weeks that was reported in The New York Times and elsewhere.

In the Times coverage of the settlement, there was no mention of any plans to return Roger to Springfield in the form of Mr. Zaslow after January 1997, otherwise he would not have won the settlement.  Thus, any stories about him meeting with the GL team and getting fired directly by "Paul" should be filed as fanfic that is easily disproven.

I know personally I have talked many times about how we've never been in a position to know who made the decision, only who supposedly relayed the information. So, perhaps a re-reading of "fanfic" is called for.

Edited July 15Jul 15 by Contessa Donatella

6 hours ago, DeeVee said:

I am trying really hard to remember if ABC and NBC ever treated actors who became ill this way. Maybe I'm totally wrong, but it seems like it was only CBS.

Well, ABC & Poor Treatment: Ellen Holly at OLTL but it had zero to do with health. 

Another CBS/P&G Joe Breen at ATWT. I'm pretty sure getting fired when your HIV+ status was outed, would count. And, did he ever work again as an actor?

Do we want to count ABC/Disney at GH Sean Kanan if we consider body image a health item, and bullying & fat-shaming him?

Trying very hard to think, NBC/P&G/AW Sharon Rose Gabet & problems when she was pregnant? Was there something about Laura Malone?

Then, ABC/Disney/GH, wasn't there something about Carly #3?

Just spit-balling. 

Spoiler

 

@GL Oldtimer This dumb tablet won't let me edit who I send this to. Sorry in advance. In the book, Michael started seeing a speech therapist right after he started freaking out about him noticing a change in his speech. Michael agreed to a cut in pay to get fewer scenes to lower his anxiety. He asked them to incorporate his speech issue into his storyline. Michael was fired before being diagnosed & told him to keep quiet. The show lied & said he was on medical leave. Thankfully, social media made it possible for him to finally tell the truth.

The show stopped all communication with Michael Zaslow after he was let go and stopped paying him. Michael had a horrible illness and no pay.  He had to fight back. It just made me mad that the actors didn't team up and say how they were treating Michael was WRONG!

 

Edited July 15Jul 15 by MLH

On 7/13/2025 at 7:46 PM, P.J. said:

So Annabelle suddenly becoming psychic because she moved into a house wasn't a masterstroke of storytelling? (and that's about all I watch of that story, other than cringing at Tony's karate fight with Susan Piper's cohort.)

Funniest line all week here, although we're not particularly saying fun or funny things, still ... a serious chuckle!!!

54 minutes ago, MLH said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

@GL Oldtimer This dumb tablet won't let me edit who I send this to.

You always have the option of ignoring what automatically pops up in the quoting business the software does by typing in who you want to "send to". You just type the @ symbol before their username & if it works right a list of possible usernames pops up for you to choose from. I'm often amazed at how different interfaces are when on my computer, compared to my phone, compared to my kindle/fire tablet. And, I vastly prefer my computer but it doesn't fit in my purse. 

54 minutes ago, MLH said:

Sorry in advance. In the book, Michael started seeing a speech therapist right after he started freaking out about him noticing a change in his speech. Michael agreed to a cut in pay to get fewer scenes to lower his anxiety. He asked them to incorporate his speech issue into his storyline. Michael was fired before being diagnosed & told him to keep quiet. The show lied & said he was on medical leave. Thankfully, social media made it possible for him to finally tell the truth.

Well, as far as I am aware, fans have talked about this, often, a lot & from pretty early on, so some version of it got told long before online was considered social media. I often see people bemoan the fact that we didn't have social media in the good ole days but we did have Compuserve, Usenet, AOL, Prodigy, Delphi, GEnie, WOST & NVN and then a horde of standalone web message boards. I get it that it's not the same thing but they were vehicles where fans could talk to other fans.