@Contessa Donatella  Yes. I guess this was the beginning of the message forums when he got to tell his side. I wish there more from Michael's perspective in the book. I wish we could see the original posts.

10 hours ago, j swift said:

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 ."

Actually Zaslow's agents did NOT kill the deal. Guiding Light refused to let him out of his contract. Dwyer-Dobbin basically lied when she said "We're not going to stop him if he wants to do this."

P&G refused to let him out of his contract while litigation was going on. At the same time it was Robin Strasser who was working with Zaslow & the ABC brass to get him back on OLTL. She was outraged by what happened and lobbied to get the ALS story on OLTL. It was only when Zaslow reached an out of court settlement with P&G did they release him from his contract.

By that time Jill Farren Phelps had replaced Maxine Levinson as EP of OLTL, since JFP & Zas had a great working relationship at GL, JFP was eager to get him on the show and pursue the ALS story. 

3 hours ago, Contessa Donatella said:

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?

I heard a few years ago he was working on a documentary about living with HIV/AIDS, but the website for the project no longer exists.

25 minutes ago, TheyStartedOnSoaps said:

By that time Jill Farren Phelps had replaced Maxine Levinson as EP of OLTL, since JFP & Zas had a great working relationship at GL, JFP was eager to get him on the show and pursue the ALS story. 

Got to give her credit for that. Apparently, "friend of..." really means you're a friend of Jill's. 

Edited July 15Jul 15 by DeeVee

9 hours 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.

I think FH quit, but it was because she was being punished and not given any screen time, etc..I remember a quote that she said she did not want to just stand in the back "Hanging balloons at the Bauer BBQ"  (I think they loved the BBQ as it gave them a chance to burn off actors quarantees.)

This is one of the reasons I love Bev screwing them and kind of like Zimmer holding them to their contract terms. You created this Reva/Zimmer monster  while putting everyone else on the backburner..deal with it.

27 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

Got to give her credit for that. Apparently, "friend of..." really means you're a friend of Jill's. 

She IS loyal...and she likes guys...difficult ones even which Zaz could (rightfully) be, and she would not take half that from a woman.  That is why I wonder how she and Zimmer worked those few months..THAT would be a soap!

 

1 hour ago, TheyStartedOnSoaps said:

Actually Zaslow's agents did NOT kill the deal. Guiding Light refused to let him out of his contract. Dwyer-Dobbin basically lied when she said "We're not going to stop him if he wants to do this."

P&G refused to let him out of his contract while litigation was going on.

OMG!!!! They wouldn't let him work. He sued them. They KEPT HIM FROM WORKING ELSEWHERE!!! IOW, they held him to contract terms that they were not fulfilling, correct? And, this happened in our lifetimes & NOT IN A SWEAT SHOP.  I swear. 

6 hours ago, Contessa Donatella said:

And, who here can explain to me what in the hell "fan revisionism dressed in confident tone." even means?

If you are honestly looking for help, I would suggest that you reread the responses of @Errol, Toups, @carolineg, @Vee,  @TEdgeofNight, and @slick jones.  Or anyone else who has consistently objected to your use of gossip dressed up as truth.  Your inability to understand the difference between primary sources and fan speculation is absurd, given the amount of people who seek to correct your record of misinformation.  

This was a corporate employment dispute between a unionized actor and a multinational sponsor-owned production company. The fabrication by Donna completely misrepresents how this industry works. This was an expensive liability situation, not a hobby theater workshop. They weren’t casting Our Town. They were navigating a crisis with massive financial and reputational stakes.

But, let's get down to brass tacks: Donna isn’t just being provincial, she’s operating in a cultural frame that soaps encouraged: personal drama over structural reality.  She read—or more likely heard about—the article secondhand, filtered it through years of sentiment, and produced something that feels emotionally true to her, but is canonically false.  One Google search for the original article from Michael Logan. And suddenly, all these confidently told tales—"Paul" Rauch whispering in corners, writers ready to write for Holly, MADD as just the messenger—collapse like bad scenery. 

What Donna is doing—again—is substituting dramatized retellings for factual record, and responding to genuine grief from longtime viewers with condescension disguised as clarity. It’s not just misleading; it’s arrogant. If you’re going to ‘correct’ people, the least you could do is cite a source that exists.

Whereas, I’m not here to argue. I’m not working off vibes. I posted the actual source. Full stop.

Contessa Donatella's Post – Misstatements and Corrections

CLAIM:

“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...”

CORRECTION:
There’s no mention in the TV Guide article of the GL writing team brainstorming a return storyline.
Instead, Dwyer-Dobbin confirms that Zaslow requested the ALS be incorporated—but that P&G refused:

“Roger is a powerful, active, sexual, multicolored villain… We do not need a wizened little old man.”

No development was initiated. It was a flat rejection, not a writers' room session.

CLAIM:

“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.”

CORRECTION:
The quote did come from MADD—Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin herself—not secondhand through “Paul” or intermediaries. It was given directly to TV Guide:

“It really hurts me to have to say that, but all I can do is wish Michael all the best.”

Contessa's framing suggests plausible deniability or removed bureaucracy. The article shows a direct, public-facing decision, with attribution.

CLAIM:

“Subsequent to this he was out at GL & he sued them & it was settled out of court...”

CORRECTION:
That part is broadly correct, but timing matters. According to the article:

Zaslow was asked to take a hiatus in April.

He filed a grievance with AFTRA on June 23, 1997.

The lawsuit came later, after the article's publication.

So while not false, Contessa’s summary compresses the timeline and skips over P&G’s public claim that he was “not fired,” which was a central dispute.

Edited July 15Jul 15 by j swift

21 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

OMG!!!! They wouldn't let him work. He sued them. They KEPT HIM FROM WORKING ELSEWHERE!!! IOW, they held him to contract terms that they were not fulfilling, correct? And, this happened in our lifetimes & NOT IN A SWEAT SHOP.  I swear. 

The cruelty here is insane.

From what I understand of soap contracts, most are for a 2 -3 year term, where the actor can't leave until the end of that term, unless they negotiate an early release.

BUT, the show always has the option to let the actor go, usually at the end of every 13 weeks of their contract.

MADD said they had him take a 13 week leave while paying him a "small stipend."

So why not let him go at the end of it? Unless his contract terms were unusual, they were perfectly free to let him go.

I'm thinking even the "small stipend" thing had to be a violation of his contract. Maybe someone knows how these contracts work better than I do, but if they don't use you, my understanding is they are still obligated to pay you for whatever minimum amount of episodes you are guaranteed each week.

Whatever the case, this is SO bad. Absolutely vile treatment. 

So if anyone has wondered why I have certain persons on ignore, you don't have to wonder anymore.

@DeeVee & @TheyStartedOnSoaps I think you may have misread (or misremembered) the timeline from the Logan article.  Because, although P&G denied it until they were sued, he was taken off contract before July 1997.

April 1997: P&G asks him to take a 13-week medical leave. He’s already visibly deteriorating, and it’s affecting performance.  He later states in the lawsuit this is when he was effectively fired.  And his lawyers successfully argued that once P&G stopped paying his contract, it nullified their ability to expect exclusivity.

June 23, 1997: He files a grievance with his union AFTRA.

July 17, 1997: He meets with OLTL’s producers and writers. They're “reduced to tears,”

August 1997: His reps pull the plug on that appearance:
The article notes that his agents declined the offer. The likely reason is legal strategy: appearing on another soap immediately could weaken claims of financial harm in the lawsuit against P&G.  So, he wasn't kept from working by P&G, it was a smart move by his lawyers to protect his lawsuit. One could assume that P&G would've loved MZ to take a OLTL role for 5 weeks in August 1997.  Because, that would've proved that MADD's quote has no effect on MZ's employment.  But, that would've been logically bad for MZ's lawsuit for wrongful termination.

Mid-August 1997: He files suit against P&G, citing MADD's wild claim in TV Guide.

He ultimately appears on OLTL in 1998: After resolving the grievance (which reportedly ended in a confidential settlement), Zaslow returns to One Life to Live in 1998 for a limited, emotionally powerful arc.

Edited July 15Jul 15 by j swift

48 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

The cruelty here is insane.

The old adage about adding insult to injury springs to mind, although clearly not strong  enough. 

48 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

From what I understand of soap contracts, most are for a 2 -3 year term, where the actor can't leave until the end of that term, unless they negotiate an early release.

There can be one-year contracts. Also there can be "x" number of months contracts or even contracts defined by number of episodes, but that is much less common. But, yes, the presumption is that the contract works more in favor of the company & less in favor of the actor, although they do afford actors things like job security. The company is committing to salary & benefits because they want to be able to count on when they will have a given character guaranteed to be available to them. That way they can be confident of what they can write for many months ahead. So, they can plan.

And, yes, the other big factor is the work cycle. 13 weeks is a business quarter & long ago it is literally when shows got picked up, or not. People can have 13 week, or double, 26, or rarely a year. 

48 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

So why not let him go at the end of it? Unless his contract terms were unusual, they were perfectly free to let him go.

Indeed. It's really so ugly. But, I personally think it is important that fans know this perspective & attitude does not represent the actors, crew, staff, etc. that it is the bosses, management, P&G/CBS. When I learned that the GL writers were more than willing to deal with this, to me it was a relief. And, as I mentioned Maureen Garrett confirms that in the Locher room session kalbir cited upthread. 

I remember reading about the Tylenol tampering deaths & that the company became a teaching lesson for what TO DO in a business crisis situation. 

I wonder if MADD's infamous quote will be taught as what NOT TO DO. It sure should be. 

 

 

I can only go with what the book said and Michael was fired with just a very tiny stipend. He still was trying to figure out what was wrong with him (he had ALS brought up, but there still wasn't a final diagnosis). He personally said himself that the show was lying. 

Michael stayed quiet until he couldn't any more. 

Then he went to OLTL and GL wouldn't let him. 

I don't blame the show for re-casting him. But, how they treated Michael when he asked from the start for them to incorporate his illness into the show (he didn't care if it was cancer, stroke or whatever) and they flat out said no. That tells me that they were heartless.  How they reacted to his death and his character told me they didn't care.

Thankfully, his fellow cast mates and fans were better than the runners of the show.  They were the ones that took part in raising money for ZazAngles. It was about the kind people that paid for Helena and Marika's private school. It was the fans that took the time to write to Michael and give him encouragement. 

In the end, for me it was about Michael showing that it's about how you react.  Raising awareness and treating people with kindness. 

His wife should especially be given a lot of credit for the time and effort in keeping his memory alive and finding a cure. 

Edited July 15Jul 15 by MLH
addition to my post

23 minutes ago, MLH said:

I can only go with what the book said and Michael was fired with just a very tiny stipend. He still was trying to figure out what was wrong with him (he had ALS brought up, but there still wasn't a final diagnosis). He personally said himself that the show was lying. 

I think it is excellent that you bring content from the book into this thread.

23 minutes ago, MLH said:

But, how they treated Michael when he asked from the start for them to incorporate his illness into the show (he didn't care if it was cancer, stroke or whatever) and they flat out said no. That tells me that they were heartless.  How they reacted to his death and his character told me they didn't care.

Thankfully, his fellow cast mates and fans were better than the runners of the show.  They were the ones that took part in raising money for ZazAngles. It was about the kind people that paid for Helena and Marika's private school. It was the fans that took the time to write to Michael and give him encouragement. 

Attended some of the fund-raisers. So many talented people participating!  One in a large traditional auditorium, like a large high school, with almost 100% capacity!! So many people. 

23 minutes ago, MLH said:

In the end, for me it was about Michael showing that it's about how you react.  Raising awareness and treating people with kindness. 

His wife should especially be given a lot of credit for the time and effort in keeping his memory alive and finding a cure. 

To me the most notable thing was that before I didn't have any particular criticism of MADD. That changed like day to night of course.

In Michael's book he makes it very clear P&G used every legal means to STOP him from appearing on OLTL.

In the book the family writes that it wasn't Zas that pulled the plug on him appearing on OLTL, it was P&G who held him to his contract.

During lunch, I was able to find some original posts in 1998. I wanted to see people's reaction while the show was still airing. I found out that Fiona was very outspoken about wanting his illness incorporated into Rogers storyline. That on OLTL, he had scenes I haven't seen on YouTube. In fact, it's even harder to find full episodes of that soap for me. So now I am on a mission to find those scenes.

I also learned that he and Susan were on Good Morning America in July 1998.

To answer about Kim Zimmer, she and Michael had no scenes together in 1983 on OLTL. She did with Dorian though.

@Contessa Donatella That is so awesome that you were able to attend some of the fundraisers!  

 

Edited July 15Jul 15 by MLH

Guiding Light really missed the boat - the storylines possiblities were endless. Think of all the great PR Guiding Light could have gotten by incorporating an ALS storyline on the show

Holly being torn between an ailing Roger and her husband Fletcher with a new baby, Roger using his illness to manipulate those around him, exploring Blake being caught in the "sandwhich" generation, maybe throwing Lillian in the mix as Roger's new care-giver and clashing with Holly or Blake, and Roger sitting back stirring the pot. 

They threw that all out the window.