OLTL Tribute Thread

[danfling]

Here are pictures of actress Sharon Laughlin, the original actress cast as Victoria Lord.  She is appearing here in Dore Shere's One by One on Broadway.

Edited August 11, 2023 by danfling

[Soapsuds]

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[Vee]

I will have to dig through that. I wonder if they ever get into some of the BTS ups and downs of her second run, or if she was asked back. (The apparently true rumor that Gottlieb's regime considered recasting Gabrielle with someone like Eileen Davidson is wild.) Revisiting the Rauch era recently you get a real feel of just how relentless an engine of a character Gabrielle was, moreso at times than even Tina.

Edited August 17, 2023 by Vee

[danfling]

I absolutely HATED the character of Gabrielle.   I did not care the the actress, either.   I must post, in fairness, that had this actress played some other role, perhaps I would feel better about her.

The show, to me, made the character unredeemable when she stole Delilah's business after she had returned from being kidnapped and then returning to Rafe.  (I adored the characters of Delilah and Rafe.)

The show should NEVER have brought her back.    The character, was, a good mother to her son, though.

Edited August 17, 2023 by danfling

[DRW50]

I missed some of the start but they didn't really talk in the part I watched about her second run, just her first and her time at GL. She did say Gabrielle was her favorite character of the two because she was Gabrielle during such important times in her life. She also said that after she left OLTL the first time she would have to not cry around 1 and 2 PM each day because mentally she was trained to cry and cry while playing Gabrielle. When she went to GL she wanted to make sure she played a character who didn't cry (that didn't end up happening...).

She also talked a bit about just what it was like interacting with Andrea when she joined OLTL, as Andrea was a star and she was not. She mentioned Andrea not really wanting to share too much with her, and also not wanting to go and eat with her, as Andrea was in her own world and had an entourage (which Fiona teased her about a bit), but she did say that she learned a lot from Andrea about acting on the soap, about how you and the writers will eventually find the rhythms for your character, etc. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by DRW50

[Vee]

That's interesting. I was under the impression they became very close over the years IRL.

[DRW50]

That seems to be the case - I think for the interview she was just talking a lot about her early days knowing Andrea, and the world Andrea was a part of that Fiona wasn't yet. She also talked a bit about Andrea's funeral and how wonderful Andrea's husband was. I may have missed some of the other recollections as I came in late.

There's another interesting part near the end where she talks about how after being invited to see a play at the school where her kids were going, she was further invited to whip the theater department into shape as she thought it was dreadful.

[j swift]

Is she still married to John Viscardi (Father Tony)? 

One imagines that he is even more charismatic off-screen.  It was interesting to note on his IMDB that he has a writing credit for Guiding Light.

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[Franko]

Even in late 1990, when she's destroying Tina & Cord 3.0 (or 2.75, I guess) so she and Max can claim more security among the Buchanan clan, there's something so compelling. Talk about rooting for the anti-heroine!

[Vee]

She and Nicholas Walker were also scorching hot (as were she and JdP, but it was different).

I've always wanted to see NW's actual exit episodes - some of the online eps in fall '91 come very close to it, I think. I wanted to see how exactly they sent him out, and I wondered if he interacted at all with Susan Batten/Luna beforehand. I assume not. I know they picked up on the Lee Ann thing Rauch left them with a little bit just after James returned, but I don't know how long that lasted. Presumably not very long. Lee Ann incidentally is another character I thought you could've reintroduced for an arc at some point in the later years to give DG's Kevin and presumably Kelly some drama. But I also really just like Jason Webb a lot. Why they never seemed to commit to him in full with Dorian, with Lee Ann, with Marty I don't know.

Edited August 18, 2023 by Vee

[Franko]

Speaking of Dorian, she's been rather quiet as of late. I think her last memorable scene to date (so to speak) was when Viki told her to go to hell.

But hey, as long as we're watching every beat of Dan & Laura ...

Edited August 18, 2023 by Franko

[Vee]

Don't get me started. That chick is just unsettling to watch.

[chrisml]

Why don't I remember anything about the character of Laura? Hmmm. Must have been around the time I stopped watching for a bit.

[MissPalmer]

Oh my God!! I have a promo card pic with this first Viki....she is in a scene with Tony Ponzini.... I guess they taped maybe some episodes......

[MissPalmer]

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I have the pic in my own book about OLTL the early years....and the woman who is with A Ponzini (Vinnie) is the first Viki!!!!!! I guess they choose this pic for creating the promo card!