Jump to content

Who is Marlena? Connie Passalacqua Hayman, a.k.a. Marlena De Lacroix


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 23
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

  • Members

Thanks for sharing @Soapsuds!!

I miss the old columns and analysis that Marlena, Mimi Torchin, and that one person, PJ or something (I think it was PJ) did at SOW back in the late 90’s.

The next generation of soap columnists Jonathan Reineer, Daniel Coleridge, Nelson Branco and the folks at DC were insufferable to read and completely lackluster compared to their predecessors. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I did too. Besides the ratings that's why I would buy SOW.

Marlena said her column was very popular with buyers/subscribers.

She mentioned how a male EP In the 80s tried to get her fired from SOW. 

I wonder who it was. She didn't want to say who he was.

 

Edited by Soapsuds
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

For ratings I loved Michael Kape's SOAP OPERA NOW. He was the only one who actually did ratings analysis. He & Don West & Joanna .... something (I'm blank.) were co-editors of that Digest sized mag out of Atlanta. 

I adore Mimi. Also at Weekly I loved Mark McGarry. 

I don't remember anyone named PJ. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Was that when Corday declared war on SOW because they named the Gina and Submarine sex stuff as Worst Story of 1999 and was mad SOW kept pointing out the plummeting ratings?

 

I really wish I could remember what PJ’s last name was. For some reason I was thinking SOW but maybe it was another publication? 

Edited by soapfan770
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I hate to dig deep into the memory bank and my archive for that I thought I was going crazy.

Poor SOW. While I was primarily a SOD subscriber SOW was still fun to pick up and read in the mid-late 90’s to the early 00’s. After that it was downhill following the mag getting gutted and dumbed down.

It was one thing for SOW to feature Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy on the covers, I get it to an extent; but to plaster American Idol on the cover and also declare on the cover “It’s like a soap!!!” in lieu of the actual soaps was absurd and incomprehensible. I knew the end was nigh for the mag.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Did anyone else find it funny that she still refuses to name names?

I guess she respects the ethics of journalism.  Because if it was Ken Corday, (or any existing producer), there's little that they could do to her now.  And it is certainly not libelous to suggest that there were people in the industry that wanted her to be fired due to her opinions.

Also, have to admire how hard she still defends Passions.  I don't agree, but I admire her willingness to commit to a hot take. 

Finally, I don't recall it being a mystery who wrote the Marlena columns?  I thought she had a byline on most of her writing.  But, I guess it was kept a secret at first.

Edited by j swift
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I’m glad to hear that he’s well, I enjoyed his work and wasn’t sure whatever happened to him after disappearing from the pages of SOW.

If I recall from her own blog posts and her posts back in the day when she visited the SON boards that she had a very good rapport with and tremendous respect for Reilly himself. She just wanted Passions to succeed. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Correction, July 1991 to May 1995. JFP got the ratings up during her first year, but it also helped that ABC big three were tanking at various times during that year and Days was in their post-supercouple/pre-Reilly mess era. It will always disappoint me that the ratings during the Calhoun/Long/Curlee era did not reflect the quality of the show.
    • April 2025 Episode Rankings A total of 22 Episodes aired this Month Thanks as always @jcar03!  1.) Jacqueline Maclnnes Wood (Steffy Forrester Finnegan) : 17 2.) Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke Logan Forrester) : 14 3.) Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer) : 13 *.) Lawrence St. Victor (Carter Walton) : 13 5.) Thorsten Kaye (Ridge Forrester) : 12 *.) Tanner Novlan (Dr. John "Finn" Finnegan) : 12 7.) Murielle Hilaire (Daphne Rose) : 11 8.) Sean Kanan (Deacon Sharpe) : 10 *.) Annika Noelle (Hope Logan) : 10 10.) Kimberlin Brown (Sheila Carter) : 9 *.) Dr. Taylor Hayes (Rebecca Budig) : 9 *.) Laneya Grace (Electra Forrester) : 9 *.) Crew Morrow (Will Spencer) : 9 14.) Heather Tom (Katie Logan) : 8 *.) Lisa Yamada (Luna Nozawa) : 8 16.) Cassandra Creech (Dr. Grace Buckingham) : 7 *.) Sophia Paras (Kelly Spencer) : 7 18.) John McCook (Eric Forrester): 6 *.) Delon de Metz (Zende Forrester Dominguez) : 6 20.) Ashleigh Brewer (Ivy Forrester) : 5 21.) Ashley Jones (Dr. Bridget Forrester) : 4 22.) Don Diamont (Bill Spencer) : 3 *.) Lauralee Bell (Christine Blair) : 3 *.) Jennifer Gareis (Donna Logan Forrester) : 3 *.) Heidi Montag (Herself) : 3 *.) Spencer Pratt (Himself) : 3 *.) Markell Washington (Himself) : 3 28.) Romy Park (Poppy Nozawa) : 2 *.) Dick Christie (Charlie Webber) : 2 *.) Naomi Matsuda (Li Finnegan) : 2 31.) Samantha Cutaran (Nurse R. Rose) : 1 *.) Kitty Davis (911 Operator) : 1 *.) Emily Kasprzyk (Paramedic #2) : 1 *.) Jordan Jamal Mayfield (Paramedic #1) : 1 *.) Jake Osgood (Waiter) : 1  
    • Perhaps. But would anyone have wanted The Doctors to turn into what General Hospital ultimately became?  Dear God in Heaven...
    • Thanks @EricMontreal22 that must be one of the last issues. Probably the best soap magazine.
    • I can definitely see that airing the same week as The Love Boat colliding with an iceberg and sinking while crossing the North Atlantic on the Titanic anniversary with a “Who lives and dies?!” Promo next to Mr Belvedere being blackmailed over his wanted fugitive status back in the UK

      Please register in order to view this content

        Agree with you both. I am also going assume that while Hotel may had some big numbers the first 2 seasons BUT the demographics weren’t great. Reason I say this is I distinctly remember my parents watching St Elsewhere and/or The Equalizer after Dynasty.    I still don’t get Hotel’s designation as a primetime soap opera either lol. ABC should have aired Paper Dolls in the 10/9 slot on Wednesdays in the fall of 1984 to give that show some more legs.    Obviously ABC was eyeing a double bill night in the same vein as Dallas & Falcon Crest and that might have worked better than leaving Paper Dolls to the wolves in an untested timeslot.
    • I tend to stay out of EP discussions, simply because I rarely know who EPs when. And they all have their good and bad sides. But how are we supposed to judge JFP on anything other than what we see? I didn't know she was a director or a music director. (and unlike say, Chris Goutman, I never saw her credited as anything other than an EP) Specifically in the matter of casting Crampton, she took credit for it (or at Crampton gave her credit for it, whatever) and it was arguably, one of the worst recasts of the '90's (and either as bad or worse than the actress she fired).  She lost two important actresses in '92 and still decided to kill Maureen.  She had a wildly uneven tenure at GL. It's no wonder she's polarizing. But it kind of proves a point--great soap is always a that rare combination of everything clicking at the same time.  And believe me, if I could bring myself to watch her male successors who were responsible for bringing back Reva and allowing her to eat the show again, or hiring Hunt Block, or being too chicken to stand up to stans who and hamstrung the show with boring couples stuck in the same repetitive stories (Vanessa/Matt, Chelle/Danny or Richard/Cassie, take your pick) not to mention San CristoHELL....I'd be more than happy to roast them on open spits. I guess we end up talking about JFP because she's in a period we can nominally agree was one of the last "best" periods of the show.
    • A degree does not make one an expert at their job, it just shows that you can follow directions from a technical standpoint.  It doesn't mean that they're creative. JFP was all about the look of a show without considering that technical beauty can only carry a show so far if there is nothing interesting to go along with it.  Equality means calling out flaws equally in both genders. 
    • NBC or P&G was even fool enough to take a full page ad for two consecutive weeks in TV Guide promoting this horrible storyline.

      Please register in order to view this content

    • JFP has had more defense for her decades of terrible producing than many male producers ever had.
    • It makes sense that she got a degree in directing. I've always said she should have been a director. I think she works better at the technical aspects of the show. I think her problem is the emotion/heart of a show.  She always guts the heart of the show she's on and she makes decisions that stop longtime viewers from watching a show. I don't think it's sexism to call that out especially as I've said similar things about Conboy. I've called out Rauch for much worse. 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy