With the recent Kate Mansi directing going on at GH, I was wondering what other performers also did double duty on their shows? I guess we could also talk about folks like James Hougton that wrote for Bell shows after he appeared in them (he did do double duty on Knots though).

Off the top of my head I think Marie Masters wrote at ATWT while also playing Susan, Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t she do more than scripts too?

Did Gillian Spencer appear on AMC as Daisy while writing there?

Susan Flannery probably stayed at B&B so long because she got to direct there too.

Tony Geary and his writing partner submitted stories for Luke and Laura’s return and the Endgame Cassadine one that he later said was none of what they planned. But that’s not the same as writing for the whole show, or directing.

Apologies if there is another thread about this topic, I couldn’t find it!

3 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

I was not a fan of her EP work for the most part, but she has to be one of the few to go from actor to EP.

Gail Kobe was another.

7 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

Gail Kobe was another.

I didn’t know Gail Kobe was an actor. But that reminded me that Jane Elliot was a producer at Loving, although not an EP.

Edited 16 hours ago16 hr by titan1978

41 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

I didn’t know Gail Kobe was an actor. But that reminded me that Jane Elliot was a producer at Loving, although not an EP.

Gail Kobe was on many primetime shows in the 60's including Peyton Place. On daytime she appeared on Bright Promise before transitioning into BTS work on Edge of Night, Guiding Light, Texas and B&B.

16 hours ago, AmandainNC28655 said:

I know people don't talk about her EP sting, but Ellen Wheeler went from acting in front of the camera on AW and AMC to directing and EP. Has she done anything on any of the current shows BTS since GL was cancelled?

I think the last she did was directing again at ATWT after GL was canceled.

On 11/19/2025 at 3:28 PM, titan1978 said:

With the recent Kate Mansi directing going on at GH, I was wondering what other performers also did double duty on their shows?

Don Hastings briefly wrote for ATWT while also appearing as Bob.

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

Don Hastings briefly wrote for ATWT while also appearing as Bob.

Under the name CC Matthews, I believe.

What about Randy Holland? Was he writing Y&R at the time he appeared as Rick Daros?

Victoria Rowell had a hand with a lot of Drus stories and dialogue I think.

I don't know if this counts, but Thorsten Kaye wrote Zach and Kendall's vows for when they got married on the yacht on AMC

24 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

I don't know if this counts, but Thorsten Kaye wrote Zach and Kendall's vows for when they got married on the yacht on AMC

I don't think I ever knew that, how awesome! Makes me want to go back and watch those scenes again.

3 hours ago, dragonflies said:

I don't know if this counts, but Thorsten Kaye wrote Zach and Kendall's vows for when they got married on the yacht on AMC

3 hours ago, YRfan23 said:

Victoria Rowell had a hand with a lot of Drus stories and dialogue I think.

For the purposes of this thread I think this is cool information to have compiled, but not quite the same as actors that fully transitioned or wrote for other characters while also still acting in the show. Although I know Rowell was instrumental in stories too, and Bill Bell had a lot of respect for her ideas.

I mean Finola/Tristan/Kimberly improvised whole scenes, rewrote dialogue, etc. Tony Geary was famous for this too. And as I said earlier, Geary and his writing partner wrote two story treatments that GH accepted and used with the writing team to develop them. The Luke & Laura returns story, and the horrible Cassadine Endgame, which Geary said had virtually zero in common with what they presented and sold to ABC. Genie Francis came up with the idea of a baby Laura left behind that Wendy Riche and Guza used later on.

Wasn’t Megan McTavish a performer on soaps before she wrote as well? And I just recalled that Pam Long wrote and acted on Texas when the show was winding down.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by titan1978

Lois Kibbee (Geraldine Saxon) wrote for The Edge of Night while on the show.

3 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

Wasn’t Megan McTavish a performer on soaps before she wrote as well?

Yep - she acted on GL for a year in the early 80s.

1 hour ago, ReddFoxx said:

Lois Kibbee (Geraldine Saxon) wrote for The Edge of Night while on the show.

That’s awesome, because we know Slesar was very detailed in crafting his mysteries. I still think Edge of Night would be an excellent reboot. Right down to that early 80’s theme. Geraldine was a great soap grande dame.

1 hour ago, alwaysAMC said:

Yep - she acted on GL for a year in the early 80s.

Did she play a hooker? For some reason I remember an article bringing that up. I really should read more of that unpublished book.

1 hour ago, titan1978 said:

Did she play a hooker? For some reason I remember an article bringing that up. I really should read more of that unpublished book.

No, I think she was a bartender at Company. I haven't seen that era of GL, but this character spotlight gives you a good idea of who Lola Fontaine was. She seemed like a pretty prominent character while she was there.

Oh OMG that unpublished book of hers is WILD. Must-read, even if overly embellished (from what I assume).