Guiding Light - General Discussion

[rejnel]

The Grant and Beth interview has to be one of the two or three best from this whole Alan Locher project. They're both so special--not just gorgeous and talented, but truly caring and eloquent. 

Some of the big, boisterous reunions have been fun, but this one was quiet, thoughtful, and just what I wanted from these two.

[Miss Anne Thrope]

11 hours ago, rejnel said:

The Grant and Beth interview has to be one of the two or three best from this whole Alan Locher project. They're both so special--not just gorgeous and talented, but truly caring and eloquent. 

Some of the big, boisterous reunions have been fun, but this one was quiet, thoughtful, and just what I wanted from these two.

 

And yet we still got some good inside information - I'd call it dirt, but they spoke so lovingly or respectfully of their co-workers, it doesn't seem like dirt.  I loved hearing about Christopher Bernau and Tom O'Rourke (the original Alan Spaulding and Justin Marler, respectively).  Plus, Grant's cats are beautiful!

[rejnel]

On 2/1/2021 at 7:19 AM, Miss Anne Thrope said:

And yet we still got some good inside information - I'd call it dirt, but they spoke so lovingly or respectfully of their co-workers, it doesn't seem like dirt.  I loved hearing about Christopher Bernau and Tom O'Rourke (the original Alan Spaulding and Justin Marler, respectively).  

It was an interesting balance I hadn't seen before. I've watched most of the ATWT and GL reunions/interviews, and people seem to feel obliged to sugar-coat the tougher working relationships. Often with a big laugh, like "oh, X never learned his lines, but he's a HOOT!" or "I learned to get out of her way real fast, isn't she great!!!" But Beth and especially Grant treated the "what was it like to work with X" questions with real reflection--as you say, lovingly and respectfully, but more authentically than usual. Or so it seemed to me. 

[justduckey]

I agree this interview was lovely.

The larger group ones, while fun to see, just aren’t as in-depth as I would like. Perhaps two-person interviews are his forte?

Edited February 6, 2021 by justduckey

[UYI]

The only complaint I had was that most of the questions they got were  ones they already covered last April when they did a reunion with a few of their other co-stars--that's inevitable, I guess, but I noticed it right away. 

Then again, the way time has passed this year, they probably barely noticed the repeated questions. :)

Part of me was hoping that Hayden Panettiere would pop in and surprise them. Maybe another time. 

On 1/29/2021 at 2:17 AM, ByaNose said:

I finally saw the interview with Grant & Beth. There no hiccups so it was a nice clean interview & great lighting. That’s a win-win. I would love to see Grant on a soap even just for six week arc. I’m not sure if he’s given up acting or not though. I had been watching GL a few years before he started but they really had great male leading actors such as Stewart, Bernau, ver Dorn, O’Rourke & later on Simon & Zaslow. They were like movie leading men. I was really spoiled how good the show & writing was in the late 70’s. Great theater.

As far as I know, he still does some theater here and there (or did prior to COVID).

I do know that he went back to school and finished the degree he abandoned back in the day when his acting career took off, which is really cool, and of course he and his wife are dedicated animal rights activists. 

[Pearson80]

What about Sherry Stringfield who was wonderful as Blake Thorpe, has she been doing any of the reunion shows. I know that Liz Keifer has fans as Blake but her Blake could never compete with Sherry's who was just so damn awesome.  She was truly Roger Thorpe's daughter and Sherry even looked like Michael Zaslow..

[UYI]

On 2/23/2021 at 8:36 PM, Pearson80 said:

What about Sherry Stringfield who was wonderful as Blake Thorpe, has she been doing any of the reunion shows. I know that Liz Keifer has fans as Blake but her Blake could never compete with Sherry's who was just so damn awesome.  She was truly Roger Thorpe's daughter and Sherry even looked like Michael Zaslow..

She hasn't. I don't know how likely it would be for her to do any of them, but it would be cool if there was one with her and the Blake before her (Elizabeth Dennehy, Brian's daughter), and the Blake after her (Liz Keifer). 

[Pearson80]

35 minutes ago, UYI said:

She hasn't. I don't know how likely it would be for her to do any of them, but it would be cool if there was one with her and the Blake before her (Elizabeth Dennehy, Brian's daughter), and the Blake after her (Liz Keifer). 

I remember reading years ago that Elizabeth Dennehy was hired during a writer's strike and the writer at the time was unhappy with Elizabeth Dennehy's Blake and she was fired because she did not embody the role of Roger Thorpe's daughter.  Sherry was who they had had in mind before the strike. I don't really remember Elizabeth's Blake  butfrom the clips that I saw she seemed very wimpy unsure of herself. It seemed like the show wanted her to be neurotic like Holly...

Sherry quit acting because she did not like the celebrity aspect of Hollywood and wanted to focus on the artistic aspect of it. Jerry Ver Dorn who played Ross was not surprised by her decision.  He also said that she was not afraid to leave an acting role even if she had no other role to fall back on.  The producers did not want her to leave Guiding Light they offered her everything but she said No, she felt that she had given her all to Blake and needed to move on.  Sherry left the show at a time when so many actors were leaving; Kimberly Simms the second Mindy left and Beverly McKinsey as Alexandra.. 

 

Edited February 25, 2021 by Pearson80

[Bastet]

53 minutes ago, UYI said:

it would be cool if there was one with her and the Blake before her (Elizabeth Dennehy, Brian's daughter), and the Blake after her (Liz Keifer). 

That would be fun, especially if Maureen Garrett joined them; I know she and Dennehy bonded in that short time and remained in contact after Dennehy left and she enjoyed working with the other two as well.  Plus it would lend itself to reminiscing about Michael Zaslow.

24 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

He also said that she was not afraid to leave an acting role even if she had no other role to fall back on. 

Yeah, she walked away from ER.  I mean, she came back, but if you're going to ask to be let out of your contract with America's number one show, you're marching to the beat of your own drum.  I remember some publication (looking it up, it was Entertainment Weekly) ran an article about her titled "The Goodbye Girl" because in her young career she'd made a habit of up and leaving shows if the roles weren't fulfilling. 

[UYI]

55 minutes ago, Bastet said:

That would be fun, especially if Maureen Garrett joined them; I know she and Dennehy bonded in that short time and remained in contact after Dennehy left and she enjoyed working with the other two as well.  Plus it would lend itself to reminiscing about Michael Zaslow.

Yeah, she walked away from ER.  I mean, she came back, but if you're going to ask to be let out of your contract with America's number one show, you're marching to the beat of your own drum.  I remember some publication (looking it up, it was Entertainment Weekly) ran an article about her titled "The Goodbye Girl" because in her young career she'd made a habit of up and leaving shows if the roles weren't fulfilling. 

Yep. She left NYPD Blue before its first season was even over, too (of course, she got ER right afterwards, so it worked out there--until it didn't--but still). 

Edited February 25, 2021 by UYI

[Pearson80]

59 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Yeah, she walked away from ER.  I mean, she came back, but if you're going to ask to be let out of your contract with America's number one show, you're marching to the beat of your own drum.  I remember some publication (looking it up, it was Entertainment Weekly) ran an article about her titled "The Goodbye Girl" because in her young career she'd made a habit of up and leaving shows if the roles weren't fulfilling. 

She did that with NYPD Blue after being there for one year saying that the role had run it's course. She got alot of backlash for leaving ER.. She went back to ER and then left a second time..

Edited February 25, 2021 by Pearson80

[ByaNose]

I always said that I needed Liz Keifer to take over the role of Blake. I couldn’t buy Sherry’s Blake in love with Ross. They had great HOT sex (remember Holly walking in on them) but I couldn’t see her going further in the role. I could totally buy Liz’s Blake in love and eventually marrying Ross. I remember reading/hearing that Liz got the role of Blake months and months before airing. She was hired even before Sherry had left the role. Liz unfortunately didn’t have any money and Jerry ver Dorn loaned her money until she started getting paid. It’s too bad how his time at GL ended. Whomever made the boneheaded decision to take him off contract was hopefully fired. He was the longest contract player they had at time. He bolted to OLTL and got to play a fun role and seemed to enjoy it.

[Hiyo]

Sherry's Blake was the best Blake.

[UYI]

On Friday, March 5th at 3 PM Eastern:

The original Bill Lewis and the original Michelle Bauer, Bryan Buffinton and Rachel Miner.

 

[justduckey]

Looking forward to hearing more from  Bryan and Rachel. They seem to have grown up very nicely. 
 

Odd choice of promotional photos! Strange to see Harley and Mallet (really Mark Derwin and Beth Ehlers from the last day in 1993) included since they were never very much in Bill or Michelle’s orbit but happy to this see a never before seen photo!

[UYI]

Patti D'Arbanville and Tammy Blanchard, who played the mother and daughter team of Selena Davis and Drew Jacobs, will be in the Locher Room on Thursday, March 18th, at 3 PM Eastern.

On 2/28/2021 at 5:42 PM, justduckey said:

Looking forward to hearing more from  Bryan and Rachel. They seem to have grown up very nicely. 
 

 

It was great! And:

Spoiler

Greg Burke (Ben Reade) showed up as a surprise guest, too! :) 

 

[ByaNose]

The Bryan & Rachel & special guest (Is it a spoiler if it’s already aired?) were great. It’s neat to hear from a child actors perspective about the show along with not remembering everything because they were so young. It’s a shame they SORAS’s them. They really could have gone the route of GH did with Kimberly McCullough and age in real time. Although, we got to see a young Rebecca Budig start out I would have still seen Rachel continue in the role. She had great chemistry with Peter Simon & Bryan did with Jordan Clark & Mauve Kincaid. 

[UYI]

9 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

The Bryan & Rachel & special guest (Is it a spoiler if it’s already aired?) were great. It’s neat to hear from a child actors perspective about the show along with not remembering everything because they were so young. It’s a shame they SORAS’s them. They really could have gone the route of GH did with Kimberly McCullough and age in real time. Although, we got to see a young Rebecca Budig start out I would have still seen Rachel continue in the role. She had great chemistry with Peter Simon & Bryan did with Jordan Clark & Mauve Kincaid. 

Not really, I guess, the thumbnail shows it if you glance your cursor over it on YouTube, but I know some people here probably haven't seen it yet so I wanted to be safe. :) 

[Miss Anne Thrope]

I really can't wait for this one - next Friday, March 19

 

[Hiyo]

Here is a great scene between Zaslow and Beverlee McKinsey's Alexandra. Whatever their relationship was off-screen, on-screen the two of them together were awesome. It won't embed for some reason, but enjoy it anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWkgIJ1-VGA

[UYI]

Since it wasn't mentioned above, here's the line up of GLers participating in the MZ tribute:

Maureen Garrett (Holly) 

Fiona Hutchison (Jenna--I know her FAR better as Gabrielle on OLTL, but I'm still happy because before last year's GL/OLTL reunions I hadn't seen her in FAR too long!)

Liz Keifer (Blake 3.0)

Kimberley Simms (Mindy 2.0)

and...wait for it...

SHERRY STRINGFIELD! (Blake 2.0)--Attention, @Pearson80 and @Bastet!

Michael's daughter, Marika, will be partcipating, too. 

 

[Pearson80]

2 minutes ago, UYI said:

Since it wasn't mentioned above, here's the line up of GLers participating in the MZ tribute:

Maureen Garrett (Holly) 

Fiona Hutchison (Jenna--I know her FAR better as Gabrielle on OLTL, but I'm still happy because before last year's GL/OLTL reunions I hadn't seen her in FAR too long!)

Liz Keifer (Blake 3.0)

Kimberley Simms (Mindy 2.0)

and...wait for it...

SHERRY STRINGFIELD! (Blake 2.0)--Attention, @Pearson80 and @Bastet!

Michael's daughter, Marika, will be partcipating, too. 

 

Thank you so much! this will be so awesome...

[Bastet]

Holy crap, that fantastic!  I still haven't watched the other few reunions I downloaded, but methinks I will make time for this one much sooner.

Poor Marika; she lost her entire family at a far younger age than that should happen.  First her dad, then her sister, then her mom, all in less than ten years.  I hope she's doing well, and I hope she enjoys reminiscing with some of the people who loved her dad.

I'm glad Maureen Garrett is doing this.  I mean, I figured, but back in the day she didn't like talking in depth about losing him as it hurt so much and she's very private.

And, of course, Sherry Stringfield - what respect it shows for this to be the reason she revisits GL.

This is causing me feelings just by existing.

It has been so long, I don't remember where I came across this, but I love this picture of Maureen and Zas way back when:

 

[UYI]

I didn't see this mentioned here before, but Gil Rogers, who played Hawk Shayne (Reva, Roxie and Rusty's father) died on March 2nd at the age of 87. RIP.

https://www.soapcentral.com/amc/news/2021/0305-gil_rogers_obituary.php

Also: Geoffrey Scott, who briefly replaced Jordan Clarke as Billy from 1993-1994, died on February 23rd, the day after his 79th birthday. RIP.

https://www.soapcentral.com/gl/news/2021/0304-geoffrey_scott_obituary.php

[rejnel]

The Michael Zaslow tribute is well worth your time if you were a fan of GL during his many years as Roger Thorpe. His daughter Marika and all the actors noted his decency, respect, and generosity, as much as his obvious passion and talent. It was beautiful to see.

[Pearson80]

48 minutes ago, rejnel said:

The Michael Zaslow tribute is well worth your time if you were a fan of GL during his many years as Roger Thorpe. His daughter Marika and all the actors noted his decency, respect, and generosity, as much as his obvious passion and talent. It was beautiful to see.

It was and I wanted Sherry Stringfield to be there but she could not make it..  I was so happy to see Maureen and her love and admiration for Michael made me smile.  Kimberly Simms was there and she was my favorite Mindy and her stories with Roger and Alexandra gave Mindy so much depth and complexity.  

Edited March 22, 2021 by Pearson80

[JAYJAY1979]

I was pleasantly surprised to see Elizabeth Dennehy pop in with Maureen being happy to see her.

Her Blake had the craziest stuff to play with the mystery phone calls (that even the scabs had no idea who she was talking to), the suicide attempt, Adam Malick story, and the wedding disaster.  All in one year lol

[UYI]

It was cool to see Elizabeth Dennehy and Jerry ver Dorn show up, and of course a shame that Sherry couldn't make it. I'll still hold out for an all-Blake episode with her, ED, and LK altogether. Hell, she's someone I think Alan would do a video with alone if he or she wanted to.

And my poor girl Fiona; she had SO much trouble with her wifi that day. It happens, of course, but still. :'(

I also watched Patti D'Arbanville's interview, too (Tammy Blanchard had a family emergency and couldn't make it). What a LIFE she has led. I would've loved some more My So-Called Life talk, as I'm a HUGE fan of that show and of her as Amber, but her overall life is so fascinating that all is forgiven. :)

Edited April 4, 2021 by UYI

[rcc]

Another great YouTube video on the Locher Room. This time Mart and Fran. Mart was the real Ed for me and always loved Peggy.

[Miss Anne Thrope]

8 hours ago, rcc said:

Another great YouTube video on the Locher Room. This time Mart and Fran. Mart was the real Ed for me and always loved Peggy.

They were so interesting too - I really enjoyed it. Mart's memory is amazing!  He's the OG Ed Bauer for me too, even though he's not the first. I did want to hear more about the Ed/Rita/Roger story line, but maybe I missed something and will probably watch again. 

Nicole Forrester, Cassie 2.0, was really good the day before. Very engaging and didn't seem to hold back on any questions. 

Here's the Mart & Fran session.

 

 

[babyhouseman]

I came here to say I saw the man who played Rick Bauer on Law and Order: Organized Crime last night. The L and O franchise has had a lot of soap actors. Thanks for letting us know about the MZ tribute.

[UYI]

Now THIS will be interesting, given what a polarizing figure she is.

Some of you might be interested in this one, too:

 

[UYI]

I think a lot of you will DEFINITELY be interested in seeing this:

 

[UYI]

For any LW/Cassie fans here:

 

[CanaryFan98]

https://nypost.com/2021/09/30/michael-tylo-young-and-the-restless-star-dead-at-72/

 

Yet another soap legend gone..

[Miss Anne Thrope]

1 hour ago, CanaryFan98 said:

https://nypost.com/2021/09/30/michael-tylo-young-and-the-restless-star-dead-at-72/

 

Yet another soap legend gone..

Quint and Nola was one of my favorite story lines; so sad to hear of Tylo's passing.

[rcc]

11 hours ago, Miss Anne Thrope said:

Quint and Nola was one of my favorite story lines; so sad to hear of Tylo's passing.

Mine too. They were fun to watch.

[Pearson80]

On 6/23/2021 at 12:35 PM, UYI said:

I think a lot of you will DEFINITELY be interested in seeing this:

 

This was a great interview and I loved the time that they wrote for the show.  The early 90's  era of Guiding Light was superior television once Reva was killed off.  I hated the Reva show and I was not too happy to have her back..

Edited October 24, 2021 by Pearson80

[roughing it]

Wow - I have a lot of catching up to do.  I didn't know there were reunion shows!!  I watched until the mid-90's until life was just too full with kids/house/work that I just couldn't keep up with my GL recordings anymore.

I have a question - I saw a mention of "Bridget" and I reached way back into my brain and remembered that she was a Reardon.  But I don't remember how Bridget fit in to Springfield world.  Can someone help me refresh my memory?

[Bastet]

10 minutes ago, roughing it said:

I have a question - I saw a mention of "Bridget" and I reached way back into my brain and remembered that she was a Reardon.  But I don't remember how Bridget fit in to Springfield world.  Can someone help me refresh my memory?

She was a troublemaking teen - complete with a boyfriend named Elvis - who got shipped off to Springfield to live with Maureen (her aunt) and Ed.  She slept with Hart (who was dating Julie) once, he took off after Julie broke up with him, and Bridget found out she was pregnant.  She didn't want to tell her family.  I don't remember how, but Nadine found out.  Nadine was desperately trying to hold onto Billy (who was still in love with Vanessa), so she pretended she was pregnant and offered Bridget money to hide in their attic (telling Ed and Maureen she was doing some school thing in Appalachia, with limited phone access) until the baby was born, and then Nadine would pass him off as hers.  Maureen died while Bridget was very pregnant, so she got to talk to Ed on the phone, but not "come home".

At some point after Peter was born, Vanessa got Bridget to confess the whole scheme.  Billy divorced Nadine and got back together with Vanessa.  Then there was a custody battle, between Vanessa and Billy, Bridget, and Roger (Hart was still nowhere to be found).  I think Bridget got custody.  Or she and Vanessa shared?  I don't remember.

Bridget had a great friendship with Kat, and was also friends with David.  At some point, she dated Dylan.  By then, she was running the Reardon boarding house.

I don't know what happened after that, as I quit watching in the mid-90s.

[Miss Anne Thrope]

When the show was ending in 2009, a lot of departed characters returned for an episode or two, and I think Bridget was one of the (very welcome) drop-ins.  She had some good stories on the reunion show she did; I hope you enjoy catching up.

[roughing it]

Thanks so much!  What a memory.  I had forgotten all that.  LOL at Nadine with a pillow for a belly!

One thing that I loved about GL is the sense of humor.  I remember Allison Janney played one of Alexandra's maids - she and her partner were quite the comic relief.

Edited November 15, 2021 by roughing it

[Bastet]

48 minutes ago, roughing it said:

I remember Allison Janney played one of Alexandra's maids - she and her partner were quite the comic relief.

They were hilarious.  Janney was Ginger, and the other one was Donna.  I love when Alex, Fletcher, Nick, and Mindy are having the dinner from hell, and the maids tell Alan-Michael ("the dark prince" who was their favorite Spaulding) he simply must go in there.  He does, entertaining the hell out of himself, and ultimately declaring he's going to move back in.

I loved Ginger and Jenna together, too.  I tried to find the dream sequence with Jenna as a Fifth Street waitress serving Donna and Ginger, but could only find it as a couple of brief video-only clips in this:

 

1 hour ago, roughing it said:

LOL at Nadine with a pillow for a belly!

IIRC, Buzz's return was all tied up in that storyline, too.  He was using a fake identity - Rex Mancini? - but she couldn't out him because he'd seen her taking the pillow out from under her shirt, so they had a mutual blackmail society going on.

1 hour ago, roughing it said:

What a memory. 

I had no idea that was taking up space in my brain until you asked.

[roughing it]

Thank you so much - what a delight!

[Miss Anne Thrope]

On 11/15/2021 at 8:08 PM, Bastet said:

They were hilarious.  Janney was Ginger, and the other one was Donna.  I love when Alex, Fletcher, Nick, and Mindy are having the dinner from hell, and the maids tell Alan-Michael ("the dark prince" who was their favorite Spaulding) he simply must go in there.  He does, entertaining the hell out of himself, and ultimately declaring he's going to move back in.

I loved Ginger and Jenna together, too.  I tried to find the dream sequence with Jenna as a Fifth Street waitress serving Donna and Ginger, but could only find it as a couple of brief video-only clips in this:

 

 

What a great clip. The little details they included - the tabloid headline, throwaway lines, etc. -- helped to make GL a really great show. I miss it so much.

[ByaNose]

GL and ATWT were the best soaps hands down. It was like a Broadway show everyday until Ellen Wheeler killed it. No one will ever convince me otherwise. I don’t care if she was told to save money or she thought she was saving money. It was an awful year or so. I’m not even sure when the Peapack model started and ended. Simply horrible

[roughing it]

16 hours ago, ByaNose said:

until Ellen Wheeler killed it.

When was this?  I'm asking story-wise in addition to year.

[ByaNose]

Soap fave Lisa Brown has passed away at the age of 67. I’ll never fort get watching her & Hohn Wesley Shipp in the scene where Kelly Reams out Nola for lying about him being the father of her baby. Amazing drama at its best. #RIP

https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/soap-fave-dies-at-67/

[Miss Anne Thrope]

Oh no, that's so sad. She was great, whether in the Kelly-Morgan-Nola triangle, having a musical fantasy, or on adventures with Quint.  The character was exceptionally well written, and Lisa Brown just made Nola better.  During a not so recent bout of insomnia, I YouTubed Nola's wedding day episode  -- basically a stand alone one -- and it was a work of art.  Soap opera art, but still art. (all my opinion, of course)

Thank you, Ms. Brown, and rest in peace. 

Edited November 27, 2021 by Miss Anne Thrope

[UYI]

On 11/15/2021 at 6:21 PM, Bastet said:

At some point after Peter was born, Vanessa got Bridget to confess the whole scheme.  Billy divorced Nadine and got back together with Vanessa.  Then there was a custody battle, between Vanessa and Billy, Bridget, and Roger (Hart was still nowhere to be found).  I think Bridget got custody.  Or she and Vanessa shared?  I don't remember.

 

They came to an agreement where they would share custody together, yes. I guess that Vanessa eventually gave up custody, though, because Bridget and Peter would leave sometime after that, when Melissa Hayden left the show.

On 11/26/2021 at 9:45 AM, ByaNose said:

Soap fave Lisa Brown has passed away at the age of 67. I’ll never fort get watching her & John Wesley Shipp in the scene where Kelly Reams out Nola for lying about him being the father of her baby. Amazing drama at its best. #RIP

https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/soap-fave-dies-at-67/

Such a shame. Alan Locher had asked her to participate in some of the GL reunions online, but she always turned them down.

How eerie that she and Michael Tylo died so close together. May they both rest in peace.