Soap Opera Uncensored: Issue 23 Read online

went out on a high note.

  I think so.

  Were you surprised ONE LIFE continued to surge in the ratings and demos in its final months and days in addition to trending on Twitter more than a handful of times?

  I was not surprised. Frank and I talked about it — and he really knew what he was doing.

  I wished you had directed one final episode or lent a hand in some respect before ONE LIFE left the airwaves like helming Tina and Cord’s wedding.

  Frank never asked me -- and I didn’t expect to be asked. I’m not a director — although it’s not like I couldn’t direct a show because I used to be a director — but I don’t think it was appropriate for me to be involved. It was Frank’s show.

  You made a wise decision plucking Frank from college and mentoring him.

  I’m heading to L.A. in April/May because I’m working on a few projects, so hopefully, I’ll see him when I’m out there.

  I guess you’re never going to retire, right?

  What’s that? [Laughs]

  Good answer. We need you producing. I assume you weren’t too surprised that Prospect Park failed at traversing AMC and ONE LIFE to the web.

  I wasn’t surprised for a minute because I knew it wouldn’t work from the moment I heard about it. If you look just on the surface alone, they were going to do the shows as they were done on a network with the same cast, the same costs, and the same basic budget. ONE LIFE and AMC were running on $750,000 a week but where was the money coming from? Money is going out; but where is it coming in from?

  A source, who had meetings with Prospect Park, claimed the studio had 100 million dollars to play with to me recently. Perhaps for their prime-time TV endeavours…?

  What shows are they producing?

  They have two TV shows, ROYAL PAINS and WILFRED, and one in production now.

  Yeah, but they are producing those shows for a company so they’re going to get a license fee. With AMC and ONE LIFE, they weren’t getting any licensing fees or Internet sales because they were airing and producing it themselves. If you sell a concept to cable network, the cable network will pay the freight. With the soaps, they had no money. And the Internet can’t raise that kind of money yet.

  Do you think Prospect Park licensing the ABC soaps was just a ruse?

  I don’t know… I think they were just naïve. If it was a ruse, I don’t know what the end game was except to retire in disgrace.

  Some people think it could’ve been a PR stunt.

  Right. They did get a lot of attention like a profile piece in THE NEW YORK TIMES.

  Do you think ABC will cancel GH?

  I don’t know. What I said to Frank before he left for LA was: “Before you start, make sure you get ABC to agree to reward the show by renewing it if you increase ratings in any way meaningful or suggests future growth because he’s putting in all that effort. I don’t think he was able to do that though; but it will be helpful for them to reward the show by renewing GH if it succeeds [creatively and financially]. [Sighs] I don’t know why ABC kept GH to begin with…

  They cancelled the wrong soaps.

  It’s spectacularly unproductive for the three networks to keep four soaps in total on the air. Have you heard about the Nick-at-Nite’s telenovela, HOLLYWOOD HEIGHTS?

  Yes. I interviewed Josh Griffith and he told he was penning it. He left out the part that Jill Farren Phelps was producing it! It seems everyone is airing soap operas except daytime!

  Have you seen that abortion on ABC?

  GOOD CHRISTIAN BITCHES (GCB)?

  Yes. The one with the Texas ladies. I think it’s disgraceful.

  I think GCB is an attempt to replace the DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES niche when it departs the airwaves for good later this spring. I wanted to give you an opportunity to address Ellen Holly’s claims that you almost spit on her — who does she think she is: Victoria Rowell? — and strongly suggested she was fired because of racism. I was surprised no one approached you for your side of the story...

  Do you know how long ago this is, Nelson? 24 years ago. I never bothered to refute what she said [in her autobiography, ONE LIFE: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN AFRICAN AMERICAN ACTRESS] even though it’s on my Wikipedia page because it’s so ridiculous. I came to ONE LIFE after the head of daytime Jackie Smith brought me in. She gave me five or six actors to let go. I was the new producer so I did what she asked me to do. I never threw the blame to Jackie because what was the point? What blame? Actors come at your pleasure, you pay them, and when you don’t need them, you let them go. That’s the way show business is. No actor who has been on a series has right of ownership of a show. Nor does an actor have a right to dictate how long he or she will be there.

  Nothing could have been further from the truth. It was a very sorry time. She’s a lovely woman and a good actress. I had to fire a lot of actors at ONE LIFE because there was a drug problem. I got various, important players off to rehab and pretty much saved them. Those are networks directives — and we still get them today. The networks still dictate to us who they want to get rid of.

  Holly even went after Agnes Nixon claiming her production company, Creative Horizons, was racist. This woman is the most socially relevant writer ever: from her Carla/Clara storyline on ONE LIFE to creating the first black super couple in Angie and Jesse on AMC. She even cast an Italian woman as her lead white heroine: Susan Lucci as Erica Kane.

  I agree. That’s all nonsense. Agnes was ahead of her time. She wrote unique, brave stories for a [wide spectrum of] characters and actors.

  Sour grapes! You had the balls to fire daytime’s biggest — and whitest — super couple, ANOTHER WORLD’S George Reinholt and Jackie Courtney! It’s too bad they didn’t happen to be black…

  Listen, I have been in show business my entire life. I was brought up in show business household. There was no racism anywhere. To play that card… is just so obvious and cheap.

  People forget you brought in black actors and characters on your soaps. Even if I couldn’t stand that rap storyline in 1991 with DJ Kurtis Blow and Kerry Nichols. [Laughs]

  I also brought Blair Underwood to ONE LIFE. As for Ellen Holly, 24 years ago I tried to be fair and just with her and also follow the network directive because the show was way over budget so we had to cut actors.

  And it’s your job as a producer to give notes to actors.

  I didn’t understand it then.... and I don’t understand it now. Listen, you know me, Nelson.

  Yes, I do. Ellen went on this media tour during AMC and ONE LIFE’s end days — seemingly trying to hijack Agnes Nixon’s legacy.

  Has Ellen Holly worked in all these years?

  COVER STORY

  GODDESS OF THE OPERA

  How comeback superstar Deidre Hall is stealing the show with the help of an unlikely co-star: Chandler Massey!

  If you haven’t heard Deidre Hall’s infectious, hearty laugh up close and personal, then you’re missing out. It’s too bad her iconic, long-suffering character Marlena Evans Black on DAYS doesn’t have more fun because the intelligent, savvy, and beautiful superstar is all about having a good time and living your best life.

  With Susan Lucci off daytime, UNCENSORED spoke with daytime’s lone female superstar on her successful DAYS comeback; working with her talented co-star Chandler Massey (likening the newcomer to James Dean); Salem’s return to a land of “firsts;” Jarlena’s wild sex life; and going back to school (yep, you read that correctly)! Enjoy part one of our chat:

  I think your DAYS comeback has been a success! Would you agree?

  I think it’s wonderful! I’ve loved every minute of it.

  Were you surprised DAYS asked you back? I mean, you never know in this topsy-turvy business.

  It’s show business, so you never know. I didn’t have any thoughts about it. When I was taken off screen, I knew it was temporary for the character. As shocking as it was for the fans, it was a wonderful [hiatus] and time for me in my real life. My eldest was just about to go to college, so
I was able to be there for him and travel with him to places like Brazil for Operation Smile … and see the man he would become.

  That’s sweet.

  We also went to the White House together. It was simply an amazing time for us as a family, especially before he headed off to college.

  I can always tell when an actor is happy and having fun onscreen and I can tell the material is inspiring you like never before, especially when Marlena is lending her support to Jack and Will. You and Chandler Massey are DAYS’s newest super couple!

  I was going to say: can you tell who I love working most?

  You can, Blanche; yes, you can!

  We’re having so much fun!

  You give good offspring. And they all look they could be your children. It’s the Deidre Hall DNA. Were you nervous about coming back to DAYS because most soaps screw up superstar comebacks — especially of late?

  Yeah, I see what you’re saying…. But luckily, no, because I spent so much time with [co-executive producer] Greg Meng ahead of time and I knew what his vision was. His pitch was completely in sync with what happened, what I was ready for and what I love playing, which is the old traditional values.

  I really love DAYS right now. Yes, when the show rebooted, despite its character-driven and modern stories, DAYS began with three C stories… and it took a while to get to a model of A, B and C