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UPDATED: Did Oprah Winfrey Beg Twitter Followers to tune in to OWN for Ratings?

Courtesy/HarpoProds

Courtesy/HarpoProds

We reported yesterday this item on Oprah Winfrey’s tweet encouraging, or as some feel, begging her followers to tune-in to her OWN cable network Sunday night to help her get a higher Nielsen rating while the Grammys were airing and pulling in big numbers on CBS.

Oprah now has apparently apologized for her tweet and said she deleted the message “at the request of Nielsen.”  She added, “I intended no harm and apologize for the reference.”

A Nielsen representative told Entertainment Weekly that the company was looking into the Sunday night incident. “In accordance with our policies and procedures, Nielsen is reviewing this incident with our clients and we may withhold, breakout and/or make a note in the ratings…We take any violation of our policy seriously and will work with clients to resolve the situation.”

Here is our original post for the entire story: Oprah Winfrey who is not in the best of light with many soap fans after her video message saying that she cannot revive “an institution”  when referring to daytime soaps, got herself in a bit of a PR mess, and in possible trouble with the all-mighty Nielsen Ratings.

Last night, while The Grammys were pulling in its highest numbers in decades, Oprah begged her followers on Twitter to turn on her OWN Network to help the ratings! Oprah tweeted, “Every 1 who can please turn to OWN especially if U have a Nielsen Box”  The questionable public relations tweet was sent out at 8:03PM on Sunday night!

According to Deadline.com, “Look at the time stamp on Oprah Winfrey’s Tweet from last night: just when the Grammys were starting. As if she was going to convince any of her 9+ million Twitter followers to turn the dial away from CBS and one of the most watched awards shows ever to… Hey, does anyone even know where exactly OWN lives on the remote? Nah. Problem is, Winfrey’s ploy backfired. People started attacking her as pathetic and desperate. (“Unethical is a little harsh, don’t you think?” Oprah bleated back…) One big problem: TV types tell me that Nielsen makes its rated shows sign agreements that they won’t openly solicit Nielsen households. Especially during sweeps periods like now. So TV execs expect Nielsen not to issue a rating for last night’s OWN as a way of punishing Oprah going rogue. I think running OWN is punishment enough. It sucks.”

So what do you think of Oprah’s tweet? Desperate? Or, appropriate? What would you have done in this situation if it was your business platform? Let us know!

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Oprah’s cooked her goose with soap fans period. OWN could have been a goldmine for her if she decided to acquire/broadcast AMC and OLTL. Instead, it’s a suck-@ss shell of a network that can’t keep any of their executives longer than 6 months. I’ve never tuned in nor ever will!

I think she should have saved AMC and OLTL when people were willing to tune into these shows on her channel. Not only are fans upset but the programs she has on OWN are not that goneod. The network was already suffering. Saving these soaps would of raised the ratings. Maybe gained interest in other OWN shows, and we would know what channel it is.

Joe i would have to agree in that if OWN would have picked upped both One Life To Live and All My Children her network would have 2 shows that have more viewership then any show on OWN has now and also some of those viewers might have watched other shows on the Network.I know Comcast Cable here in Sacramento carries OWN but i dont know or want to know what chanel its on as i have no interest in the shows OWN currently has on now.

Oprah is her own biggest fan. I’m not a fan, never have been. Not much else to say here.

If Oprah had helped out with the soaps, then she probably wouldn’t have to be begging for viewers now. Her ratings would have been much higher. Her move was definitely not appropriate. Bruce opened up the Grammys singing his new single “We Take Care of Our Own” …….Oprah has shown us she’s not one of our own. I would have laughed if I saw her desperate tweet last night…..give up Bruce, Paul M., & all the other great performers to watch the OWN network?? I think not!

I stated a long time ago that her making that decision about not taking on the soaps was going to come back and bite her in the ass. The statement she made on Youtube was the worst PR decision in history. If she didn’t want to take on the soaps, she should have just stayed silent….but after making that announcement, it was all downhill from there. I personally think she could have easily taken on at least one of the shows, and built original programming around that soap. Who knows, maybe viewers would have stuck around to watch, after watching AMC or OLTL….I mean, that is how she built her talk show empire….following AMC, OLTL & GH for at least 25 years. Flooding a new network with a bunch of reruns, documentaries & talk shows is not a good idea. She owed it to the fans that supported her show for so many years, and she owed it to her network, to at least put an original program on that you know has a strong following. It was a no-brainer for me. Now, she will have to suffer the consequences.

I am continually shocked at the lack of programming on OWN. I mean, Oprah is one of the wealthiest women in America and the only thing she can air on her channel is old Discovery/TLC/Discovery Health reruns. Any day now she’s going to start running “My Cat from Hell”/Animal Planet reruns. Launching a channel is no easy endeavor, but Oprah needs to stop expecting everyone who watched her show to tune into a channel just because her name is all over it. Maybe it’s time to call this one a loss and for her to air some kind of quarterly special on ABC or something.

I had no idea there was a show called My Cat from Hell on the Animal Planet. Thank you. Poor Oprah–she’s spinning in the drain going dOWN.

Yeah, David. I hate to admit it, but I have watched My Cat from Hell.

When I had Directv (cut ties on Sunday finally!!!) there was nothing on and I watched it. Pretty whacked. They have reality shows for everything these days.

I never seen my cat from hell ,is it about big cats or little cats?tom I agree with you that maybe oprah should call it quits,and go to abc with another talk show or like you said a quarterly show, I only watch general hospital on abc ,will never watch anything else ,so she can go there where I dont have to see her ,along with katie couric and those idiots from the view, the chew ,the revolution ,and all the rest of the cheep programming they have in there daytime line up.oprah could have been the soap opera hero if she would have saved the soaps from cancellation ,she would have had good ratings for at least 2 hours of all my children and one life to live.then she wouldnt have to twitter anyone to watch the the stories from landview and pine valley.there are millions of us hoping to get a new home for the abc soaps.I think oprah made a very big mistake in even refusing to look into it.to late now.

I would have done exactly what Oprah did if I knew I had a strong audience base, as Oprah does. I dont care who you are, you are going to do WHATEVER it takes to SAVE your business. With that said:
I wrote Oprah a two/ three in a half paragraph letter, very professional. very business, very direct to the point, of ALL the reasons why she should pick up the soaps. Trust me I didn’t go about it as a soap fan, it was business! I then pointed out in my letter a market X that Oprah or no one else is targeting in the television market- that once it catches on, it is goin to go off like a fire-craker in revenues and a bigger audience. Believe me I was specific, direct, professional and to the point. I didn’t get a response. Didn’t expect one from Oprah herself, but maybe a representative. I got a form letter and so I replied to it respectfully. Right after that, Oprah sent out a message saying she would be corresponding to everyone via her new Facebook account, because she can’t keep up with all the letter’s from her personal email (and that’s understandable) she has millions of fans. Oprah usually has a ALLOT of vision, and her timing for landing GOOD LUCK and FORTUNE is impeccable. I just can’t understand why she COULD’T SEE that the TIMING of this happening with the two abc soaps was a ANOTHER BENEFIT and BLESSING that landed right in her lap, PERFECT for her Network that was strongling. Don’t understand it my friends!
(I will not participant in in Oprah bashing….) I will say if she pick up at least one of these soaps, she won’t have to Tweet anyone to drive to her network., two would be ideal, and three trying to find out what is the market X I was talking about.

Yes, if she had saved OLTL she wouldn’t have to beg anyone, but she blew it, and millions of soap fans have blown off OWN.

So true. I used to hold Oprah in the highest repsect. Now I will not watch her channel or ABC ever again!

I really don’t understand why everyone is picking on Oprah. There are dozens of cable networks who reportedly declined to pick up the soaps. Yet, everyone is picking on solely on Oprah. I just don’t think that’s fair. Oprah didn’t cancel the soap, ABC did. People shouldn’t turned their back on Oprah just because she choose to not be involved with shows that were cancelled by another network and that she didn’t have anything to do with.

Im not picking on oprah I never liked the lady.but she was starting her new network and its true that maybe had she taken one life to live ,Which I already know that abc/disney would have to give her the rights ,she wouldnt have the problems shes having today ,she didnt have to be so cold about it,its all in how she said she wouldnt do it,but any way you look at it, she would have gotten alot of soap fans to help bring her ratings up.oprah walks on water to alot of people ,not to me, and I wont get into why i dont like her ,she lost a shit load of fans , sometimes being a little humble doesnt hurt.she could have fought the fight with us ,and maybe ,Im saying just maybe, I would try to convince other people to watch her show,I cant ,and I wont ,I will never watch talk,food or self image blabber mouth filled shows, I like good scripted drama ,and that good scripted drama is what helped oprah get where she is today.or where she use to be.,I mean thats pretty bad when you have to twitter ,however thats spelled,to watch her dumb show.

Reply Heather:
Exacto Heather. Oprah has done allot of good, and now she makes one bad decision (that WE feel is bad) she doesn’t, and now Oprah is mud, and all the good she has done is forgotten. Oprah is a life force that is always envolving, and when U understand the psychology of Oprah, U understand that because of the decline in over-all viewership of ALL soaps, she didn’t see where she could take it forward on her network. Maybe her decision isn’t the BEST one, BUT she has earned the right to make it and as you said, she not be helt

Reply toscanti:
U said that right on both accords. Oprah doing what she wants, and ABC learning their harsh lesson. No need to judge Oprah, she has earned that right to make her own decisions and has made a HELLAVA LOT of AWESOME ones, to be FORGIVEN for her bad judgement in this one with our soaps.

I thought it was sad. If she wants people to tune in then she needs to give us shows we want to watch. She didn’t even say anything about her shows! Just tune in! Tune in to what?!

Someone said it was reruns of The Dr. Phil show. I’m not sure if that was true or not.

dr. phil isnt even a real doctor ,hes another ass I cant stand,wasting more airtime in the afternoon where the soaps should be.I just cant understand who watches these shows ,I dont know any body who watches talk ,food dr. phil ,the chew ,the view, the revolution ,katie couric,what a waste of time.

Michael, please send Oprah a link to this site, so that she can read the post. Sometimes people REALLY do need to be LEAD to water….!

I think she already knows ,when you have to beg people to watch your stupid show ,you have a problem.so we have oprah tweeting and abc giving 30 dollars to see there untitled network talk show,they must be having serious ego problems ,and you disappeared again,where are you?

It is what it is, if people are going to watch they will and the ones that won’t won’t. She is Oprah and will do what she wants. That doesn’t mean that the OWN will be successful. I say stop judging and let the chips fall where they may. ABC is learning a harsh lesson currently where daytime ratings are concerned.

U said that right on both accords. Oprah doing what she wants, and ABC learning their harsh lesson. No need to judge Oprah, she has earned that right to make her own decisions and has made a HELLAVA LOT of AWESOME ones, to be FORGIVEN for her bad judgement in this one with our soaps.

Since I don’t tweet, I didn’t see anything. However, does Ms Winfrey honestly think anyone cares what is on her show?? Isn’t it mostly bad Rosie, Dr Phil & Oprah reruns? I don’t understand how that could be more profitable than to bring on a soap.
Of course she won’t consider bringing anything on now……she would have EGG on her face.

Oprah has been on my “list” since she said she couldn’t help the soaps. I was a fan of Oprah’s for a long time, but in the last year or so, I’ve concluded that Mizz Winfrey has been highly over-rated. She reaps what she sows, as far as I am concerned.

Just thinking here but I think Oprah would now give her left nut (if she had one) to have the millions of viewers that AMC & OLTL would have brought to own.

Desperate!! She wouldn’t have had to resort to something so low if she would’ve offered her channel for our soaps, she would have had millions of instant fans!!

Didn’t think she would do something so desperate. Maybe now she’s kicking herself for not trying to save the soaps. Had she provided a home for AMC and OLTL, she wouldn’t have to make such a pathetic attempt to gain viewership for her network. I think she got a little too big for her britches and thought she could do anything and be successful at it. I guess she’s finding out to the contrary.

Just my opinion, but I think what she did was just to puff herself up and try and take the attention off of the Grammy’s knowing that millions of ppl would be tuning into it and tuning her out!!! She is a piece of work…..I have NO respect for her and haven’t for a long time!!

If she would save our soaps she would be a hero to millions & never have to worry about OWN’s ratings again. She’d have the “big 3” networks crying, especially ABC..

Corporate creations do not necessarily wise television business-people make. Rising to the heights of mega-star status, creating a virtual media empire, providing what seemed like a sincere bid for promoting awareness of topical issues designed to enlighten and help the masses, then….constructing paltry, shallow reality TV mockups for your hallowed, chosen friends instead of opting for a more eclectic, humanitarian format? Demonstrating a blatant lack of empathy and callous disrespect toward legions of the viewing public who helped promote your rise to power via dissing daytime serials with a Red Queen “Off with their heads” attitude and the erroneous rationale that soap operas have lost their appeal and that there’s not a penny to be made from them? Now it appears your life support system is a robotic rating system which has no conscience, no personal concern for your well-being, nothing to offer except to demand you produce legitimate numbers reflecting a viable degree of popularity which translates into money in the bank. Many fans have turned away or simply turned you off. Can you think of any creative ideas or practical solutions for your dilemma? It was very simple but now it may just be too late. And it seems that you may have lost your appeal and that there’s not a penny to be made.

I wanted to watch the Grammys for the Whitney Houston tribute. Seems disrespectful to ask people to tune into her network during that tribute. Soap fans begged for her help to save our soaps and now the tables are turned. I would have fully supported her network if she would have helped out. It is her loss.

It’s hilarious that Oprah is now begging for us to watch her channel!!! She dissed the soaps and is probably regretting her statement!!! She lost a LOT of viewers!!!!

Desperate!

Yes, Michael, you are right–desperate, pathetic, and unethical, if you are right about the agreement. Part of The Grammy’s was to memorialize Whitney Houston–and Oprah wanted people to change the channel?! Oprah was too conservative and unimaginative to save OLTL that I don’t care about OWN. She screwed herself and is paying the price.

imagine this…..she could have put The Nate Burkess show( which I heard was cancelled by the network), AMC, OLTL & then the Rosie show, or whatever other shows she could come up with…..maybe even a Rachel Ray show, since she’s under the same production umbrella. It would have been a strong daytime lineup, that would have garnered her a built-in following. Now, all she has is a bunch of reruns of her show, Dr. Phil & Dr. Oz…and whatever else is on. I don’t know because I don’t watch, and it’s not because I don’t know what channel it is on my remote. I mean, why would you watch reruns of Dr. Oz, when you can watch the new shows on one of the major networks? This was a bad, rushed decision…..Gayle should have pulled her aside and said, this is a bad decision…LOL Now it’s too late.

The soaps made Oprah in the early eighties. She became famous on the coattails of the eighties powerhouse General Hospital. In the New York tri state market, the Oprah show followed GH in the four pm time slot. With out the soaps as a lead in, the Oprah show would have been gone many many years ago. She should have been the first person to support the soaps. They gave her an instant loyal audience. She should have remembered who made Oprah “O” in the first place. The OWN network is such a disappointment. The network has no focus and no fans. She should have considered the people who made her famous. She would have had a loyal audience.

Oprah had a built in viewership of soap fans, but she blew it when she turned her back on AMC and OLTL..

I decided NEVER to watch OWN when Ms. Winfrey decided the Soaps were good enough to exploit, by having the stars on her former Oprah Winfrey Show, but on the other hand she couldn’t save them because they were a passé’ institution. YOu can’t have it both ways. If they were passé’ why did she have those shows with the stars on her show? I think her plea for viewers is just an indication that she is desperate. Maybe now she knows a little bit of how the people connected with the soaps feel. Oprah- if you’re reading these comments, yes, people did watch the soaps – in the evening after recording them. I miss my soaps but I do not miss watching the Oprah Winfrey Show. I get a lot more from “Dr. Oz” than I ever did from Oprah.

i haven’t been a fan of oprah for about 15 years – after that condescending response to helping the soap genre she has been dead to me – karma is a you know what! now who is begging for help……………

Payback is a bitch! What you put out into the universe, you get back.

I always thought it odd that Oprah said she didn’t watch her own show. It seems she relied on her staff to put the shows together and on Gayle to watch them for her. All she had to do was write the checks and show up to host them…? I think that put her very out of touch with what viewers want. And I agree with the comments about her having soap stars on her show, but not having soaps on her network. Doesn’t make sense. Own is on channel 65 in our area but there is very little that I see there while channel surfing that makes me stay. Peter Walsh’s show is the only thing. Rosie (since The View) turns my stomach.

Wow! I think Oprah wishes she had an additional 3-4 million viewers a day. Too bad she can’t “revive” the fans she had when she followed abc’s soap line up every day. Karma’s a bitch.

So true! The soaps were the only reason her show lasted so long. Viewers just left the channel on & she got the benefits! She’s so desperate for viewers that she’s going to do a Whitney Houston special! Trying to get some better ratings using the dead!

OWN is too much a vanity project to work. And it was launched with such a lack of orginal programming. Wasn’t Oprah behind Oxygen, a new cable enterprise that was to advance women’s issues and address such in serines and movies? We have SNAPPED and THE BAD GIRLS CLUB! It would not have hurt to try to revive the soaps on OWN. I would have tried to locate the channel. But really, OWN is just poorly conceived. What is its mission, its purpose? To be fair, the other cable webs have become mired in a sameness, shared reruns, carbon copy reality shows, and corporate merging. Ugh.

Good observation. I know Oprah wants to be true to her beliefs but she really should seek out new modern media, and try something innovative.

It may be too late for her to ‘seek out new modern media’ we soap fans will boycott her as well as ABC till we get our soaps back.

I quit liking Oprah as soon as she said what she did about soaps. If people don’t want entertainment why are there still movies and books? Clearly she doesn’t know what she’s talking about and I feel bad for her that she has to beg for viewers.

Obvious Oprah is desperate. She may not be if she had helped us soapers. If you had helped us Oprah we might have helped you.

this is rich,coming from her,she needs people to watch her stupid show,I never watched it before she moved to own ,I dam sure wont watch it now ,she screwed the soap fans ,if she would have fought to have the soaps or soap ( one life to live)on her network,I would have turned it on,not watch because shows like hers are unbearable for me to watch,I would have been one of her fans if she would have at least tried to help us in our quest to save the soaps.she said how she felt and never said a word after her no soap comment.sorry oprah wont be watching anything or reading any of your book choices or read your stupid magazine,does she still have that?anyway I like what jen said ,oprah cooked her goose when she turned her back on the soap fans ,lost a very big fan base.for a business woman,I think she made the wrong decision ,should have took the soaps and ran with them,then she wouldnt have to beg people to watch,thats as bad as abc s the revolution paying 30 dollars to sit in a room full of idiots for 4 hours telling everyone how to live there lives ,stupid.

wow can not believe that she had to be so desperate to twitter people to watch her tv station she would have been doing great if she would have put amc and oltl on her station but she decided to turn her back on all of the soap fans and when she was on abc everyone watched her because of the soap line up i even watched her but will never watch her again she is only out for herself and oh the best part was that she had all the amc cast on her show saying that she is a long time fan obviously not then turned her back

Drama drama drama, too bad

I used to think Ms. O was a smart business woman. I have a question for all you TV experts: In this current broadcast TV climate, when hundreds of cable and major networks are competing for daytime viewers to promote their primetime line-up; WHO THROWS AWAY 3 MILLION SOAP VIEWERS A DAY??? ABC and Oprah, that’s who!

It’s just MY opinion, but I think Oprah needs to hand over her Twittering to someone else like Ashton Kutcher did. She has a tendency to put her foot in her mouth.

That being said, I could care less about her network, OWN, and her abysmal ratings. That woman has it all. If she can’t get viewers, that’s not my problem.

The viewers might decide to watch if Ms. Winfrey would upgrade her programming to something the viewers want to watch. Its all reruns and I, for one, don’t need more of that.

I never watched her show and I certainly was offended by her comments on soap operas.

I’m reading so many comments about how Oprah was approached to save the soaps. I vaguely remember hearing this, but since I have not been a fan or viewer of hers in many many YEARS, I paid little attention. Honestly I don’t understand how legions of people follow her like she is the Messiah. I bet, like many others, that if she had taken on one of those soaps she would be enjoying a great fan base.

Anyway, just this weekend our family cut off our Directv after 10+ years. The reasons are endless. Now we have local channels through our roof antenna only. Watching reruns of Petticoat Junction (new to me) led me to look it up which ended up in a reference to the “rural purge.”

If you haven’t heard of it, you should check it out. It sounds a lot like what ABC has done to our soaps. They no longer want them (despite the ratings) and have just decided to ditch them. CBS did that back in the late 60s when they got rid of all their shows that skewed towards rural viewers. It is disgusting how the networks toss the viewers aside like that. It sounds like the velvet rope at a night club. I feel like ABC is saying we, the soap-loving community, are not good looking enough so they won’t let us in. Instead we have this crap in its place called The Revolution. I guess that is making the point further that we are unattractive to ABC. Tim Gunn has been hired to make us over to what ABC wants. No thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

She threw daytime viewers in the trash with that nasty condescending video about how she can’t air soaps. She basically spit on the people who made her who she is. Own is not in my favorites on FIOS and I will never ever ever watch her network.

GET OVER YOURSELF OPRAH. IF IT WASN’T GH’S AMAZING LEAD-IN IN THE 80s YOU WOULD NOT BE WHERE YOU ARE TODAY.

soaps soaps soaps would have saved OWN…no she float alone on her raft.

Thanks for sharing that Robert in Jersey City. I guess if she can’t hire someone to hold the camera steady, she really doesn’t have the money to save the soaps. Ha! Ha!

I would like someone to take that video and add thought bubbles or something to it kind of like Talk Soup so we could see on screen what we know she is really thinking. She sounded so condescending. She must think we are all losers.

robert in new jersey and jenna you both are so right,I always thought I was the only one who disliked oprah,and seen her for who she really is ,a fake ,how many times for a very long time did general hospital lead in to her show?to many,the soaps helped her ,and when it came down to her saving the soaps ,well,she stuck her noise up in the air and walked away,us soap fans could have saved her network by bringing all the fans of all my children and One life to live and then watch her other shows,well, maybe not me but ,but I would turn on the soaps,shes in trouble about something she did when she tweeted people to watch her stupid show ,heard it today on the news,so it will be interesting to see what happens with that.oh, I thought that oprah can do no harm.looks like you not so perfect after all.

Shame On You, Oprah–Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah!

Just want to mention that you left out a “t” in “tweet” in the second paragraph.

U know I had been an Oprah fan for many years until the condescending statement she made to soap fans after so many of us “begged” her to save our soaps..look who’s begging now!!…She really underestimated the power & intelligence of the soap community & I really thought she was a lot more in touch with the viewing public than that..I guess I was wrong…& so was she…it would be an intelligent move on Oprah & ABC’s part to admit they made a mistake..but I guess those with big ego’s find it very hard to do that..I know I have had to admit when I was wrong about important issues in my life & admitting my mistakes was some of the best decisions I ever made..so there is your “self-help” Oprah, whatta u gonna do about it?? I really hope she reads our posts..she might think she knows a lot & maybe she does…but noone in this world can ever stop learning…no matter how intelligent they think they are…there is always room to learn more…or NOT & deal with the fallout..FOR THE SAKE OF THE EGO!!!

who really cares whether she begged people to turn to OWN or not..one group of tv watchers she’ll never get anymore are soap fans, myself included..i was truly surprised since i thought Oprah was a savvy businesswoman..what a shock to learn, nope she had just been lucky..if she had been in need of viewers, she wouldnt have had to beg for them if she had picked up our soaps and not let them die when she had the opportunity..she would be millions of fans richer than what she is now and OWN wouldnt be floundering in the ratings…her failing show is of her own making..i started following her and watching OWN when i thought there was a chance she would save All My Children and One Life to Live, but as soon as she blew us off, i did the same to her…YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW OPRAH…

I’m not surprised at her feeling the need to beg for viewers, seems she said something on video that has us soap fans boycotting her as well….She needs to get a clue at the importance of us loyal soap fans, and what we want- our soaps back.

Why does everyone hang the words of the famous. She apologized for it. As lots of us blurt out things, oh that’s right we’re not famous so no ones interested. Lol. I get rich and famous are always in the media but there truly should be a limit. Some things that get published about these people is horrible. They deserve privacy in their lives. Because they’re famous doesn’t give the public the right to pick them apart and even ruin some lives because we think we have the right. It must be awesome to be famous and it must suck to be on display in every aspect and in every minute of your day

All My Children

Carol Burnett Talks About Being a Superfan of ‘All My Children’ on ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’

In a heartfelt reunion, of sorts, the one and only Carol Burnett appeared on Monday March 25th episode of Live with Kelly and Mark.

Burnett had first met Kelly Ripa (Hayley) and Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo) back when they all appeared on All My Children together. Carol played Verla Grubbs first in 1983 and then again in the 90’s.

Host Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley, AMC) noted to Burnett that “we go back a long time”. She also described Burnett’s character of Verla Grubbs, “extraordinary in every way.”

Carol’s love for All My Children is well-documented, hence legendary soap creator, Agnes Nixon, created the role of Verla for Burnett.

Photo: ABC

Speaking on how her passion for All My Children began, Carol told Kelly and Mark, “It started with my kids. They would watch at noon. I said, ‘What are you guys doing?’ I sat down and I started to watch and I got hooked!”

When Carol’s family decided to travel through Europe during one summer, the comedic legend recalled thinking, “How am I going to last if I don’t know what’s going on in Pine Valley?” She revealed she had a friend, “who sent me a telegram to the (different hotels) on Fridays to bring me up to date.”

Photo: ABC

In a hilarious moment from the segment, Carol recalled receiving a late night telegram while in Lake Cuomo when there was a knock at her hotel room door from the hotel manager who was shaking.

Carol related what it said, “Erica is still in a coma. Mark slipped again and ran away from rehab.” As Kelly and Mark broke into laughter, Burnett continued, “Chuck has learned that Donna is carrying his baby, who was once a hooker.”

Check out Carol explaining how she became an AMC Superfan below.

Now, let us know, did you enjoy Carol as Verla Grubbs? What show do you consider yourself a Superfan of? Tell us in the comment section.

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All My Children

Malachy McCourt, ‘Ryan’s Hope’ and ‘All My Children’ Actor, Dead at 92

If you watched Ryan’s Hope through its 14-year-run, you know that Kevin the bartender became a beloved “member’ of the Ryan clan on the defunct ABC daytime drama series. The character of Kevin MacGuiness became so loved by the fans because of the actor who portrayed him, Malachy McCourt.

Sadly, according to his wife Diana McCourt to The New York Times, Malachy passed away on Monday from a heart condition and battling cancer. The actor was 92-years-old.

Playing Kevin on Ryan’s Hope was not much of a stretch for McCourt, because in his lifetime, he was the owner of 1950s Irish pub Malachy’s on Third Avenue in Manhattan. Known as one of the city’s great story-tellers, patrons from longshoremen to the actor Richard Harris would stop in and talk all things Irish with . On Ryan’s Hope, Kevin was best friends to “Ryan’s Bar” owner, Johnny Ryan (Bernie Barrow) and he tried to keep Delia (Ilene Kristen) on the straight and narrow.

Photo: ABC

In his soap opera career, McCourt also was widely-known for his role of Father Clarence McCourt on All My Children especially come Christmastime. Was Clarence, actually St. Nick? That was always the proverbial question. McCourt also appeared on the New York soaps: One Life To Live, Search For Tomorrow and Another World. Other roles included: Devil’s Own, Brewster’s Millions, The Molly Maguires, and Starman, to name 

Later in 2006, Malachy ran for governor of the state of New York as a Green Party candidate. He tackled social issues of the time including being an advocate for gay and lesbian groups to march in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Photo: ABC

McCourt’s childhood was recounted within his brother Frank McCourt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela’s Ashes, which detailed their mother’s attempt to raise the four of their surviving seven children in poverty in Limerick, Ireland. Later, Malachy wrote his own memoirs: 1998’s Monk Swimming, and 2000’s Singing My Him Song.

Malachy is survived by his aforementioned wife, Diana, daughter Siobhan McCourt; sons Malachy Jr., Conor and Cormac; stepdaughter Nina Galin; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

Share you remembrances and condolences for Malachy McCourt via the comment section, but first check out this scene from a 1983 episode of “Ryan’s Hope” featuring the late actor with Ilene Kristen.

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‘Live with Kelly and Mark’s’ Annual ‘After the Oscars’ Show Brings Backstage Interviews, Fashion Review and Red Carpet Arrivals from Movie’s Biggest Night

Monday morning, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos took to the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for the talk show’s annual Oscar post show.

However, this time it would be Consuelos’ first time as the co-host of ‘Live’ for an Oscars episode. Mark took over the gig from Ryan Seacrest to team with his wife back in April of 2023 and since then the show has seen a ratings spike hitting several all-time highs.

The After the Oscars show opened with a tribute to the movies were the former All My Children stars took on iconic roles from: Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct to Barbie and Ken in Barbie, to the Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller role’s in the romantic comedy Something About Mary and more.

Courtesy/DisneyABC

During After the Oscars, Kelly and Mark were shown in clips backstage as the first stop for the newly-anointed Academy Award winners including: Finneas and Billie Eilish and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The Bachelor host, Jesse Palmer was the talk show’s guest correspondent who spoke to the nominees, and celebrities as they were entering the Dolby Theatre on Sunday night.

Singer Andy Grammar took to the stage and performed on Live’s  After the Oscars show as well, and Project Runaway’s Elaine Welteroth shared her thoughts on the night’s Oscar fashion.

You can watch the full ‘Live with Kelly and Mark After the Oscars’ show below, plus the full movie parody below that. Now let us know, what do you think of Kelly and Mark’s first post-Oscar show together on ‘Live’? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

 

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Peter Reckell returns for a second visit with Michael Fairman following the wrap-up of his recent run as Bo Brady on Days of our Lives.Leave A Comment

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