News
One Life to Live Star Erika Slezak Talks Prospect Park and Clint Richie On ‘IN with Linda Dano’ Podcast
One Life to Live icon, Erika Slezak (ex-Viki) chatted with another OLTL and soap favorite, Linda Dano (ex-Gretl, ex-Felicia, AW, et al) on the latest episode of Dano’s podcast, IN with Linda Dano.
During the conversation, the dear friends and former castmates touched on myriad of subjects including One Life’s move to the internet (then streaming) with Prospect Park following ABC cancellation of the series.
Erika related the issues she and others had getting paid from the company. This included one encounter when trying to pick-up her paycheck as she did on Fridays. Slezak shared: “I waited an hour. I waited two hours. He had know intention (to pay me) until I literally stood over him in his office and said, “Write my check, because I am not leaving until you do.” And it was the last check I ever got. They still owe me a lot of money. I am not going to say how much.”
Photo: Prospect Park
She went on to say, “They still owe Tuc Watkins (ex-David) and they still owe a lot of people a lot of money. They declared bankruptcy. Even though they produced other shows, this was a separate production and such a screw up. It was such a shame.”
The discussion turned to Phil Carey, Bob Woods and Clint Ritchie who played the Buchanan men during Erika’s time on One Life, as well at times for Linda Dano. Slezak admitted she would have loved to have seen Viki involved romantically with Asa: “My one regret is that I (as Viki) was never married to him.”
Photo: ABC
Clint Ritchie has had a controversial past with One Life to Live. Both Dano and Slezak sort of dished on some behind the scenes intel. Linda shared: “I went on a date with him and my dad, who is like nine feet tall, said to him, “You are a few minutes late and that means you’re not welcome here again.” He (Clint) was a bit of a troubled person.”
Photo: JPI
Erika responded, “Clint, most of the time was incredibly decent. He did like to drink at lunch, which was not such a good idea. But Clint was very respectful and always very nice to me. He was a lovely man and he had issues. The bizarre thing is he and Phil Carey died in the same week.”
What do you think about how the attempt to bring One Life to Live online and to Hulu ultimately failed? What do you think about Linda and Erika’s past and thoughts with Clint Richie? Enjoying Linda’s podcast? Comment below.
What a wonderful conversation.
They are both so lovely.
Could have listened to them for another hour.
The higher power need to bring back not only one life to live but all my children too.
It’s sad when people can’t let things go. The shows had their shot; nobody was watching. The shows were awful. No popular show gets canceled. At some point you have to move on.
To say “nobody was watching” is a gross overstatement. At time of cancellation, OLTL was actually higher rated than GH (and way above DAYS). The show that replaced OLTL was cancelled after 6 months and the time returned to affiliates.
Well said OG Steve.
ABC got rid of OLTL mainly about money, ratings did not override the tedious amount of money to produce a soap, especially for daytime, tv,
talk shows are quite inexpensive to produce…ABC does not do business
by emotions… ABC’s daytime shows is money in the pocket…
As for OLTL- nothing lasts forever…
OOPPSS!
- inexpensive to be expensive –
I love that show I wish it would come back on TV . It was a awesome show.
Not true it did have a fan base I watched it regularly and followed it to the net. What is sad is that they did not respect the actors.
Streaming was too new at the time and the quick transition was doomed. The cancellation of multiple soaps in quick order was just the beginning of the chainsaw the networks started to maximize profits. Now it’s endless repeating news from talking heads and blab shows. I miss the old days of entertaining drama. Would it kill them to stream the old ABC or p&g shows. Or are they tapes wiped away?
Supposedly every episode of OLTL from the time they went to 1-hour are still in existence. The tapes for the first ten years (30 and 45 minute episodes) would’ve been reused as was the practice in much of daytime.
I could’ve listened to them all day such a treat! I hope Linda has Victoria Wyndham and more Another World people.
Such a shame streaming was in its early days when online was attempted. I think an online version might succeed in today’s streaming world.
Thank you Michael for letting us know about the podcast. It’s always a thrill to hear from the fabulous Erika Slezak. I loved her stories. I can’t imagine Viki being married to Asa. That would have been WW3 with Viki trying to get him in line.
I am sorry Prospect Park failed. The concept was wonderful. The execution, not so much. I watched and enjoyed the online series on Hulu. Unfortunately, Prospect Park didn’t know how to produce a serialized drama for the long haul. I think it’s awful that several of the actors were not paid.
I will always miss our beloved One Life to Live..
Hope she does join general hospital
Erika lives happily in Connecticut while GH is filmed in California.
I miss OLTL so much ❤️! The stars , the storylines. Yeah, they definitely need to bring them back ASAP
Erika Slezak is simply class and the cast of OLTL was not treated right by Prospect Park and certainly not by ABC and Froms. Get the facts: OLTL was averaging 3.1M viewers during the week of its cancellation and 3.8M viewers for the final episode. The move backfired as ratings never recovered with the stupid talk shows to include additional cancellations. ABC may have made some extra $ for a time but NO one was watching or cared. OLTL and AMC should have never left the daytime lineup. I also still miss GL and ATWT but their ratings were not as good but over 2M+.
Hi my name is Shelly Tuttle I. Use to watch one life to live with my family all of them please bring back all my children soapra and one life to life. On hulu. Again. I love watching them.
One Life to Live online was awful.
I remember when the reboot happened. I had taken my mom to the doctor. I sat in the waiting room crying because our show was back. I didn’t care that it was on line.
Just to have another scene with Erica and Roger…..
Have you noticed ES never attacks and never says an evil word about co workers if only everyone could be like that. I always wanted her to come to Y&R as Katherine’s long lost sister to keep the history alive but I don’t blame her for probably not wanting to commute to California.
Breaking News
Patrick Mulcahey OUT as General Hospital Co-Head Writer
After various reports surfaced, it has been confirmed that Patrick Mulcahey is out as the co-head writer of General Hospital. This is after a very short tenure of under five months.
Mulcahey was named to the position back in January of 2024 along with longtime GH writer Elizabeth Korte. They replaced the team of Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor, who had been the head scribes of the long-running ABC daytime drama since 2019.
A source informed Soap Opera Digest that stories created by the co-head writing team of Mulcahey/Korte team will air through mid-summer. However they added “There will be more news to share at a later date as to the composition of the new writing team.”
In addition, eagle-eyed soap fans have seen that in recent episodes former co-head writer, Chris Van Etten has been credited, as he is reportedly a breakdown writer with the show.
Soap Opera Network is reporting that Korte has assumed the head writing duties solely on her own at the moment, while Buzz blog initially reported Mulcahey’s exit.
We will have more on the GH writing team evolution in the days ahead.
What do you think about the writing team changes at GH thus far? Comment below.
Days Of Our Lives
TONIGHT: ‘Daytime Stands Up – A Benefit for Stand Up To Cancer’
On Thursday night May 16th, the daytime community comes together for Daytime Stands Up – A Benefit for Stand Up To Cancer, streaming live at 8 pm ET/5pm PT.
Stand Up To Cancer, in collaboration with leading daytime community voices Michael Fairman and Alan Locher, are coming together for a first-of-its-kind livestream event, Daytime Stands Up: A Benefit for Stand Up To Cancer … We All Have a Story.
The three-hour benefit will feature stars from the world of daytime drama television past and present, musical performances, and stories of emotional on- and off-screen experiences with cancer. Special celebrity guests will also join the effort to encourage viewers to support urgently needed research and new cancer treatments. You can watch live on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel, The Locher Room or the Stand Up To Cancer website.
In support of the event, SU2C will simultaneously launch a 10-day eBay silent auction, from May 16 through 26, for soap opera fans to bid on a wide range of items, including a meet-and-greet experience with the cast of NBC’s Days of Our Lives; an autographed script from the cast of CBS’s The Young and the Restless and signed merchandsise from CBS’s The Bold and the Beautiful cast; a 1:1 video call with General Hospital’s Cynthia Watros, Maura West and Laura Wright, and with daytime legends Robert Newman, Vincent Irizarry, Colleen Zenk, and more. Full details will be shared the evening of May 16, at StandUpToCancer.org/DaytimeStandsUp.
As part of the event, you will hear, cancer survivorship stories from General Hospital’s Cameron Mathison and The Young and the Restless’ Colleen Zenk, who will reflect on the impact of publicly sharing their diagnoses; and 2024 Daytime Emmy nominee Eric Braeden, who shares his battle with bladder cancer
Daytime icon Jackie Zeman, who played nurse Bobbie Spencer on General Hospital for 45 years, shared by daughters Cassidy MacLeod and Lacey Gorden.
Elizabeth Hubbard who played the iconic Lucinda Walsh on As the World Turns and Dr. Althea Davis on The Doctors, shared by her on-screen daughter Martha Byrne and real-life son Jeremy Bennett.
Two-time Emmy Award-winner Jerry verDorn (Guiding Light / One Life to Live), shared by widow Beth verDorn and his on-screen wife on Guiding Light, friend and co-star Liz Keifer.
Andrea Evans, who played Tina Lord Roberts on One Life to Live, shared by her husband Stephen G. Rodriguez and daughter Kylie Rodriguez.
Kamar de los Reyes shared by his One Life to Live co-stars Michael Easton (General Hospital) Trevor St. John (The Young and the Restless).
Poignant reflections from actors who have portrayed breast cancer survivors, including Sharon Case and Eileen Davidson from The Young and the Restless; Erika Slezak from One Life to Live; Tina Sloan and Kim Zimmer from Guiding Light and more.
Additional talent slated to participate in the virtual benefit include (subject to change): Eddie and Kristen Alderson (One Life to Live); Elia Cantu (Days of Our Lives); The Day Players, featuring Days of Our Lives castmates Carson Boatman, Brandon Barash, Wally Kurth (2024 Daytime Emmy nominee), Eric Martsolf (2024 Daytime Emmy nominee); Kassie DePaiva (One Life to Live); Don Diamont (The Bold and the Beautiful); Linsey Godfrey (2024 Daytime Emmy nominee, Days of Our Lives); Leo Howard (Days of Our Lives); Lesli Kay (The Bold and the Beautiful); Eden McCoy (General Hospital); Kin Shriner (General Hospital); and Michelle Stafford (2024 Daytime Emmy nominee, The Young and the Restless).
You can watch the Daytime Stands Up livestream below. Now let us know if you have a cancer story that has affected your life via the comment section below, or how a daytime TV character who went through a cancer battle, gave you strength and courage in your own journey.
General Hospital
General Hospital Receives Stage Dedication
General Hospital has yet another moment to cherish in their storied 61-year history. ABC Entertainment executives honored the daytime dramas cast and crew on May 10, 2024, by dedicating Stage 4, where the series is filmed as “The General Hospital Stage.”
ABC made the decision to acknowledge the show with the stage dedication last year, when it hit its 60th anniversary.
Network executive, Nathan Varni shared via Facebook, “This event was supposed to take place in April, 2023 but due to a multitude of reasons was postponed. Well, we finally celebrated the legacy and history of General Hospital with a stage dedication placard that will live on forever! Thanks to everyone involved with the show for all your hard work, dedication and passion for continuing to keep this show alive and running! Congrats to all involved! We deeply admire and appreciate everyone who works around the clock to bring this series to life 255 days a year!”
Photo: ABC
The stage dedication plaque reads: THE GENERAL HOSPITAL STAGE. IN HONOR OF THE ICONIC TELEVISION DRAMA’S 60TH ANNIVERSARY. SERIES DEBUT APRIL 1, 1963.
Cast members who were in attendance to be part of the dedication included: Jane Elliot (Tracy), Kelly Monaco (Sam), Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth), Donnell Turner (Curtis), Kristina Wagner (Felicia), Maura West (Ava), Brook Kerr (Portia), Kirsten Storms (Maxie), Bradford Anderson (Spinelli), Amanda Setton (Brook Lynn), Chad Duell (Michael), Robert Gossett (Marshall), Eden McCoy (Josslyn), Josh Swickard (Chase), Jeff Kober (Cyrus), Hudson West (Jake) and Vernee Watson (Stella).
Photo: ABC
GH is not only the longest-running daytime soap on the air, but it is now longest-running scripted drama in all of television. The series continues to hold the record for the most Outstanding Daytime Drama award wins, taking home the Daytime Emmy Award a record 16 times. To date, GH has filmed over 15,468 episodes.
Share your congrats to GH for their stage dedication which will continue to preserve their legacy for years to come.
Patrick Mulcahey OUT as General Hospital Co-Head Writer
TONIGHT: ‘Daytime Stands Up – A Benefit for Stand Up To Cancer’
General Hospital Receives Stage Dedication
Steve Burton Confirms New Relationship
GH’s Wally Kurth on Ned’s Talk To Brook Lynn Before Walking Her Down the Aisle: “Everytime I Read it, I Choked Up. At Rehearsal, I Choked Up”
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: What Shocker Awaits at Chase and Brook Lynn’s Wedding?
Days of our Lives Favorite Judi Evans Shares Touching Remembrance of Son Austin on Mother’s Day
GH’s Nancy Lee Grahn Speaks Out for Jailed Former On-Screen Daughter, Haley Pullos
GH’s Amanda Setton Previews Brook Lynn & Chase’s Wedding: “It’s a Really Satisfying Payoff for the Fans”
Steve Burton Confirms New Relationship
TONIGHT: ‘Daytime Stands Up – A Benefit for Stand Up To Cancer’
Motion Picture Star Chris Hemsworth, a ‘Home and Away’ Alum, Defends Soap Operas, ‘It Used to Bother Me When Actors Would Later Talk About the Show with Guilt or Shame”
‘The Bold and the Beautiful Music from the Series Volume Two’ Released Featuring Dramatic Story Themes
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: What Shocker Awaits at Chase and Brook Lynn’s Wedding?
Jensen Ackles to Make His ‘Tracker’ Debut
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