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ATWT's head scribe, Passanante on why the decision to kill Reid and the end of Luke's story!

Photo Credit: JPI Studios

Photo Credit: JPI Studios

The one person (sans Chris Goutman) everyone was hoping to hear from since the ending of As the World Turns, head writer, Jean Passanante has surfaced for a doozy of an interview with the LGBT Entertainment News site, AfterElton.com. In it, she opened up about the decision to “kill-off ” Reid, leave Luke bereft and alone, and assorted other questions that have been maddening, and frustrating  for most LuRE, Nuke, straight and gay viewers,  in one way or another.  Here we go with some stunner excerpts below!

Passanante if she is aware of the huge fan backlash from killing Reid: “I am aware of it. I was at the Paley Center doing a panel and a couple of people kind of accosted me – this is before it even aired. … The fact that it happened to be a gay guy that died is completely arbitrary and coincidental. I’m a little stunned that there’s this attitude that, you know, we can’t interrupt a gay romance, as if we haven’t done exactly that with straight romances.”

Passanante on if she understood how upsetting it was to kill one of the gay characters off the show who were in love: “We have three gay characters on the show, and one of them died, so I don’t think we can be blamed for killing off the gay characters because we don’t know what to do with them. We certainly have the sense that Luke will go on and he’s proudly gay and openly out and everything else, and that Noah is as well, and that their lives will continue and perhaps intersect.  Never ever ever crossing anyone’s mind was ‘Oh thank God, let’s get rid of the gay guy before he can have a really great relationship with Luke.’ It just couldn’t be further from the truth. We had a great couple there and we knew it. We were killing ourselves that the show was coming to an end because let me tell you, I would have loved to have written the hell out of that thing for you. Really.  So it wasn’t something we set out to do to annihilate the gay guy, and people must know that. If it did add to a media stereotype, of course that’s horrible and I do feel terrible about that, but that was certainly never the intention. I do think we got a great story out of him and he became kind of a heroic character.”

Passanante on what she may have done differently looking back now, regarding the end of Reid: “Emotionally, watching the goodbye scenes with Reid, I thought ‘oh God, we could have had another week out of them.’ So believe me, I understand. I’m crying thinking about it. But you do make a lot of sacrifices for story and I do think we would have done the same thing if it’d been a straight guy and a straight woman, you know, in a similar kind of a romance. We probably would have played it exactly the same way. That’s all I can say, and yes, it’s easy for me to say from the perspective of not being gay.”

Make sure to read the full feature with Jean on more of her thoughts on the decision making process of the final story involving, Luke, Reid and Noah.   Then, let us know if you are satisified with the explanation, or not.

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Some of her comments are ridiculous.How many gay storylines are on tv?And not only were luke and reid so loved as a couple to kill reid was really sad.These writers and TPTB weren’t listening to whst the fans wanted. if they had listened or cared Reid would still be alive.I think when they wrote this Luke and Reid story they wrote a “nice’ love story for two gay men who fall in love.But the chemistry between Luke and Reid was so strong and the screen actually sizzled when they looked at each other, smiled at each other, and when they kissed each other it was like an explosion.I have never seen anything like it in my whole life.I think TPTB wanted a “nice’ very generic gay story and that’s not what they got.Somebody put the brakes on this couple because they were beyond hot! I loved them and i miss them.

I think you are right on. And the thing that Passanante and her ilk won’t admit is that they treat the gay storylines completely differently from straight ones. She can cite other examples of them killing off straights and not giving them happy endings, but at least those characters first got to have some fulfilling times together. Examples: Katie and Brad were lovers and married before he was brutally killed off. Luke and Reid got months of drawn out stumbling blocks to their relationship starting and did not get to have sex before Reid was killed off. BIG disappointment for a very hungry and now very bitter audience. She can try to spin it any way she likes, it is still just a bunch of crap. I wish she and Goutman would never work again.

It sounds more like you have closed your minds to anything Passnante has to say that isn’t what you want to hear. The ending of the entire story is bigger than just one storyline. Reid’s death played into the storylines of most of the final actors, i.e. Chris’ living, Bob’s eventual successor, the improtance of John’s return. Also it was in keeping with honoring Reid’s emerging caring for others, that he would be heroic in his determination that his heart would go to Chris. I have never been a fan of Reid, and the relationship between him and Luke never felt real or had real eletric passion to me, but I did find myself caring about him and feeling he was awsome and graceful in his sacrafice. The fact that he was a gay character should have nothing to do with it, it not make the story telling more tragically greater.

thesaneone-you said it all as to YOUR agenda when you stated that you did not like Reid nor believe his relationship with Luke- that is why you were not bothered when they stupidly transformed Reid’s character from a fleshed out one who was just looking for a loving relationship to basically a red-shirt who was going to be killed off for a stupid larger story arc. I and many others on the other hand loved Reid to pieces, and hated seeing such a pointless and unnecessary warping of his character and his SL. And if the writers had really wanted to kill someone off they could have chosen one among many other characters on the show who needed to make some sort of amends in life – Reid was not one of them. Also, the writers did not make Chris a rootable character nor was his story arc interesting. You can state that the writers’ goal was to show that Chris needed to be saved, but they did not achieve it, so for me it was an unsupportable move to kill off Reid for Chris. And finally, you did not address at all that there was a clear double standard in place for the gay SL vs. that of all the straights on the show, and that made the hideous ending given Luke and Reid even more galling. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if YOU were Passanante – she will go to her grave trying to prop up the terrible story she ended up shoving down our throats by the end – and I can see her ghosting around sites like this trying to make her bizarre points.

I’m gay, I never saw homophobia. The two gay characters who were meant to be together were alive and well at the end!
That’s the story.

I don’t believe one word this woman says. You’re going to tell me that she’s worked on this gay storyline for years and is unaware of the stigma of leaving this show with all of the gay characters unhappy…when every other straight person has a happy ending? Saying that if Reid had lived, she wanted to continue to “write the hell out of it”. There is absolutely no explanation that makes any sense as to why they HAD to kill Reid off to save worthless Chris Hughes. I call bullshit.

Are we really supposed to believe that JP didn’t have a clue to how the fans would react to them killing off 1/3 of the gay characters and give all three miserable ending (Reid dead, Luke grieving the love of his life, Noah still in love with Luke and not being able to move on) and then give happy endings to all the straight characters? I can’t believe that she was that ignorant. For if she truly was ignorant about how it would go over, then she either did not know the audience that was watching or just did not care. Neither attitude is something that should be seen in a Head Writer. The backlash that she is getting is completely justified.

I feel that JP is just playing the CYA game. She does not want to take responsibility for the decision, hence the remark that there were gay writers that did not mention that it would be a bad idea to kill off the gay guy. If there had to be a death then why not Chris who did not care enough about his own health to get treatment when he first got sick? Or if they really wanted Luke to have go through something traumatic, then kill off Damian and make his death Luke’s fault and have Reid be there to help him through it. Or maybe in an ironic twist of fate, have Katie be the one that died to give Chris a new heart. There were many options that could have been explored, but sadly were not.

Noah….Noah is the love of Luke’s life. There is footage to prove it. A rebound doesn’t replace that. And Noah is alive, and the series ends with the beginning of their reconciliation….it’s a win!

Words fail me, never read such rubbish in my life. Oh boy is my blood boiling.
Thanks Michael as always.

+1

Anything that woman says now just leaves me cold. Utter rubbish.

JP is so out of touch with the fans of soap operas. I can’t believe she honestly thought she was doing a great job with this story. If she wanted to tell a great story she should of done something different & had Luke & Reid together & happy & building their lives together instead of killing off his neurosurgeon boyfriend who he just fell in love with after an emotionally abusive relationship he just got out from.
She’s been nurturing this story of Luke’s for years now & she had to of known what kind of backlash she would get from the fans.
I think she honestly didn’t want anything to happen between Luke & Reid & the chemistry between the 2 was more than they thought could of happened & they backed off of it in the last few months, throwing in stupid blocks (baby rattle) to not have anything happen.

What backlash! the show is OVER. A couple of fans confronting JP on one occassion, does not a backlash make. Listen cry babies, it’s time to grow up and pull your thumbs out of your mouths. I think that all the fighting between you Lure people and the NUKE people (one of whom, I am), played a role in the choice to leave Luke without either man. But I must say, they left the door open for NUKE…YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!

if it makes you feel better to think Luke would go back to Noah, go right ahead. unfortunately we both got screwed & the only people on the show that didn’t get a happy ending is the 3 gay guys.
JP & CG screwed the storyline up & didn’t want to admit it. JP was blaming everyone else for her not doing her job of head writer. first blaming the “gay” writers on her staff for not telling her this was wrong, then blaming it on Lucky Gold who was 2nd in charge for writing the story.

Missing the mark , And looking completely ignorant.

Thats why you don’t see anything wrong with Reid dying( because you’re a nuke fan).Luke and Noah became boring and they didn’t bring out the best in each other like Luke and Reid did.There was no reason to sacrifice Reid and
Lukes love story.And that’s what it was , a mature love story between two men who brought out the best in each other.and the chemistry between them was beautiful to see.And Noah and Luke would never get together again except as friends.Luke learned from Reid what real love and respect was.And it’s not a couple of fans that are disgusted with Jean P. and TPTB, read all the message boards…it was the majority of fans who love Luke and Reid together.The writers and or TPTB didn’t have the guts to let lURE live happily ever after!

Luke and Noah, will, as Reid himself said, have a long and happy life together. Luke never gave himself fully to Reid…they never did anything….he was still hung up on Noah. That’s how they played it. Watch it again.

If you ask me Noah is the only character that made out like a bandit. Get’s to go to LA and live out his dream. Too bad I’ve just never ever cared for him.

Emotionally abusive? Another person who skipped all 3 years of Luke and Noah for the teardrop in the ocean or the Reid rebound.

This woman is as dumb as a box of hair. I never believed she was intentionally homophobic, but she is incredibly ignorant; the quote about her being stunned that people think they can’t ruin gay romances when they do it to straight ones all the time, is a perfect example. She’s assuming a level playing field when there isn’t one, and that is supremely disingenuous. Actually, that’s probably giving her too much credit. Jean, do us a favor and stick to writing straight characters. When it comes to gay ones, you clearly have no idea what you’re doing.

The gay romance wasn’t ruined.
Luke and Noah are alive.

I’ve said it before, Luke and Reid were the most beautiful and captivating love story I have had the pleasure of watching. To me and many viewers I did not see a gay love story, just a story of 2 people falling in love and becoming better because of it. Luke matured so much having Reid a part of his life. They were the perfect compliment to one another. Watching the character of Reid open up and become vulnerable and be willing to fight against everything he was afraid of to be able start a life with Luke was beautiful. These two (Eric and Van) were sublime to watch on screen and we fell in love right along with them. It is a slap in the face as a viewer the hear Jean say that Luke and Reid would have gone on to start a life together and she would have loved writing for these characters if the show hadn’t been cancelled….what the heck is that….why would you not end their story with them starting a life together if that is what you saw for their future in your mind as the writer? Makes not sense. The viewers were left heartbroken and devestated by Reid’s death and to end Luke’s story with him alone and grieving for the man who he could have had a mature relationship with….not right and not what the viewers wanted to see. No excuse will change things now…they are just that excuses!

I love how you over use the word MATURE, we get it. You are so typical of the fans who see what they want. Luke and Reid hadn’t been together long enough for us to see Luke display this more matured self, you speak of. Wouldn’t he have matured on his own as he lived his life. It’s a real stretch to declare that Saint Reid saved poor, sinner boy Luke from permanent childhood. It’s the things we go through and learn from that really bring us the gift of maturity. And if Reid help Luke grow up at all it’s in having to deal with Reid’s sudden death. I don’t mean to rub it in but there was no time to build a great love story between them. I think you and others like you were focused on the shows limited time before ending and you read more into the characters and their interactions than time allowed. There just was not time to build a story of their love, so it didn’t feel strong or lasting. It felt more like Reid and Luke could be one of the relationoships you have before you meet that one special person….or maybe realize that you’ve already met that person you can never completely let go of….NOAH.

You talk about some of us only seeing what we want….look at you…you only wanted Luke to end up with Noah no matter what.That would never have happened.Noah never really appreciated Luke and Luke outgrew Noah.It didn’t matter that Reid and Lukes relationship was just starting, when it’s right ,it’s right! Love just happens and it happened.It made them both better people.and the show was ending…everybody should have had a happy endingThe fans have spoken….Luke and Reid had the love story of a lifetime and they broke the gay stereotype. I think that you should let go of your delusions that Luke would ever have wanted noah again.Reid and Luke were men while Noah and Luke were chidren!

Uh, how do you outgrow someone. How does one justify that. Susan Dansby, who wrote a lot of the Reid stuff lamented that their big mistake was not being able to reunite Luke and Noah better….

So true! They where the best thing to ever happen to ATWT in the 40 years I’ve been watching. Luke and Reid where the only reason my sister and I where even paying any attention to the show. Killing Reid off in this disgusting way made me hate everything that came after. This women is dispensable.

Wow! I would have expected an apology for bad planning, horrible cruelty in killing a character, and thoughtlessness. But of course not, just more evidence of why this show was canceled.

First of all, I can’t imagine a scenario where the writers would have left Carly standing in a hospital, just having found out that Jack was going to die, with John Dixon complaining there would be no heart for Chris Hughes, then having Tom badger her to sign papers to give up Jack’s heart to Chris, and then everyone proceed to abandon her while they go about taking care of Chris. Never would have happened. People would have been outraged. The idea that this lack of thought could occur because of these characters sexuality may be as offensive as the storyline itself.

It is her job to consider the implications of her storylines and the impact they have. Regardless of what may have happened in the future, the bottom line is that at the end of the show, while every other primary character under the age of 50 was joking and laughing, even having sex, Luke was wandering around town without family, except for his youngest sister, grieving the loss of Reid. This didn’t strike them as a problem? The gay guy is the only one grieving and Goutman is saying at the Paley Center that he wanted the audience to have an “emotionally satisfying” end. I guess for people who think that gay men should be left alone in misery and punished, this would be emotionally satisfying.

The fact that she would make the same decision to end things this way reveals that she is not only ignorant and incompetent, but also bullheaded.

of course i’m not satisfied with the explanations! (1) can’t believe she tried to dodge behind the fact that gay writers on staff didn’t object to the s/l. what were they supposed to do – tell their bosses they’re committing the biggest blunder ever? (2) she said “readers can’t be so naive to think we can do whatever we want” and then refused to say more about exactly what limits were put on them. (3) it’s hypocritical to insist “if it were a straight couple we’d make the same decisions.” no you wouldn’t. i’d like to know which straight couples on the show never had sex before one of them was brutally killed off, and not for the sake of their loved one! (4) i don’t understand the logic of why if the show is not cancelled, luke and reid will go on and on, but b/c the show is ending, reid has to be chopped up into organs to be donated to the world? just still feel so hurt and mad — maybe even more so after reading!

Not sure what is worse the ‘we didn’t know we were feeding into a cultural bias’ (bad ending for gay characters) or the constant ‘if the show wasn’t ending Reid would be their for a long long time.’ Makes it seem like it was just don’t for shock value. The other thing that irritates me was ‘we didn’t set out to hurt anyone’. Seriously what did they thing would happen? We would jump for joy when they heaped unnecessary tragedy on top of the pain of
Nancy’s death and the loss of the show? Very short sighted and out of touch with reality if you ask me.

I think one of the reasons why this is so hard to take is because it’s almost like Passanante and the other writers were saying that Luke and Reid’s relationship, and Reid’s life, were not as important as Chris and Katie’s relationship, or Chris’ life. They even had Luke utter a few lines that seemed to support this point. Instead of focusing Reid’s last few moments on Luke, he was worried about Chris. In the weeks leading up to the accident, Reid was more focused on Chris and Katie, than he was on his own life. He shot down Luke’s invitation to stay over one night, so that he could rush home to be with Katie, after he thought that Chris would tell her that he was sick.

It also hurts that Reid and Luke, as a gay couple, had to go through all of these hopes in order to prove that they were really a couple. Unlike most other couples, including Chris and Katie, they couldn’t be an insta couple, because that would have upset the bigots. I’m fine with everything that they had to go through before they officially became a couple, because those things made their relationship seem more real and believable than the other couples’ on the show, but the message that the show sent is that even though Chris and Katie had been dating for a shorter period of time than Luke and Reid, and even though the show didn’t spend time showing them being a couple or dealing with issues, their relationship was more meaningful and important than Luke and Reid’s, which was expendable, especially since breaking them up would mean the love birds, Chris and Katie, would have a happy ending.

The sad thing is that Chris was no where near being as valuable and well developed a character as Reid, not that it would have been okay for Reid to be sacrificed for someone who was a three dimensional character, but for some reason it hurts more thinking about how Reid had more of an impact in just nine months than the last two Chris’ combined. It also hurts to think that Reid was a better doctor, friend and boyfriend than Chris, who was lazy, arrogant, a bully and poorly written, yet he got everything that he wanted, even though he didn’t deserve any of the blessings that he received. He couldn’t even be thankful to Reid for giving him his heart. The last episode, he delivered the line about it being bad enough that he has to live with Reid’s heart. He acted like Reid was hurting him.

OMG !!! your last section about how unworthy was scumbag chris was so so so right !!! a big AMEN to that sister!!! BULLS EYE.

Couldn’t have stated it better myself!!!!

THIS!! Very well said , couldn’t agree more !!

Absolutely! That’s one of the things that pisses me off the most – how undeserving self-serving Chris is!

Shattering comment, it ought to sting like hell if the writers read it. Of course the ungrateful Chris now no longer wants the job he competed with Reid for! Even after Reid gave him life – his wretched lack of concern is horrifying and just about what you would expect them to do – throw that back in Luke’s face after he championed this loser to the people making the selection of Chief of Staff. Feels like salt on the wound to me!

Wonderfully stated, Kellie. And all so very sad and true. We lost a fleshed-out genuine interesting character for Chris There is nothing in there that is right.

omg i didn’t even see that! now i hate chris more than i thought possible! what a disgusting ending! i really hated chris, he was such an asshole, selfish and uncaring. Reid was the opposite. *cries*

WOW You really have thought this out! I agree there is the presumption that somehow Christ and Katie are more important than Luke and Reid and on that premise, I greatly protest. I’m still not sure as many seem to be, that JP was making a gay verses straight relationship choice. For years the writers have had no problem writing Luke and Noah as a true couple. Not only so but that were given the support of family and friends.

I believe that JP was loyal to her first creation, LUKE and NOAH. And that she was never truly invested in Reid as Luke’s long term love interest. It has been a tradition in soaps and with JP to keep a deeper connection between first loves, and revisit the relationships over and over. It creates story line when the writers break them up and bring in new loves and commitments only to see them slowly unravel and the original couple find their way back to each other. i.e. Holden and Lily, Jack and Carley…Y&R’s Victor and Nikki, Nick and Sharon.

I believe if the show had continued we would’ve seen this kind of story unfold with Luke and Noah. As for the struggles of Luke and Noah, These types of relationships always have flaws, that often lead to the break ups. The flip side of it is that they have a deeper need and connection which is what draws them back together. No matter how they swear it’s over and move on, they always come back to each other! I am a NUKE fan but I speak with respect to Reid, whom I came to care for, but he would never replace Noah in Luke heart.

I admit you have shed some light on the choice to save Chris’ life. He wasn’t deserving in the end, not at all!

To the sane one, you are still delusional if you think Luke would ever have gotten back with Noah.Luke and Reid were like two pieces in a puzzle, they fit together so perfectly.Luke had out grown Noah…he fell in love with a man and he became a man because of it.Sure Luke would always have a place in his heart for Noah, a memory of the past, while with Reid, he shared the present and should have shared the future! Theirs was a true love story and i will never forgive the writers for being so insensitve to the fans.We loved Luke and Reid together!I don’t think Jean P. was being loyal to luke and noah, i think they were scared off by the chemistry between Luke and Reid.shame on them for letting us love a couple so much and then destrying them at the end of a show that was on for 54 years!!!!

Luke and Reid had ZERO chemistry. Van did all the work, while Reid stared. Blankly. Reid was a temporary rebound. Period. They were showing the NUKE commercial bumper till the end. Even the last show, there they are. There were no L/R fan events, unlike NUKE. the last promos for the last Nuke day were called “the promise”. Thats them getting back together.

The Reke super romance only existed in fan fiction. It wasnt dramatized on TV. Luke realized…ON TV after Reid died that they hadn’t really done anything…he was right.

First the comment about only killing off one of the gay characters so that doesn’t count. Wow! I guess Luke & Noah can count themselves lucky her poison pen didn’t do them in.

JP seems absolutely clueless that when you start off with an unlevel playing field for the gay players (intimacy blocks, propping Chris/Katie instead of allowing the LuRe romance, no sex, no airtime & more) & then you pile on death by train, Luke left by himself in the hospital with people fighting over organs & in the end you have Luke still grieving, it looks a little like attempted gay hate crime by ATWT.

Oh, the train thing really gets my goat. How contrived and stupid is that? And it’s clear they did no research at all on heart transplants. No LVAD, no heart. If they can’t risk doing the surgery for an LVAD, they sure couldn’t do a transplant. All they had to do was go to the Mayo Clinic’s site or any other transplant center’s site to see protocol, not to mention protocol concerning the donor registry. It took me all of two hours at most to go to those sites and find the info, but I guess they think we are too stupid to suspend belief on something so ludicrous. I have always accepted that I had to suspend belief when I watched daytime drama, but this was too nonsensical to even do that.

It’s disgusting how little they did in the way of research. It would have made more sense if *aliens* came and took Reid away.

Why beat around the bush. You TPTB knew exactly what you were doing and honestly didn’t give a damn about either one of the fan bases. You have ruined the only soap that I even watched since GL. Now I have no soaps to watch because I don’t like any of the other network soaps. I honestly feel sorry for the people at OLTL. It’s only a matter of time. I honestly don’t beleive that anyone tried to save this show. Remember it was Les Moonves that said ATWT wasn’t special enough to be saved. We’ll see how special that talk show that is replacing ATWT is. I’m definitely not going to watch it. How pathetic was it to not let Luke & Reid consummate their relationship when Chris & Katie did in only a couple of weeks. The stupid spoilers stated that an Oakdale couple will make love for the first time. I’m sure that I’m not the only one that thought it would be Luke & Reid. I will state what I have already said time and time again. Eric was the best thing to happen to this show in a long time. His chemistry with Van was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. For myself as well as others they were like a real couple and very believable. I started watching this show as a little girl with my grandmother who has since passed away. I can honestly say that I am somewhat grateful that she wasn’t here to see such a horrific end to one of her favorite soaps. I don’t know anything about you besides the fact that your writing stinks, but you probably got some kind of a high or something by so many of us fans becoming so invested in this beautiful love story between Luke & Reid just to devastate the character of Luke and us in the end. I don’t care what you say it is plain and simply homophobic. You had quite a number of straight couples who could have gotten a tragic ending. But no, only the gay couple. Give me a break. It feels so good to get this off of my chest. I think the main reason that I am upset is because I have never gotten invested into any love story and the fact that this was a gay love story was a first for me. Sure; I watched Luke & Noah off and on in the beginning but I never had an interest in their story like I had with LuRe. There should have been a happy ending for Luke who deserved it a hell of alot more than some of the other couples. As far as the Emmy’s, that is what this tragic ending is all about and you know it. If anyone deserves an Emmy it’s Eric and Van. Eric’s acting ability speaks for itself. As Dr. Reid Oliver he did a superb job. If they both can’t get it, I atleast hope Van gets one for his tenure and great acting on the show. Well I’m through venting for now. I’m sure I’ll probably think of more to say, in that case I’ll be back with more. Michael thank you so much for this. You’re a sweetheart.

I couldn’t agree with you more! I also have watched this show for many, many years, and it was Eric who came on and made this show better. Even Van’s acting had seemed more like he was going through the motions, but when Eric showed up, that changed. Not only did Eric and Van’s chemistry sizzle on the screen, but really it seemed like everyone Eric worked with was better when working with him! Defnite Emmy material!

I agree totally, Tina, Michelle and so many others who have written in. I am sick at heart, and I cannot seem to lose those bereft feelings. I’m finding myself in tears frequently when thoughts of Reid and Luke come to me. The storyline connected with so many people, straight and gay. The sexiest scene was when Reid looked up at Luke at Metro and said, “I’m changing, that’s for sure. Cuz I’ve you to thank for that.” The look they shared was certainly a defining moment of intimacy. Too bad the writers wouldn’t let the two act upon it. I wanted to have ATWT pass with fond memories for me — no such luck! I am bitter.

WELL SAID BUT IT SHOULD BE TAKEN TO THE GAY RIGHTS COMETTE IN BRUSSELS THESE CASE IF WE DONT ALL DEMAND A REWRITE AND AN ALTERNATIVE ENDING,LETS PLAY HARDBALL AND SEE WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT!

She can say anything now, it’s all hindsight. We will believe what what we will!

The more comments I read from the producers and writers of this show, the more it is apparent that they do not know their audience or their product. The ending for Luke and Reid was sadistic and pointless and only served to alienate long time viewers like me. The writers completely botched a wonderful and potentially groundbreaking story and despite the outcry from fans they are still clueless about what they did wrong or how to “fix” it. At this point I think the best thing the writers and producers can do since they all seem completely unable to even acknowledge the mistakes they made, is to put this behind them and stop talking about it.

this is the replies to the fan? who does she think we are? 3 year old? she expects the fan to buy this explanation? who are she kidding with? really?

she didn’t say anything about why she had to kill Reid off. which is what the fans are asking. why was it necessary that someone had to die? i don’t get it. from the way i look at it, no one needed to die.
don’t tell me it’s meant to be a dramatic impact for the ending of the show. cause you can see how lame & how rush they executed the death scene and the scenes on how people dealing with the death afterward (no proper funeral? no flashback?) there was just not enough mourning which is exactly what the writers would elaborate if they are looking for a dramatic impact.

Look ar my post at the top of this page.As i said they wrote a “nice’ gay storyline, but as soon as the chemistry started with these two the writers or TPTB put the brakes on.isn’t that sad?for once there was a lovely gay storyline and not a stereotype and once they went from generic to sizzling ,they killed Reid.they can talk from now unti doomsday and i don’t care what they say, they did such a disservice to all the loyal fans and a wonderful love story that was like no other!

i’m afraid you are totally right. a decent gay love story and 2 amazing talented actors who were like no others were just too much for them to handle.
now we can stop asking why did the show end….. incompetence and incapability of the writers.

Mature..are you kidding me? We have watched Luke mature before our eyes in the last 4 months. He went from feeling guilty over Noah’s accident and begging for Noah’s love and forgiveness and trying to mold himsef into whatever Noah needed. He was emotionally put through the ringer trying to decide between his relationship with Noah and what he was feeling for Reid. We saw him in turmoil over not wanting to leave something he thought would last forever to realizing he could move on with Reid. We saw him mature by finally forgiving himself that it was an accident and that although he and Noah loved eachother, they were not right togther…Luke’s exact words. That was a huge grown up moment for Luke. He did not hesitate once when Noah asked him if he thought Reid wass right for him…Luke said “yes” and was able to admit to Noah that he was in Love with Reid….huge character growth. Look at how Reid grew from knowing and finally admitting that he loved Luke. He actually chose Luke over his one constant and the thing he always fell back on… his career. Reid matured into a whole person….they both became better people for knowing and ultimately loving one another…..If that isn’t growth I don’t know what is! You also have Katie admit that she has already had the love of her life in Brad and tell Reid to go and experience his true love because it is “worth it”. Not to mention Katie has had several loves of her life. Katie several….Reid zero. The writers finally brought Luke and Reid together, admitting their love for one anther with no more obsticales(don’t get me started on the baby rattle) and then decide to KILL Reid….for Luke’s growth, are you kidding me? !!! For Katie to have another love from a man who was dishonest and created his own situation, are you kidding me? !!! It was a copout pure and simple to appease Nuke fans or becuase you didn’t know how to appease both fan bases…..so you left Luke and us devasted and heartbroken!! Worst ending ever…oh and Noah was the only character who never really matured besiedes Chris who the viewers never cared about. Worst ending ever!

I agree, the worst ending ever ! And i never want to look at a baby rattle ever again!

That baby rattle had to be the worst, most contrived and stupid thing ever! I’m an artist and My husband and I have landed in paint! That never made us stop. So freaking stupid.

Love your explanations on Luke’s growth – so true. And notice how Luke starts out by questioning his decisions – like talking to the little girl’s dad, telling Chris he knows about the heart problem, etc… He’s worried that Reid will turn away (like N frequently did) – but Reid lets him be himself, and this allows Luke to be more selfconfident. They encouraged each other’s growth – true sign of mature love!

Wow, I did not think I could be more angry, but, yeah, I am. I just cannot believe someone who has been writing soaps for this long does not understand the stereotypes that are out there regarding killing off gays to prop up heterosexuals. The fact also that she knew how much Reid was loved by the fans also bewilders me. How they could be so ruthless to the viewers at the end of this long-running soap and not only kill a beloved character but in such a brutal way infuriates me beyond belief and continues two weeks later to disturb me and sadden me. Leaving Luke as the only character alone and bereft was beyond cruel to his fans….and I beg to differ. He was 100 percent in with Reid. That was just an excuse to interrupt their romance and avoid the intimacy issue. I guess there are two things I should be thankful for: 1, she only killed one out of three gays, guess she could have wiped them all out and, 2, she does not have her hands in writing more SL for Luke and Reid because I am sure she would find numerous and sundry ways to destroy them and hurt the viewers. Best of luck to OLTL because it looks like they are on the chopping block next. Just some parting advice: Find out what your viewers want and deliver that and that alone.

My anger increases everyday. When ever I wake up and remember that Reid is dead. When I think about his body being gutted. The way they so absolutely and finitely killed him . How they shamelessly slaughtered him and dare to lie to us about what they did and why. When I think about Luke grieving. When I imagine all the things that Lure could and would be. I am very bitter. 40 years with this show and I am left with nothing but a anger and resentment.

JP, you are lying through your teeth. You have the nerve to say, that killing of Reid was coincidental and you feel the pain of the viewers. No, killing off Reid was intentional, and you definitely have 0% empathy for the viewers and fans. You want to know how badly your pathetic plot has stung LURE fans world-wide. Here it is: Imagine an innocent puppy being mercillessly stoned to death, and now imagine something that is 10 times worse. That is how much your writing has hurt and pained the loyal and faithful fans of Luke, Noah, and Reid who followed their SLs faithfully for 5 years. If LURE was straight couple instead of a gay couple that ignited the screen and commanded an unprecedented viewership and fan following around the globe, you would not even have considered killing (murdering) one-half of the couple and leaving the other one for a life of perpetual pain, suffering, hurt, and misery. You say that Reid’s death makes Luke a mature individual. He was already matured. All he was looking for his entire life was to be loved (and to love someone genuinely) and he had found that in Reid, after being rejected in the past. Your pathetic writing handed Luke, the most lovable character on the show, another tragedy (the worst one) of his young life. If you call making a gay character a sacrificial lamb to save a straight character, and you call that heroic, then you are more cowardly then you were before. If you had a gay loved one, would you have wished a similar fate for that individual. My GF and me are straight, we never saw LURE as a gay couple. We saw this pristine love story as a celebration of true and pure love between two individuals. But, you ruthlessly destroyed the ending to a beautiful and wonderful Love. We will definitely never watch anything associated with CG and JP. Infact, our faith in American shows is broken. If you have any sense of regret, may be you should step down from writing, so that there will not be betrayal of this kind with whatever you are associated with.

wow George that was beautifully said. except the part about the puppy, hurt to think about it. but yeah it’s 10 times worse with Reid! 🙁 i tried to watch the ending but i physically couldn’t. i would have to be sedated and have my teddybear. lol.

Luke *was* matured, Reid’s death made him just devastated. pointlessly.

Elena: Sorry about the puppy analogy. My GF and me are really, really mad at CG, JP, and TPTB for mercilessly destroying LURE and not giving a damn to their loyal fanbase over the years.

Oh! I forgot to mention that CG, JP, and whoever was producing, writing, and sponsoring ATWT are 100% homphobic. They may say whatever they want. Their actions have spoken louder than words. They would never have treated any straight couple on ATWT like they did for LURE and NUKE. Every straight couple got a happily ever after. All the three charcaters were given horrible endings.

Said everything I needed on AfterElton so I’ll just repost that:

That’s gotta to be the most self-serving, defensive piece of crap I’ve ever read. Gotta love when she called us naive for thinking she had control over her own storylines. I’m finding it really hard to believe she wasn’t aware of the gay cliche, because she executed it to a T, better than recent homophobic efforts. The trifecta: one dead, one alone, one second choice. If she truly didn’t know, she’s the most ignorant woman who ever walked this earth.

It’s very clear the show regarded Reid as a disposable red shirt, whose noble sacrifice enabled all the straights’ happiness. Give me a freaking break. I’m angry that Reid died, and I’m especially angry that it was done to make Luke “grow up.” Give me Luke and Reid living happily ever after over any BS about him growing up. Reid helped him mature by being alive. Reid’s death will only stunt Luke emotionally, and leave him traumatized for years to come.

funny you mention red shirt since star trek doesn’t have gay characters, unless they’re women and from an evil universe where everything’s twisted. Jean, Christopher and Berman should hit it off! maybe they can write something homophobic together.

Berman, like Passanante and Goutman went against the wishes/advice of the wise old experienced person who cared about the fans and the show. Roddenberry wanted gay characters on the show, considering it was a utopia of civil liberties, and Berman said no, and hijacked the show after Roddenberry’s death. he wouldn’t let a single gay character enter.

Yeah, I remember reading that Roddenberry wanted gay characters in Trek. It would have made perfect sense too, since it’s set in the future. Instead, I had to divine subtext from the Janeway/Seven relationship on Voyager. They were pretty gay, if looked at from a lesbian perspective.

Someone on AfterElton called Reid a red shirt, and I just ran with it. Though Trek had no gays, I still think the comparison is pretty apt. TPTB clearly viewed Reid as disposable. What burns me up about so much is up until the train thing, they created this amazingly awesome gay character, only to have him brutally killed. It’s disgusting.

JP’s attempt to plead ignorance doesn’t jive with me. She still managed to supervise one of the most homophobic endings I’ve ever seen.

yeah red shirt is perfect analogy. except Reid was so much more than a red shirt.

i’m sure she wasn’t ignorant. she’s lying through her teeth.

btw i didn’t notice Janeway and Seven being together cuz i was so into Paris/Kim! they were more blatant than Miles/Julian. it was frustrating! you remember that prison episode?

I didn’t think I could possibly be *more* pissed off than I was after Reid’s death aired, but I was wrong. Amazing work, Jean.

If the show hadn’t been cancelled, she would have “written the hell out” of this story? So explain why the last two months of LuRe’s story were about Chris and Katie, and why they were on two days a week (in a good week) right through to the end. She didn’t even write for them when she had them.

As for her proud ignorance of gay storytelling, she should be embarrassed by it, not trumpeting it. A longtime professional writer has never heard of the”gay love = death” history of storytelling? An utter disgrace.

Because Reid was a story point for Chris and Katie…and were Jean to have written the hell out of whatever…I don’t think she was writing much, and that doesn’t mean Reid would live….just written better and the arc going longer. Luke and Noah stI’ll getting back together. It’s how she does thongs.
Holden and Lily. Jack and Carly….same thing.

IF, and that’s a big big IF… If the gay story lines had been treated the exact same was as the straight story lines… I think I could have been ok with Reid being killed off. I would have still been sad, because I really loved the character and despite horrendous writing, this character has been well written and well developed throughout the few months he was on air. And I would have been sad that Luke would be left alone at the end of the show.

But the thing is – the gay story lines were not treated the same way as the straight story lines. Far, far, far from it. While the straights jumped from one sexual partner to the other, the gays were holding hands, brushing lint from each other’s shoulder or having eye sex.

She claims that Reid was killed off in order for Luke to grow and become an adult. How is death of a loved one suppose to help? Reid helped Luke become more mature and more of an adult while he was alive, challenging him and making him stand up for himself. I don’t get the logic. Perhaps it’s because there is no logic behind this.

I think J.P. answers on why they did what they did is cowardice at its best.

I actually don’t buy any of her crap!!This woman just seriously pisses me off. She seems like she’s trying really hard to convince everyone of something we all know it’s not.And I’m finding it really hard to believe she wasn’t aware of the gay cliche,she is the most ignorant person ever.All I have to say is they had gold with ESS and Van, and completely blew it.

I don’t even know where to start with this. I can’t even . . . This woman claims to be a writer and involved in the entertainment business? But she has NO CLUE about the homophobic cliche of leaving the gay characters dead or miserable? I’m sorry but playing dumb isn’t an excuse at this point, it just makes you dumb. Intended or not, it doesn’t make it any less of a cliche.

She doesn’t “get” why fans are unhappy? She honestly wants to pretend that they would have done the same thing to a straight couple? That gay couples are not treated differently than straight ones?

She is welcome to make all the excuses she wants to but she can’t escape these simple facts — the show had 3 prominent & popular gay characters and countless straight ones. They wanted a “death” at the end (why not just focus on that of Nancy Hughes and give Helen Wagner the tribute she deserved?!) and they chose one of the 3 gay characters as opposed to one of the countless straight ones.

And the show ends with all 3 gay characters getting the shaft, being either dead or miserable and alone while the countless straight ones all ride off into the sunset for their happy endings. Even bad guys like freaking Craig Montgomery whose crimes would take all day to list gets to be happy over a sweet guy like Luke.

Because the moral of ATWT’s story was this — the life of a sexually harassing, medical records altering, cheating, medically incompetent straight moron like Chris Hughes is worth more than that of a brilliant gay surgeon. And the happiness of a straight man-eater like Katie who finds “the love of her life” once a year is worth more than that of a sweet guy like Luke. Bravo, ATWT, bravo. I’m sure the right wing homophobes are thrilled with you right now.

You have so many great points. Your last paragraph pointing out the differences beween Chris/Katie and Reid/Luke really nails that even w/o the homophobia, it would have been a horrible story. Chris willfully ignored his health issues and was responsible for his needing a new heart but he’s not the one suffering the consequences. I think Katie’s been married about five times now and after dating a few weeks, she’s ready to marry Chris? That right there isn’t exactly indicative of true love.

If TPTB a death, a birth, a wedding, a funeral and a retirement why didn’t they have an actual funeral? They ignored the opportunity with Nancy who was connected to almost everybody in town one way or another. Reid’s “funeral” was four people [one of whom never met him, one who hated him, one who was ambivalent towards him] standing around. It didn’t even bother having the Hughes family and Katie be there out of respect.

Falling in love only to miss out on the chance to make love [not to mention building a life together] because the one who loved is hit by a train is a coming of age story that allows your charcter to grow? Funny that she didn’t choose Casey or Will or Parker to help “grow”.

“the life of a sexually harassing, medical records altering, cheating, medically incompetent straight moron like Chris Hughes is worth more than that of a brilliant gay surgeon. And the happiness of a straight man-eater like Katie who finds “the love of her life” once a year is worth more than that of a sweet guy like Luke.”

EXACTLY. THANK YOU.

I’m not buying it for one second. They didn’t know what to do with Reid because “they” didn’t create him – David did. Too bad he went to AMC before the end of ATWT. I’d love to hear David’s thoughts on killing off one of the best characters that has come along in daytime, especially ATWT. Gabriel and Blackie were useless characters who only infuriated most viewers because they took up too much airtime. Don’t even get me started on the Ciccones. TPTB didn’t even bring back JJ for his parents’ wedding, but mangaged to bring back Iris, another waste of time. My personal opinion: They didn’t like a character that was so popular whom they didn’t create, so they killed him off (please don’t tell me homophobia didn’t play a role; I am a straight woman, and I can see it a 100 miles away). What makes me the maddest is not only did they kill Reid, but they also had to give the gory details through Luke’s words. Reid was basically gutted, his eyes, his skin, and on and on. No respect for Luke, no respect for Reid, no respect for gay or straight fans. Really, no respect for fans at all. Even Guilding Light ended on a better note – a legacy character died, redeeming himself. All GL fans weren’t ecstatic with the end, but most thought it was a whole lot better than ATWT’s. I am so mad, I could spit fire. I hope this post is OK’d. I have tried to hold back some of my disgust.
That show was torn down brick by brick over the past few years, and bless the hearts of the cast members, because they did a phenomenal job with what they had to work with. It was a sad, senseless way to end the show with everyone happy but a legacy character, such as Luke (the true sweetheart of the show”).
Anyway, thanks for this, Michael. If you can get an interview with David, I would sure love to hear his thoughts.
Great news on the DWB front for donations in honor of Eric Sheffer Stevens. The donations are at a little over $19,000 last time I checked!

DWB is at $19,400!

Fran I agree with you 100%. You are so right because David Kreizman did create Dr. Reid Oliver. I have also read somewhere that JP is even trying to take the credit for that. For her to say that Reid was killed in order for Luke to grow up is just plain nonsense. We all saw for ourselves that with Reid’s help Luke grew up and became a man and with Luke’s help Reid became a better man. They really did complete each other. They also excepted each other for who they were faults and all. That’s what makes this story so real and believable. Anyone could see how comfortable Luke was around Reid. When he was around Noah he always seemed to walk on egg shells. LuRe’s relationship was a beautiful natural progression between two men that was literally destroyed by TPTB and their homophic infuriating beliefs.

JP says, I’m a little stunned that there’s this attitude that, you know, we can’t interrupt a gay romance, as if we haven’t done exactly that with straight romances.”

Okay lets see:
ATWT couples – Luke and Reid, Kim and Bob, Katie and Chris, Carly and Jack, Janet and Dusty, Lucinda and John, Lily and Holden, Barbara and Henry, Margo and Tom, Allison and Casey, Emily and Paul, Gwen and Will, Rosanna and Craig

LURE is the only gay couple (they already split NUKE about six months ago), all the other couples are straight.

Interrupt is not the word, whom did CG, JP decide to destroy (by death and life of misery) : ONLY LURE

And, to add salt to the wounds, they had the nerve to show all the straight couples reeling with joy and happiness. Even John and Lucinda, and Craig and Rosanna were shown together.

And, JP has the odacity to make the statement mentioned above in her interview. A million times shame on her for even making that statement.

Why didn’t they kill Jack, Dusty, Tom, Henry, etc. and make Carly, Janet, Margo, Barbara, etc. sign the papers for the donation of their organs (especially heart). Or even better, why didn’t they just let Chris die. Chris was anyway the most boring charcater on ATWT anyway. He was the one who brought it on himself. Why did Reid (by death) and Luke (by the loss of the love of his life) have to pay for the folly of Chris.

Well, who are we kidding, the 100% homophobes wanted boring Chris and Katie together in the end, and the only way they found suitable was to sacrifice the happiness and life of the gay couple!

That’s clearly what happened !! HOMOPHOBIA and STUPIDITY at their best!!

Everybody else was playing musical beds and yet luke and reid were NEVER able to fully express their love!I will never get over the fact that they gave everybody else a happy ending but luke and reid.Their love story was wonderful to watch unfold.Jean P. and TPTB, you should be ashamed!

Most of my disagreement with this interview has already been articulated by previous posters, so I won’t go over that well-trod ground again. However, something that absolutely angers me is the use of straw arguments by Ms. Passanante to avoid answering the actual question.

In all the anger, heartache, and pain I’ve seen on the internet since the rumor of Reid’s demise first broke, not once have I seen someone argue that Reid was killed off because “they didn’t know what to do with the gay characters”. People have complained that the ending was an attempt to avoid choosing between LuRe and Nuke; argued that he was killed for shock value or Emmy bait or emotional impact; said that perhaps TPTB just didn’t value the gay characters as much as the straight characters. So this “argument” appears to be made up whole cloth so she can disagree with it.

And in the long run, it really doesn’t matter what the intention of the ending may have been. What matters is the story that played out on screen. And what viewers saw was all heterosexual relationships valued above gay relationships; all heterosexual characters valued above gay characters; only gay people deserving of a sad ending, whether dead, grieving, or alone. We saw a legacy character abandoned by almost everyone around him in his darkest hour. We saw lots of straight characters spouting off about how in love Luke and Reid were, when they (and we) were rarely shown that relationship developing on screen. We saw an attempt to turn a complex, nuanced, amazing character into a martyr.

What hurts the most, for me, is reading the pained comments by long time viewers, people who had been watching the show for decades, who said that the decision to kill Reid off in such a brutal, unnecessary way completely ruined the ending of the show for them, and left them with only negative feelings about a show they’d loved for years.

Why not focus on Nancy’s death, allowing the town to actually grieve the loss of a long time resident and focus of the show? Why allow this graphic death to overshadow any positive message that could have come out of the ending? Even after reading her entire interview, I still don’t understand.

that was one of my biggest complaints about the storyline. they did it too soon to Nancy’s death & memorial on the show & it got completely overshadowed by the Chris & Katie show. even the memorial, Chris & Katie got almost as much screentime as the tribute to Nancy. it should of been all Nancy with the other characters remembering her.
then you have an ungrateful character who received Reid’s heart who’s not shown remorse for his actions & wasn’t sure he wanted the COS position now that he’s alive. Chris’s character was poorly fleshed out & was never a great one, they never knew what to do with him when he was on screen, that’s why i hated that Reid died to save him. if it was Luke needing a kidney & while trying to get one for him Reid died & made sure that Luke got his & could of bought the storyline.

Scenario 1: You’re in a crosswalk when a driver intentionally hits and kills you. Scenario 2: You’re in a crosswalk when a driver accidentally hits and kills you. Question: Are you any less dead either way?

I’m so sick of listening to these people defend themselves by saying “it wasn’t intentional. We didn’t know.” First of all – bull. Secondly, if they didn’t know, then they’re just beyond stupid and should never have been allowed to write these characters and these stories in the first place.

I happen to think she’s lying to cover her ass. It was deliberate cruelty which, as Blanche DuBois would say, is unforgivable.

I’m just going to repeat the comment I left on the After Elton site:

I don’t believe a word she says. Because it’s not just the fact that they killed Reid that was so very insulting, but the way they did it. They keep on claiming it was a “heroic” death, but that’s a load of crap. Reid offered to run an errand… a very important errand, to be sure, but still an errand. That’s generous, thoughtful, and considerate, but NOT heroic. The fact that the writers then turned Reid into a complete moron who first tried to beat a train across a railroad crossing and then couldn’t remember how to operate a seat belt does not transform “generous” into “heroic”, it just destroys the integrity of the character.

Then there’s the idiocy of just about everything else that happened in the story. They made it clear that the accident happened much closer to the Bay City hospital than it did to Oakdale Memorial, but they brought him back to Oakdale anyway, wasting time when Reid’s life might have been saved. Then there’s the fact that, apparently every single organ in Reid’s body was functioning perfectly (otherwise, they couldn’t be transplanted into other patients), so what, exactly, was he supposed to have died from? Then there’s the fact that Reid can’t even be an organ donor at all — the law may be stupid and pointless and homophobic, but it is still the law that gay men in America are not permitted to donate their blood or their organs.

In short, EVERYTHING about the story screams of “writers” (and I use the term loosely) who simply decided “let’s kill Reid” and then put no thought whatsoever into how or why it was going to happen. It was insulting to me just as a thinking person, even before we get to the completely homophobic message the story sent out.

In addition to all of this, the fact that they killed Reid, that they felt the need to kill any of their characters at all, instead of focusing on the death of Nancy Hughes/Helen Wagner, is an insult to that great woman’s memory. They wanted one of the final stories to be about a death? Why not focus on her death, instead of all but dismissing her death in a single episode? The fact that they killed any other character rather than letting the grief and mourning be over her is like a slap in her face!

Finally, regardless of whether they planned to tell a story with the moral that straight people deserve happiness and gay people deserve death and/or heartbreak, that’s the story they DID tell. The fact that they are defending the story they told rather than apologizing is all the proof I need that the story they gave us is exactly the story they intended to give us. They’re not at all sorry that their story was homophobic, but they’re very upset to have people call them on it.

I agree with everything that you have said.
As a straight married person this show and particularly the scene where Reid looks at all of the heterosexual couples just before he goes to Bay City, made me feel dirty and ashamed of who I am.
The fact that TPTB, JP and CG decided to destroy a beautiful love story in favour of HATE upsets me more that I can say.
“They are not at all sorry that their story was homophobic, but they’re very upset to have people call them on it.” This.

Something else that has been bugging me. JP is ‘amazed’ at the attitude that we can’t interrupt the gay couple. Um, this was the end of a show I had watched for 25 years I didn’t want anyone interrupting ANY of the couples gay or straight. Everyone should have gotten, or at least been on their way towards, their HEA.

I am all for tragic love stories and angst but the end of the show was NOT the time to tell this story. We are left with no time to grieve, and we don’t get to grieve with Luke. When they killed Brad we spent months working through that pain with Katie and Jack and by the time Christmas came around it was heartbreaking but we were in an OK place. We don’t get that with Reid. We get nothing.

Teri, you are so right — and I’ve watched for the entire 54 years! We get nothing!

I agree,I watched since i was 13 in 1956.Bad enough this beloved show was ending but to have Reid die and to have Luke grieve was so cruel and insensitive.They started with a great storyline and didn’t have the guts to follow through!

I dont want to read anything that woman and Chris Goutman write I wont watch anything that they write ever again.

It’s about building up the best romantic couple ATWT has had in a long time and then not having the guts to folllow through!
Why bother with excellent actors, who had chemistry like a house on fire, why take us on their journey just so tptb could get their dramatic/horrific ending?
This was a love story, gay or straight, Reids death broke my heart!
Come on: either you do things right or why bother?!
The public, ATWT, Luke and Reid deserved better!!!

I have to make another comment after reading the full interview (I didn’t want to get any angrier, but decided to read the whole thing, anyway). Besides be completely ignorant of the fans’ (both gay and straight) perceptions and reaction, she decides to pass the buck when it comes to blame. I know P&G and CBS are guilty of a lot of decisions when it comes to situations such as showing two men or women kissing or more, but THEY did not write this drivel. She can only hide behind them so much. Ultimately, she and CG made the decision to kill Reid and leave Luke devastated. The blood is on their hands.
By the way, Jean, I am hardly naive or stupid. I know how to cut through the BS and see what is really going on.

hell, i consider myself naive and sometimes stupid, but even i could cut through her BS and see what was really going on.

The bottom line for me is this… There was no need to write a ‘death’ into the end, the show ending was enough of a death for all the fans. Then to have Nancy die, unexpectedly, that just added to the sadness, and that’s all the death that was needed. This ending has left a LOT of fans with this empty feeling for this beautiful couple. Every scene, after Reid’s death, I felt his abscense….the show didn’t feel the same, and I couldn’t really enjoy the last week without being sad. I believe Eric’s character, with the way he portrayed it SO WELL, could’ve been the one to lift everyone’s spirits, since the show was coming to an end, but instead we’re grieving the loss of this man who was the best thing to happen to the show in a while! The writers definitely made the wrong choice in choosing to kill someone!!!

40 years! I’ve watched that show for 40 years and I have never loved a character on a daytime soap opera as much as I loved Reid Oliver. The closest I’ve ever come was Luke Spencer on general Hospital. The way they ripped him away from us disgusts me to no end. I have not watched one day after his death. I hate JP and CG more then I can ever express in words. I will never, ever watch anything that they are associated with. I feel greatly for anyone watching OLTL.

Does anyone know how i can get videos, Dvds, any clips of scenes between Luke and Reid?They’re on You Tube now, but I think P&G is pulling then in mid October so ATWT and Luke and Reid will be gone forever.It’s another slap in the face to the fans.I’d appreciate any help…It’s bad enough Luke and Reid didn’t have a happy ending , but not to be able to see them any more would be too much.

I would like to know this myself.

the channels made by fans are still gonna be up & won’t be pulled. it’s just telenext that’s doing it.
happyinchintz72, smuchshypush & anthonydlangford’s channels will still be available to watch. i’ve started rewatching them again because i miss them on my tv

The lovestory between Luke & Reid was just special beyond words and the way they were able to grab a piece of our hearts where no one else had tread says volumes about the talent of these two actors and the magic that happened whenever they were together. I am certain Passante knew how hard the fans had fallen because I read an interview in May where she admitted it. NOah was gone from the show for months and NO ONE missed him. We were just glad he was gone so LuRe could have a relationship. When Luke told NOah he was in love with Reid and finally admitted to NOah they weren’t right for each other that made me ALMOST as happy as him telling Reid he was in love with him. The Nuke relationship was so unhealthy. NOah got somewhat of a happy ending. After all, he was accomplishing his dream career to be in the film business, going to LA for a chance to date Ricky Martin. We all wanted Reid to have that COS position at Memorial and for Luke & Reid to be the “new Bob & Kim”. I’d say over 90% of the fans were pro LuRe. More than any other couple on ATWT the fans had decided which guy was right for Luke. The dynamics of LuRe should have dictated the end. I can honestly say I have been inconsolable. My husband thinks Im nuts and Im glad to read on youtube/internet sites I am certiainly NOT alone. LuRe has magic and we all fell under their spell. I would like to ask 2 things of Passante for the sake of the fans whose hearts she broke. 1st–Please write just one more scene, an alternate ending for LuRe fans and post in one of the soap opera magazines for us. The fans have rejected your Reid dies ending in massive numbers. We want a dream scene, or some other fix to ressurect Reid. 2nd…please get Van & Eric in OLTL and bring the characters of Luke and Reid back to life for all the fans. They were only beginning and I want you to write the hell out of the characters too…..

Please don’t hold your breath for these things to happen.The death of Reid was a giant slap in the face to all the fans. In my mind i gave Luke and Reid a happily ever after…the writers just had no guts to finish what they startrd with this wonderful love story that got too hot for them to handle!And believe me i know about husbands…mine thinks i should be put in a home because of all the ranting and crying and I’m starting to agree with him!!!!

i would only demand she write a new ending if she was going to reshoot it. if it’s just in writing you better read the amazing amazing slash that is posted in the livejournal LURE community. it’s much better than passanantecrap.

that said i’d like to see her admit her unhonorable intentions in this whole mess!

i like the idea of having them appear on OLTL but i think she’s just gonna mess up that show! what we need is LURE on OLTL WITHOUT that woman writing anything on there!

I wish David would put them in his Soap. AMC could use a great gay love story. Lure would be perfect. JP would just mess them up. She did not invent the Reid character and she dose not understand him well enough to write him the way he should be written. I would love to see them again. Any soap that has them on would get new viewers by the millions. Lure attracted so many people.

Once again, nope. You can look up all of ATWT daily ratings….Reid added nothing.

Sorry darling, but the ratings did not reflect this.

passanante is full of it! and so’s goutman. and so’s the person who let them ruin ATWT’s ending!!! who did let them do this?

Reid lives on in our slash community but it still hurts to see Canon go down the tubes cuz of the IIC. do you KNOW how much it hurt passanante? do you? cuz it really fucking hurt. we all fell for Reid, but no you wouldn’t know about love would you? cuz you couldn’t have killed Reid if you did. i still am unable to watch the train scene, now watching any ATWT hurts so much i can barely stand it. cuz i know where it will lead. i hope you never get to ruin another show for anyone.

i believe they made Lure so hot to get a spike in ratings but then were too selfish and cowardly to let us get what we needed! to let Lure grow naturally into a full relationship. ESS himself said he thought Lure should have had sex, it was the natural step in their relationship! and the train thing was the stupidest thing ever in soapland!!! even stupider that idiot chris got… i can’t even say it.

mmc, how can they pull the clips!?!?? that’s so wrong. they can be found at nuke-episodes.wetpaint.com go get them!!! why are people letting them get away with this!?? haven’t they done enough?

Elena ,the address you gave me was forLluke and Noah.I want Luke and Reid.Do you know of any place i can get them?it’s been posted on some message boards they won’t be on you tube any more after Oct.21I’m not 100% sure of the date.Isn’t that sad?I never dreamed as a long time fan i’d be treated like a total nothing.The writers didn’t care and neither did P7G.Thanks for any help you can give me!

Luke and Reid are on there. even before the links say Luke Noah and Reid, i’m still figuring out where it starts. but start downloading them and see where the beginning is. Reid is there!!! 🙂

Would you mind please sending me this address also? I am lexii314 on yahoo. Thanks so very much.

you can go to happyinchintz72’s channel or smuchshypush’s channel or anthonydlangford’s channel for Luke & Reid’s story. they’ve also done smaller clips like kisses. the only clips being pulled is by telenext, the ones by these are not being pulled.

Karen, are you sure…i heard all clips on you tube are being pulled.So many people have been so upset by this.I do go on all these sites, but according to some …All you tube clips,etc. are going.I wish this could be checked out for sure.Let me know if you hear and thanks…..

they’ll still stay up. Megan said she’ll keep her channel up as long as people stlll want to watch the videos.

Thanks karen, I’ll watch these clips as long as i can see.The computer and I have become one!

There was no spike in ratings. L/R mechanical bull day, for example, was one of the all time lowest ratings in the shows history.

P and G should be sued for pain and suffering! the shows always belong to the fans, not the IIC. it’s like that biblical baby, belongs to the one who cares about it the most. the fans. i can’t rant about this enough! its such an injustice! you should be dragged to court for this!!! and made to rewrite and reshoot the ending of ATWT!!! and using your own money!!!

you guys can we sue them? somekinda civil suit? Casey help!

Biblical? Luke and Noah r in the bible. I don’t remember Reid.

I was saying that myself!!!!! I believe we should launch a civil case against Passante and Goutman for mental abuse UNLESS she writes one more scene and ressurects Reid for the fans AND puts them on OLTL continuing the LuRe love story. They were just getting started and there is so much more to tell. The fans are absolutely mad for them and cant’ get enough. OLTL would certainly soar in the ratings with them on the show. I am also going to contact All My Children to suggest they get LuRe. After all, I hear Kreitzman (who created Reid) is writing for that soap. Maybe a competitve war for LuRe will get them the big bucks they deserve…

omg really? the creator of Reid should do this!

AGREED!!!!

Oh. Brother.

Hell no I’m not satisfied. There were RIDICULOUS issues with timing of other storylines. We had Barbara in a glorified closet for two weeks! Janet on screen 24/7! Katie involved in every single storyline. There were things they could have paced better, things they could have flat out cut, to give one of the best loved characters in the show’s history – Reid – more airtime. He was fiercely loved, despite his short tenure on the show, and when they got word the show was being cancelled, they should have paid more attention to the fans and given us faithful viewers what we wanted. Less Janet and Katie, more Reid and Luke. For them to make the decision to kill off Reid is just unforgiveable, and simply asinine. There was no reason to kill anyone in the end.

How i would love to see Luke and Reid live happily ever after.To me it wasn’t just a love story but a story of two men who fell in love and became better people because of it.Also then i could sleep peacefully and not be on this damn computer at 2:10 A.M.!!!!

She’s either lying or totally stupid, or both (which is most likely anyway).

This sums it up perfectly.

I vote for BOTH.

It seems for a professional story teller Ms. Passanante had a remarkably hard time seeing the ending through somebody else’s eyes. Let’s put on the pink glasses and help her, shall we?

Reid was killed by the biggest thing a single civilian can be killed by – a train (that was a passenger train btw but since in Oakdale viral infections can be treated with antibiotics, I’m sure nobody else was injured). I’m thinking “overkill” but that would be giving in to a really bad pun so I’m not going there.

Then he was gutted, flayed, burnt and THEN his ashes were scattered. From a cardboard box. With four people in attendance, one of whom was his lover’s ex-boyfriend who hated his guts. That must be the most thoroughly killed character in the history of Planet Soap. Enough already – he is dead – we get it! Even a vampire wouldn’t have survived that.

Also, Luke tells Katy that she and Jacob gave him the family he never had. Yep, of course, because until there is a man and a woman and a child it is not a family – how could it be?

When Reid is killed deader than dead Luke’s usually oh-so-protective parents decide that THIS of all moments is the time to give him space. Yes, sure, all of us who ever experienced grief know that this is absolutely THE thing to do. Who needs to cry into mommy’s lap when their lover dies.

And all this craptastic fun writing comes on top of short-changing EVERY BLOODY SINGLE imaginable gay pairing in this whole mess. This is not about fandom. Luke and Noah had their five minutes of glory when Noah finally was allowed to realize that he’s gay. After that the storyline was more or less snuffed out. Then Van Hansis was forced to play Luke as the Victorian heroine with Reid – again. And no, I don’t think for a moment that TPTB are easy to deal with. But come on, writers have dealt with this forever. There are the coded things, there is the subtext – I would have hated it but at least there would have been something. And I do hate myself for saying this – begging for crumbs in freaking 2010. Aargh! This is so infuriating! The way this was done – sorry, Ms. Passanante, you are selling but I’m not buying. What we end up with is – one even on Planet Soap deader than dead guy – one grieving – one going away. Well done everybody.

To quote Reid’s words (when talks to Molly at the non-wedding)

“It’s the hypocrisy I can’t stand.”

Am I bitter? No, puleez.

well said!!! well freaking said!!! we are begging for crumbs in 2010!!! stardate 2010 as Noah would say. i mean this is the future!!! wtf1!! we’re still licking up the crumbs like starved dogs. why? why indeed. why is love still misunderstood?

maybe Jean and Christopher should experience what it’s like to be on our side of the table. i don’t think they get it. i don’t think they know what it’s like to be someone who identifies with or appreciates a gay character, and never sees their people represented the right way. it’s not just a TV show, just a soap. it’s a mirror of the world. this happens all the time, it’s demoralizing. to see a totally valid healthy and beautiful expression of love treated like it’s something dirty and to be hidden. it’s so sad. in 2010. *shakes head* maybe YOU don’t get it Jean and Christopher, but i think there are enough people who do get it to show you that no it’s not some weird aberration to be gay, it’s not unappreciated either. we actually like that they’re gay! you morons we like gays! and we love Luke and Reid gay or straight! because they were amazing amazing characters. and we miss them!!! we hurt for them!!!! why do you have to put your own prejudices into the mix when clearly the fans want the freaking gay characters to be happy and together!?!?!? you could have given us that. you CHOSE not to. you’re out of your small little minds. and the sad part is when you come to realize you were wrong, you can’t admit it or fix it, cuz you have an “image” to uphold.

Well, I’m gay…and Reid didn’t seem all that gay to me.

Fubar: My GF and me agree 100% with what you have said. It is the hypocrisy of CG, JP, and TPTB we can’t stand. We are straight but we never saw LURE as a gay couple. We simply adored them (and still do) as two individuals who were genuinely in love. LURE was a celebration of pristine, pure, beautiful, wonderful, and everlasting love.
CG, JP, and TPTB are the most heartless, cruel, ruthless, and merciless people on this earth. They definitely do not know what true, real, and genuine love is. The worst part is they took pleasure and joy in inflicting pain, hurt, and misery on its loyal and faithful viewers and fans from all around the world. In RL, this cruel world is full of perpetual pain, suffering, misery, and tragedies. You have to be extremely, extremely lucky to find true and everlasting love and happiness. In this cruel world where suffering is very much alive, LURE came as a ray of bright sunlight, and touched the core of millions of hearts (straight, gay, bisexual or whatever) world-wide. There was no need of a tragedy on soap, especially involving LURE which is perhaps the best and most beloved couple in soap history. But, the cold and hard-hearted CG, JP, and TPTB showed their true colors. They annhilated and steamrolled one of the best love stories to ever grace the soap scene in a single episode, and in the process crushed millions of hearts into millions of pieces. It is difficult to comprehend that some people in this world can actually be that vicious.
CG, JP, and TPTB may come up with all the excuses and flimsy reasons they want to justify their decisions. The bottom line is they showed 0% empathy, respect, and consideration to the viewers and fans who followed their show faithfully for years. They made a thorough mockery of the audience’s intelligence and unstinted support. It is safe to say that the badly stung viewers may never want to watch anything involving CG, JP, and TPTB in the future. My GF and me will definitely never watch.

i couldnt agree with you more very well intepreted and i never thought that the usa would ever embrasse writers that deliver these hipocratic and homophobic messages to the world.Well said i only hope she is taking the time to read what we are trying to say here.shame and disgust!YOU HAVE DEFINATELY TAKEN THE WRONG TURN HERE MRS JP AND LG

Hey friend, You said it girl. Well done. A little birdie told me this was you. I was searching. We are all grieving this ending-truly grieving. These actors were so good that we loved them and their characters. We believed this story and we wanted a happy ending. It did not have to end this way. They may be excited about the buzz it caused-but it is not a good buzz. People are angry and disappointed that this is what they chose to end this. Our boys better get a nomination for this and one of them better win. We have a right to be bitter.

Oh. And get this, Reid got a train recycled from the Cleo S/L. Fun.

my god mrs passanante to you think you are talking to 10 years old fans or just the usa fans cause we come from other countries where these attitude and poor excuses dont even justify to what you have doen with these gaystoryline.Whats the scoop here that gays are left in misery and every other straight couple lives haappily ever after?I dont know if you are thinking straight but certainly you have have doen a great job of killing the pride and dignity of gays around the world.You should have consulted experts on the matter cause when you have a gaystoryline is of atmost importance that you treated with even more care than the rest of the storylines cause of all the prejudice that goes around, or dont even write one if you didnt have the sensitivity to deal with one.Van and eric did a great job cause they were very good actors ,what you wrote was uncceptable and not even half descent as a a script,am sorry if thats the best you could have doen but i never witnessed a more talentless writer in all of soap history.I really feel sorry for you and again you dont have the guts to face up to what you have doen,if usa by standard is what it has to offer and call yourselfs headwriters then is better than i lived
in pakistan for all i know.

WE DEMAND A REWRITE AND ALTERNATIVE ENDING CAUSE TO RESTORE GAY RIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD OR AM TAKING THESE CASE TO GAY RIGHT COMETEE IN BRUSSELS,LETS PLAY HARDBALL USA.

So, Getting Reid, a soap character back fixes gay rights? O.k.

To Jean P. and TPTB…you didn’t care at all about this storyline.When you took Reids heart ,you shattered Lukes, and you broke mine.(and this is what i get for being a loyal fan from 1956 when i was 13 years old!!!!)

I really hope Ms. Passante AND Chris Goutman are reading these comments. I don’t think you realize HOW invested, HOW MUCH IN LOVE the fans are with LuRe!!! If you wanted your drama why didn’t you kill Margo, Katie, or any other countless character? Why did you have to pick the ONE couple who was unique, magical and had all the makings of a super couple of all time? And, you DID know you teased us for MONTHS making us believe Luke and Reid would finally make love. To kill Reid without even allowing him to be fulfilled with the one he loved was the ultimate fan betrayal!! What possible purpose could you have to give the fans an ending so horrible we just cannot move past it? Please, I beg of you, write an alternate ending and, if OLTL is smart, Luke and Reid will be resurrected on that soap. If not, I will also be contacting David Kreitzman over at AMC because I’m sure he’s smart enough to know the power of LuRe…I’m expecting to see these two on one of these soaps in the very near future.

They didn’t care.And i still say as long as Reid and Luke stayed”nice’ it was ok.But the chemistry between them was like nothing I had ever seen.I loved them looking at each other, smiling at each other ,and when they kissed i thought the TV would explode.I loved Luke and Reid.I love how they brought out the best in each other .TPTB couldn’t deal with them.How very sad.they took away the gay stereotype and i fell so in love with them as a couple.FYI, I’m not gay and my children are not gay so i have no agenda.It was the best love story i have seen in years and they weren’t allowed to take the next step while everybody else on the show was playing musical beds.If i could see Luke and Reid on another show it would be better than winning the lottery.Eric and Van were so wonderful and i’ll never forget acting at its’ best.

Hmm looking and smiling. Hot. Another viewer who didn’t watch Luke and Noah. A real gay supercouple!

dont beckmy friend cause ill take my own actions with our media power in europe and the gay rights ascosiation in brussels.Let the americans be known for their homophobic hipocritic vulgar tv networks.Its all they need to round up the perfect image they potray against the rest of the world.

yes! please everyone in america write david kreitzman!!! and oltl! *squirms*

PLEASE PEOPLE! Please write David. Beg AMC to put Lure on.

where do we write?I’d love to .

Hey, if a rattle could keep them from it. But remember…Luke is gonna get back together with Noah…regardless if Reid lives….thats why they never did it.
If they wanted them to do it they would have.
If they wanted Reid to live, they would have
If they wanted their to be some epic romance, they would have,
If luke ISNT supposed to return to Noah at some point, they would have written that way.
That’s not the story.

I find that I’m not done ranting, so here it goes.

Everybody wants to see characters on TV or in the movies they can relate to. For minorities that is of course even more true because there are so few representations. But for some reason it always seems to be necessary to kill that character. It used to be the same way for black people. That has changed now and that is a good thing. For gay people it is still the same. In the full length interview with Ms. Passanante on afterElton.com the fact that it seems that it is always the gay characters who die in the end was discussed. She maintains that she was not aware of this cliché and actually I do believe her. It seems that nobody is and that’s why it is still so strong. I’m not saying that there can’t be good dramatic reasons to kill the gay guy/girl and every single writer who has done this over the years will certainly come up with some sort of reasonable explanation why it seemed a good idea.

All I can say is that from a gay point of view it is exhausting. You find a character, you get invested in the storyline and then they are hit by a runaway choo-choo train or a ricochet shot, and that’s just if they don’t commit suicide or are killed by some shady characters they were involved with. The AWTW storyline about Luke, Noah and Reid managed to successfully avoid most clichés and stereotypes for gays only to succumb to one of the most tired ones. And all that to save a lying, selfish and stupid character like Chris is adding insult to injury.

The only good thing that might hopefully come out of this is a growing public awareness of this cliché because we are so freaking tired of it.

I saw two gay characters I related to…then they brought in a 3rd that I didn’t relate too and botched the show up….and I am a gay guy. Luke and Noah were real…Reid…a cartoon caricature.

Don’t we (LURE fans world-wide) wish that CG, JP, and TPTB should die the most tragic and horrible deaths in RL. And, there would be absolutely no remorse at the good riddance of bad rubbish. Infact that event should call for celebration with champagne and wine that this earth is rid of those scum bags who mercilessly and ruthlessly destroyed the most beautiful love story to ever grace the soap scene. They shattered and broke millions of hearts around the globe. The horrific end of those monsters is the only fitting punishment for them. Everytime, my GF and me think we are done hating those cold-blodded killers, we tend to hate them more with our hearts, minds, souls, and every fiber of our beings. We still can’t get over the fact that they could actually come up with the worst ever ending in all of soap history, TV history, movie history, and media history. What a waste of an epic and wonderful love story.

Well, that’s gruesome.

There is no arguing with the fact that the death made a great dramatic ending to the story of Reid and Luke. But it is disingenuous to say that it’s not any different than a decision to kill off a straight character. She has to be completely ignorant not to realize that due to the scarcity of gay characters on soaps the situation had to be treated with much more sensitivity. I cannot believe no one on ATWT realized that this ending would create an uproar and cries of homophobia – particularly as they had not allowed the characters to be intimate. If they’re not lying to us, they are lying to themselves.

Once again, gay guy here. Uh, the show was cancellwd all the character were going off. Once again. The focus is Luke and Noahs future…Reid was a test of their relationship…and a story for Chris…he was expendable….they didn’t have sex cause that’s not the story. Luke still loving Noah enough not too is.

Wrote this in FB and transfering it here.
Lets call it like it is shall we.
This is the very first complete and total character massacre ever to happen in all of daytime history. They made absolutely sure that Reid was good and dead and let us know it by having Luke list off all the parts of him that where taken out of his body. It was ridiculous. They didn’t even try to make it look credible. I still imagine that they where laughing while writing it.
Even the memorial was a disgrace. No one was there for him and no one cared but Luke. On top of all of that they felt a need to let us know about his orphan status and abusive uncle. I hate JP and CG. I really do.

I fell in love with Luke and Reid as a couple.In all my years of watching this soap I have never been so touched by a love story.And that’s what it was ,pure and simple a beautiful love story between two beautiful people.They became so much better because of and for each other.Their chemistry was so hot and that’s why the brakes were put on theitr story.What a shame and a disgrace…i blame all the people responsible for this disgusting ending.reid and luke should have had a happy ending like everybody else.Actually, they deserved it more than anybody else.I feel like kicking somebody or something and maybe I will.You rotten writers and TPTB , you took everything else away but you can’t take the happy memories i will always have of luke and reid and their love!!!!

It’s crazy but even moreso, very sad that two of the most wonderful love stories on ATWT, Luke/Reid’s and Henry/Barbara’s, came to us at the bitter end….

As The World Turns

2024 Golden Globes: Justin Hartley and Amanda Seyfried Among First Round of Presenters

The 2024 awards season truly gets underway this Sunday night ,January 7th on CBS with the presentation of the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards honoring the best in motion picture and television as deemed by the voters of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).

The ceremony will be broadcast live and will air beginning at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST, from the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The ceremony will also be available on the CBS app and will stream on Paramount+. (Note, however, only Paramount+ subscribers who have Showtime can stream the event live; others can watch the show the next day.)

The first round of presenters was revealed on Wednesday and two soap opera alums are on the list including Justin Hartley (ex-This Is Us, The Young and the Restless, Revenge, Passions) and Amanda Seyfried (ex-Lucy, As the World Turns and ex-Joni Stafford, All My Children).

Photo: HFPA

Joining Justin and Amanda as presenters are: Angela Bassett, Will Ferrell, Michelle Yeoh,George Lopez, Julia Garner, Justin Hartley, Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams.  Previously, Jo Koy was named host for the telecast.

The Golden Globes are back on CBS for the first time since 1982. In addition, Dick Clark Productions is back after years away as the longtime Globes producers.

To review the nominees click here.

So, looking forward to the Golden Globes and seeing Justin and Amanda? Comment below.

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As The World Turns

Richard Roundtree, ‘Generations’, ‘ATWT” and ‘Shaft’ Star, Dead at 81

Motion picture and television leading man, Richard Roundtree, has passed away at the age of 81. The actor, best known for his role in the iconic film Shaft, and its sequels, died from complications from pancreatic cancer on October 24th in his home in Los Angeles.

In a statement, Roundtree’s manager, Patrick McMinn shared, “Richard’s work and career served as a turning point for African American leading men in film. The impact he had on the industry cannot be overstated.”

During his extensive credits and career, Roundtree made two stops to two daytime soap operas. In 1990 till 1991, Roundtree played Dr. Daniel Ruebens on the defunct NBC soap opera Generations. He later appeared on As the World Turns from 2002-2003, taking on the role of Oliver Travers, the father to T. Marshall Travers played by Lamman Rucker.

Photo: NBC

Roundtree’s leading lady on Generations, Jonelle Allen took to her Facebook upon learning the news of the death of her former castmate and friend, expressing: “My Leading Man on Generations. I Am Very Sad. My Condolences To Your Family. Dearest Richard Roundtree.”

In a subsequent post, Allen shared a photo of their Generations’ characters, Daniel and Doreen about to lip-lock. Jonelle stated, “In the scene with him I kept thinking: ‘Shaft is about to kiss ME!!!’ Thank You.”

On Generations, Roundtree’s character of Daniel Reubens was a brilliant doctor, who was accused of killing someone by causing an explosion at a lab in 1974. He and his daughter, Maya, then went “underground” for the next 15 years. Maya was played by Viveca A. Fox.

Photo: AP

Fox, honored her former on-screen soap father with an Instagram post upon learning of his death. Vivica wrote: “GM Dawlings! My heart is sad this morning as late last night I learned that LEGEND Actor @officialrichardroundtree had passed. I had the blessing of working with Richard on alot of 1st in my acting career! He played my Dad on the soap opera #Generation‘s TV show #90210BeverlyHills Mr Roundtree thank u for your AMAZING GIFTS! U will truly be missed as u were the 1st African American Action Star #SHAFT I’ll never forget the time u stood for ME when a director was being a jerk to me! I’ll miss your smile, jokes, laughs & hugs! REST EASY KING! U DID WELL. #Classic #LEGEND #LeadingMan #Actor #SuperStar #Respect #RestInPeace”

Richard was also known for his roles in Roots and the Brad Pitt thriller Se7en. On television, Roundtree appeared on: Murder, She Wrote, A Different World, Beauty and the Beast, 21 Jump Street, MacGyver, Beverly Hill 90210, L.A. Law, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Alias, Desperate Housewives, Heroes, Grey’s Anatomy, Chicago Fire, and Private Practice and many more.

Share your condolences on the passing of Richard Roundtree via the comment section below.

 

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As The World Turns

Soap Alum John Wesley Shipp Shares Health Update

John Wesley Shipp, best known to daytime fans for his roles on As the World Turns, Guiding Light, One Life to Live et al, and primetime fans for his role in The Flash, shared a heartfelt health update via his Instagram.

While Shipp did not go into specifics, he did say he underwent surgery earlier in September for an urgent medical issue.

In his post, accompanying by his photo, John expressed: “Hello out there! Friends and contacts have written recently, like, “where are you? are you ok?” Well, here’s the deal: I had surgery early this month for a health issue that had to be dealt with immediately. All went well, but I’ve had to postpone a theatre production and personal appearances as the recoup will take some weeks. I do read and appreciate what you share with me, that you entrust me with your thoughts and feelings. You are ever on my mind and in my heart, and I look forward to getting active and out there again as soon as possible. Until then, remember to play nice, be kind, and stay engaged! Our futures depend on it.”

Photo: JPI

John’s soap resume is quite impressive having portrayed: Dr. Kelly Nelson/Victor Laszlo on Guiding Light, Doug Cummings on As the World Turns, Martin Ellis on Santa Barbara, Carter Jones on All My Children and Eddie Ford on One Life to Live. Shipp won two Daytime Emmys along the way.

More recently, John has appeared in primetime’s, Arrow, The Flash, Stargirl and countless other TV appearances.

Share your well-wishes for a speedy recovering to John via the comment section below.

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