All My Children
Beloved Soap Stars Left Out of 2021 Primetime Emmy Broadcast In-Memoriam Tribute
Last night, during the presentation of the 73rd annual Primetime Emmys broadcast on CBS, the annual In-Memoriam segment brought with it so many households names in a year that saw so many legacy talents and more pass away.
The tribute was performed by Leon Bridges and Jon Batiste to Bridge’s song, “River”, and as the images of the departed played across the screens from Cloris Leachman to Cicely Tyson, to Ed Asner to Michael K. Williams, and more, it was clear that several of the major late daytime soap stars were not included in the on-air tribute as well as other omissions.
Now granted, we know they will all be a part of next year’s 49th annual Daytime Emmy Awards in-memoriam segment, but still these actors were a part of this community and not only appeared on the soaps, but other shows as well.
Those that daytime fans noticed were not included were: Michael Nader (Ex-Dex Dexter and Dimitri Marick, Dynasty and All My Children) Stuart Damon (Ex-Alan Quartermaine, General Hospital), Ray MacDonnell (Ex-Joe Martin, All My Children) and Jay Pickett (Ex-Frank Scanlon, Port Charles).
From primetime MIA action were: Michael Constantine (Ex-Room 222), Tanya Roberts (Ex-Charlie’s Angeles), Director, Richard Donner, writer Larry McMurty, and DMX, to name but a few.
However, the Television Academy did list all of its members who died on their website in the In-Memoriam section, because due to time constraints, they could not possibly showcase everyone.
What do you feel about the omissions of Nader, Damon, MacDonnell, Pickett, and more from the In-Memoriam tribute? Let us know in the comment section, but first watch the segment.
Damon’s primetime Prince Charming notwithstanding, as these are the primetime Emmy awards, arguments could be made for Constantine and Nader. Otherwise, the main issue with the In Memoriam section was too much focus on the musicians and not enough focus on the screen caps of the deceased.
No major controversy here.
Just as the Emmys, Daytime Emmys, Oscars, and other such award shows are, in essence, popularity contests and “buzz-fests,” that mentality often extends into their In-Memoriam segments as well as (frequently) the nominees/winners. Despite the strides made by soaps as an entertainment genre over the decades, culminating in the unprecedented (and never to be seen again) heights of popularity and buzz for GH’s Luke and Laura phenomenon, daytime TV has always been, and will always be, considered a second-class citizen. The fact that there are only four such soaps on the air clearly adds to their perceived irrelevance. I have felt (and stated in these pages) that the soap categories in the Daytime Emmys are virtually impotent and meaningless as the population base for the genre is, again, just four soaps.
A case can be made for the four actors featured in this story to be included in any such In-Memoriam tribute, partly because, as mentioned, some had made forays into primetime, primarily Michael Nader (Dynasty) and Stuart Damon (Cinderella). And Ray McDonnell spent decades on AMC, as did Damon at GH, but the Emmy braintrust didn’t seem to notice or care.
Just like high school has its two-tiered system of popular kids and unpopular ones (often nerds and objects of bullying), so it is with entertainment television. Now, however, there is another distinction: primetime network TV has become irrelevant in the eyes of Emmy voters, in favor of outlets, such as HBO, NetFlix, Apple, Showtime, etc. There continues to be a dearth of nominations for network TV shows and its stars. Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order: SVU continues to turn in outstanding work year after year, but she and her show have been ignored by Emmy voters for quite a few years. I put her acting talent against anyone acting today and in recent years. (She WAS nominated 8 times and won once. So there’s that….)
Sadly, the disrespect continues…
Jamesj75, I agree with EVERYTHING you wrote brilliantly. Emmys are nice for the recipient but I don’t respect them anymore. Mariska is a prime example. What about excellent Kelli Giddish as the complex, heroic Amanda Rollins on SVU… never even nominated! Or the magnificent Kelly Bishop, passed over SEVEN SEASONS as the divine Emily on GILMORE GIRLS? Ridiculous. Meanwhile, every year it’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tony Shalhoub, Alex Boorstein, and others winning OVER AND OVER again. Years ago, Candice Bergen had the class to not put her name forward after several wins. My mother puts it best: “He/She just has to show up on the set to get nominated!” And when Chadwick Boseman passed, he got far more coverage than the legendary Olivia de Havilland, Neil Simon, or Kirk Douglas the same year. You bet it’s political. At least the Oscars has gotten it right lately (Rami Malek, Renee Zellweger, Daniel Kaluuya). Always great to see you in print, James!
Soaphound, what a day brightener your reply is! I am thrilled that you saw fit to reply to my somewhat lengthy, somewhat tangential rant. Always good to see your remarks here as well! Glad you like Mariska, too; and you’re right about Kelli Giddish and Kelly Bishop — all amazing actresses.
You’re right about the same actors/actresses winning year after year, in lieu of some spectacular, yet overlooked performers. It’s happened over decades. I got tired of seeing John Larroquette (Night Court) win every year. Same with some daytime actors. I also agree with you about the coverage in these segments of certain actors over others. Your term, “political,” is right. On a plus note, I also liked the recent Oscar winners you mentioned.
I realize that all of this is subjective, and tastes vary, but we can see the trends…
Take care, Friend!
That’s OK, we the daytime fans will always remember them with love and appreciation of their fine talents.
Actually, I did see Stuart Damon on the written list at the Creative Arts Emmys, but apparently the main show would rather waste time with unfunny comic bits and silly banter. It was always thus.
The argument could be made that the Daytime Emmy also excludes performers that haven’t worked in Daytime, it is what it is. Is there still stigma? I don’t hear it as bad as it use to be, especially now where there’s all this platforms for actors, and at the end of the day, they are actors, producers, writers and directors and creative people in the Entertainment Business. Actors are Actors first, they are not Soap, Sitcom, Prime time or streaming Actors. They are just Actors, ok said enough. and I agree with what I read below that now this in memoriam are more about whose singing then whose Pass away, I wish they would just play some beautiful song and just show us whose gone then we having to “see” the performer of the tribute.
Perhaps one way to deal with the length of the segment and the risk of oversight is to simply list only those individuals who had received Emmy nominations or honorary Emmys during their lifetime in the on-air “In Memoriam” segment. A longer list could be on the Academy website.
more people know the actors than the PR people or writers, even Jean Smarts husband was there and he was really just a bit player/guest star on shows he was on. skipping Tanya Roberts, Michael Constantine, and our soap guys (maybe minus Jay Picket, no offense) was really bad.
Alan Dysert, who played Sean Cudahy on ABC’s All My Children has died. He was 75-years-old. The news of his passing came from his wife Michele who shared via a Facebook post that Dysert died back on October 23.
“My heart is broken as I share that my beloved husband, Alan, passed away on October 23, 2026. While I am struggling to imagine life without him, I am forever grateful to have experienced what so many people spend their lives searching for — the love of a lifetime,” Michele expressed.
While a cause of death was not made public at this time, Michele admitted that Alan, “faced more than his share of health challenges over the years, yet he continued to approach life with determination, humor, and gratitude.”
Photo: ABC
Dysert wrote about his battle with a rare, aggressive and incurable cancer in his 2023 autobiography, Lights, Camera, Cancer! He spoke of having undergone four major cancer-related surgeries, and many rounds of chemotherapy and CT scans.
SEAN CUDAHY WAS ‘BAD GUY’ PERSONFIED
On All My Children, Dysert played Sean Cudahy, the con man villain to his brother, good guy, Tom Cudahy played by Richard Shoberg. Dysert played the role between 1980 and 1990 returning for multiple story arcs, which included being revealed to be the murderer of Sybil Thorne. He was also involved in several affairs including with the impressionable Devon McFadden (Tricia Pursley).
THE LIVES HE TOUCHED
Alan’s longtime agent Melinda Eisnagule told PEOPLE his death is a “loss to our community and to the acting community at large. He touched so many lives and made the industry and the world a better place every day with his positive energy and kindness.”
Dysert leaves behind his wife, Michele and his two sons Cody and Cooper and will be remembered by those who knew him for a career that spanned the theatre, film, TV and performance coaching, and of course being a part of the legacy of All My Children.
Share your remembrances and condolences on the passing of Alan Dysert, All My Children’s Sean Cudahy, via the comment section below.
All My Children
Mark Consuelos Celebrates Kelly Ripa’s 56th Birthday on ‘Live,’ But Remember When Wendy Williams Outed the Couple as Married Before Anyone at ‘All My Children’ Knew?
On the Friday, October 2 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, the morning talk show marked the 56th birthday of Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley Vaughan Santos, All My Children).
During the opening segment, Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo Santos, All My Children) humorously comparing his wife to both Gandhi and Groucho Marx, reflecting on both her comedic ability and peaceful ways.
Later, they went on to discuss the origins of her name and the most popular picks to name babies back in the year she was born, 1970. They were Kimberly, Lisa, and Jennifer for girls and Michael, David, and James for the boys.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Ripa recalled that she learned she was almost named Kim. However, their neighbors at the time had two daughters Kelly and Kim, which is what her parents wanted to call them, but they settled on Kelly and and her younger sister, Linda.
At the conclusion of the episode, Mark rolled out a huge cake for his wife. It was, “Happy birthday from all of us here at Live and at home.” Next, he cut the cake, and Ripa grabbed his face and gave him a “thank you” kiss.
Photo: JPI
KELLY AND MARK TRIED TO KEEP THEIR VEGAS WEDDING ON THE DOWN LOW
All of this brings back memories of how Kelly and Mark’s Las Vegas wedding ceremony went public in 1996 while the two were still on All My Children playing Mateo Santos and Hayley Vaughan. In essence, they were outed by then radio host Wendy Williams! They discussed it on the talk show back in 2024.
In fact, the duo hid their marriage from their All My Children castmates for months, until they found out Williams got wind of the nuptials and spread the intel on the airwaves.
The two recalled their secret wedding on a 2024 episode of Live! “We’d eloped. It’d been a few months at that point. We’d been married for three months, nobody at All My Children knew we were even dating, much less married to each other. We’re brushing our teeth and we’ve got Wendy Williams’ radio show on. We’re listening, and she’s like, ‘I’ve got celebrity dish!”
EYEWITNESS
Next Ripa continued, “The celebrities,’ I guess they had a broad use of the term back then, was the fact that ‘two soap stars from All My Children, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos eloped in Las Vegas.’ There was this eyewitness that worked in the Clark County courthouse that said we eloped, and the news broke, and we had to tell everybody we were married.”
Live With Kelly and Mark airs weekdays in syndication. Check your local listings for times in your area.
Share your birthday wishes for Kelly in the comment section, and let us know your thoughts on how Wendy Williams broadcast the news, unbeknownst to the All My Children newlyweds, that they tied the knot in Vegas? Check out Mark and the ‘Live’ studio audience singing ‘happy birthday’ to Kelly in the post below.
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All My Children
‘All My Children’ Movie Writers for Lifetime Revealed: Ron Carlivati, Jamey Giddens and Leo Richardson
This week began and as reported with a spotlight article on Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos and how their production entity, Milojo, has been teeing up the All My Children reboot with Lifetime.
The L.A. Times featured the married couple, co-hosts of Live with Kelly and Mark, and former All My Children cast members (where they met and fell in love) about their plans to bring two All My Children movies to Lifetime and how they are working with the Agnes Nixon estate to make it come to fruition,
On Wednesday, it was revealed by Daytime Confidential, that All My Children reboot producer, Andrew Stearn handpicked none other than Ron Carlivati (ex-head writer, One Life to Live, General Hospital and Days of our Lives) and Jamey Giddens (who is the new co-head writer of The Young and the Restless, following his tenures on the writing teams of Beyond the Gates and Days of Our Lives), as the two scribes who will bring the first of two of Kelly and Mark’s All My Children movies to the page.
Photo: IMDb
RON CARLIVATI AND JAMEY GIDDENS CONFIRM THEIR BOARDING THE ALL MY CHILDREN MOVIE PROJECT
The second installment is said to be written by primetime writer Leo Richardson whose credits include: Star, Katy Keene and more recently the Penn Badgley (ex-Phillip Chancellor IV, The Young and the Restless) starring series, You.
Richardson also wrote for three years on the U.K.’s long-running soap, EastEnders. All My Children revival fans will recall Richardson’s name was attached as the writer for the first incarnation of the All My Children movies, entitled, Pine Valley.
Ron Carlivati took to X and confirmed he is indeed boarding the All My Children movie project. Carlivati shared, “So excited to share this news! Thanks to Andrew Stearn, Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, Albert Bianchini and the Agnes Nixon estate for entrusting Jamey Giddens and me with the first of two planned All My Children movies for Lifetime! Stay tuned!”
Photo: Jeremy Smith/imageSPACE
Jamey Giddens confirmed DC’s announcement by taking to his account on X and expressing, “I’ve been booked and busy in 2026. Thanks to Andrew Stearn, the Agnes Nixon estate, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos for entrusting Ron Carlivati, and me with the first of two planned All My Children movies for Lifetime!”
Some fans seemed to question how Giddens could be writing for the first All My Children movie at Lifetime, when he is the new co-head writer at The Young and the Restless with Dan O’Connor. Jamey answered that head on via X and explained, “We turned in our All My Children script months ago. My sole focus as of this past Monday, is Genoa City, Wisconsin! #YR”
ERICA KANE, MARIA SANTOS AND HAYLEY AND MATEO SANTOS TO APPEAR IN THE ALL MY CHILDREN MOVIE REVIVAL?
In the planned stories, Susan Lucci’s Erica Kane and Eva LaRue’s Maria Santos will be two characters whose lives we will get to see for the first time since the series was canceled by ABC back in 2011 after 41 years on the air. As well, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos confirmed they will make brief appearances on-screen; one could assume as Hayley and Mateo Santos.
“It’d be wonderful to give the fans something that they’ve been yearning for so many years,” shared Mark Consuelos to the LA Times. “All My Children gave me my family. I met my wife there. It gave me my start in the business. It gave us so much. It would be a dream to be able to give back.”
So, what do you think of Ron Carlivati and Jamey Giddens getting nod to write the All My Children movie #1 script and Leo Richardson #2? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
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