All My Children
BREAKING NEWS: Frank Valentini signs on to EP OLTL at Prospect Park & named VP Serial Dramas for online venture!
OK now, here is what we are talking about! Some fantastic news for One Life to Live fans, but more importantly soap viewers everywhere! According to an exclusive with Deadline.com, Prospect Park has locked in One Life to Live’s executive producer Frank Valentini. The talented exec has signed a deal with the company to continue with the serial drama when Llanview moves online!
But that is not all folks! Additionally, Valentini has also been named VP Serial Dramas for Prospect Park’s new online network. In this role, Valentini will work closely with Prospect Park partners Jeff Kwatinetz and Rich Frank and their executive team on programming strategies, including the upcoming relaunch of All My Children. “Frank’s successful track record both creatively and produce-orially with One Life to Live has been stellar and we are honored that he has also agreed to take on more responsibilities at our new network. Under Frank Valentini’s stewardship, One Life to Live’s popularity and ratings continue to increase, and his commitment to us is another milestone in our commitment to relaunching One Life to Live with the best possible quality and storylines for audiences everywhere, stated Prospect Park’s, Rich Frank and Jeff Kwatinetz.
Valentini stated, “I am thrilled to join the Prospect Park team continuing my role as the executive producer of One Life to Live. As we enter this new chapter, I must extend a very big, heartfelt thank you to the show’s creator Agnes Nixon who has always been generous with her support of our vision of her creation, ABC for affording me an incomparable experience for the past 26 years at One Life to Live and the fans with their unwavering passion determined not to let their shows go away. The cast and crew is my family and I am very proud to have this opportunity to continue working with this talented and dedicated team. And finally, I must extend a huge thanks to Rich Frank and Jeff Kwatinetz of Prospect Park, whose pioneering innovation is giving us more life to live.”
So what do you think OLTL and AMC fans? This is good and some reassuring news that someone who completely “get’s it” is now coming aboard the new venture! Congrats to Frank and onward and upward we go!
All My Children
Malachy McCourt, ‘Ryan’s Hope’ and ‘All My Children’ Actor, Dead at 92
If you watched Ryan’s Hope through its 14-year-run, you know that Kevin the bartender became a beloved “member’ of the Ryan clan on the defunct ABC daytime drama series. The character of Kevin MacGuiness became so loved by the fans because of the actor who portrayed him, Malachy McCourt.
Sadly, according to his wife Diana McCourt to The New York Times, Malachy passed away on Monday from a heart condition and battling cancer. The actor was 92-years-old.
Playing Kevin on Ryan’s Hope was not much of a stretch for McCourt, because in his lifetime, he was the owner of 1950s Irish pub Malachy’s on Third Avenue in Manhattan. Known as one of the city’s great story-tellers, patrons from longshoremen to the actor Richard Harris would stop in and talk all things Irish with . On Ryan’s Hope, Kevin was best friends to “Ryan’s Bar” owner, Johnny Ryan (Bernie Barrow) and he tried to keep Delia (Ilene Kristen) on the straight and narrow.
In his soap opera career, McCourt also was widely-known for his role of Father Clarence McCourt on All My Children especially come Christmastime. Was Clarence, actually St. Nick? That was always the proverbial question. McCourt also appeared on the New York soaps: One Life To Live, Search For Tomorrow and Another World. Other roles included: Devil’s Own, Brewster’s Millions, The Molly Maguires, and Starman, to name
Later in 2006, Malachy ran for governor of the state of New York as a Green Party candidate. He tackled social issues of the time including being an advocate for gay and lesbian groups to march in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
McCourt’s childhood was recounted within his brother Frank McCourt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela’s Ashes, which detailed their mother’s attempt to raise the four of their surviving seven children in poverty in Limerick, Ireland. Later, Malachy wrote his own memoirs: 1998’s Monk Swimming, and 2000’s Singing My Him Song.
Malachy is survived by his aforementioned wife, Diana, daughter Siobhan McCourt; sons Malachy Jr., Conor and Cormac; stepdaughter Nina Galin; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
Share you remembrances and condolences for Malachy McCourt via the comment section, but first check out this scene from a 1983 episode of “Ryan’s Hope” featuring the late actor with Ilene Kristen.
All My Children
‘Live with Kelly and Mark’s’ Annual ‘After the Oscars’ Show Brings Backstage Interviews, Fashion Review and Red Carpet Arrivals from Movie’s Biggest Night
Monday morning, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos took to the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for the talk show’s annual Oscar post show.
However, this time it would be Consuelos’ first time as the co-host of ‘Live’ for an Oscars episode. Mark took over the gig from Ryan Seacrest to team with his wife back in April of 2023 and since then the show has seen a ratings spike hitting several all-time highs.
The After the Oscars show opened with a tribute to the movies were the former All My Children stars took on iconic roles from: Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct to Barbie and Ken in Barbie, to the Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller role’s in the romantic comedy Something About Mary and more.
During After the Oscars, Kelly and Mark were shown in clips backstage as the first stop for the newly-anointed Academy Award winners including: Finneas and Billie Eilish and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The Bachelor host, Jesse Palmer was the talk show’s guest correspondent who spoke to the nominees, and celebrities as they were entering the Dolby Theatre on Sunday night.
Singer Andy Grammar took to the stage and performed on Live’s After the Oscars show as well, and Project Runaway’s Elaine Welteroth shared her thoughts on the night’s Oscar fashion.
You can watch the full ‘Live with Kelly and Mark After the Oscars’ show below, plus the full movie parody below that. Now let us know, what do you think of Kelly and Mark’s first post-Oscar show together on ‘Live’? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
All My Children
EXCLUSIVE: Jacob Young, Joan Collins and Nadia Bjorlin to Prague to Film ‘Murder Between Friends’
On Thursday night during the Michael Fairman Channel’s livestream interview centering around Jason Cook’s (ex-Shawn, DAYS and ex-Matt, GH) latest movie Four For Fun which stars Brytni Sarpy (Elena, Y&R) and Jacob Young (ex-JR, AMC, ex-Rick, B&B and ex-Lucky, GH), revealed another upcoming film project with some very familiar faces.
Jacob Young shared an exclusive that he is set to direct, produce and star in a Agatha Christie-like murder mystery feature film aptly tiled Murder Between Friends.
Speaking on the upcoming project, Jacob said, “I’m flying at the end of the March to Prague to direct, produce and star in a film with Joan Collins (ex-Dynasty). Nadia Bjorlin (ex-Chloe, Days of our Lives) is in it, and Toby Alexander Smith from Eastenders (ex-Gray Atkins). Plus, a couple of my Broadway friends and a very well known Czech actress (Hana Vagnerova).”
According to Jacob, the production start date is April 1st. He added on the premise of the film, “It’s very Agatha Christie sort of ‘Knives Out’ without having a hundred million dollars to shoot it, but still will be a lovely film nonetheless.” Young said the plan is to finish all principal photography by April 17th.
IMDb has more on the film. It shared that former All My Children star Trent Garrett (ex-Asher Pike) is listed as co-directing the feature. Mark Rozzano is listed as writer of Murder Between Friends.
So, what do you think about this upcoming feature from Jacob that will feature Joan Collins, Nadia Bjorlin et al? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Then below, check out the full livestream conversation with Jason Cook, Brytni Sarpy and Jacob Young on ‘Four For Fun’ and their notable soap roles.
-
PreviewsMarch 16, 2024
The Young and the Restless Previews: Jordan Still Has a Trick Up Her Sleeve, Ashley’s Troubling Alter, Connor’s OCD
-
NewsMarch 18, 2024
Clint Howard, Brother of Ron Howard, to Make Guest Appearances on The Bold and the Beautiful
-
General HospitalMarch 9, 2024
Kelly Thiebaud Shares Her Excitement at Former Leading Man, Steve Burton’s ‘General Hospital’ Return
-
NewsMarch 16, 2024
Daytime Talk Shows Hosts, Jennifer Hudson and Sherri Shepherd, Win 2024 NAACP Image Awards
-
General HospitalMarch 15, 2024
While ‘General Hospital’s’ Dante Lays in a Coma; Dominic Zamprogna Has Some Great New Portrait Headshots
-
General HospitalMarch 10, 2024
THIS WEEK on GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason Explains Where He Has Been, Sam is Emotional
Yay, Frank!!! Glad to hear this news.
WOW Prospect Park sure gave Frank Valentini the big promotion. Not only does he continue in his current role but making Vice President of Seriel Dramas is HUGE. I don’t think any executive producer in soap history has added Vice President to their resume and will be involved with all aspects of relaunch, creative control, AMC relaunch and probably future PP seriel projects. Frank got himself a good promotion.
UNLESS HE BRINGS TREVOR ABOARD I WON’T WATCH ,
I agree. OLTL is so gutted now I can barely watch. Besides TSJ, Strasser and others have to be resigned or OLTL may sink. I don’t know how confident I am about Frank when he stood by with TSJ and Strasser exiting early. Why hasn’t Florencia Lozano been resigned already? Victor and Tea together are the best (their friendship or fights with Blair are good too).
tell him to make sure he puts trevor stjohn back in as todd or victor-who ever as long as he is on the show.
This is amazing news! Now I am convinced OLTL will not only succeed, but thrive online. I know they won’t be able to get the entire cast to sign on, but I feel better knowing that the show will at least “feel” like OLTL when it airs v2.0. Now just looking forward to the next group of names…..Roger, Florencia, Illene Kristen, Bob and Hillary, Jerry, Robin, Kristen Alderson, and hoping for Scott Evans and Brett Claywell. I am ok with losing the characters of the Fords, Carlotta, Rama and Vimal, Aubry or Kristina. I am not committed to Destiny and Sean either. I hope they can hold on to JPL, Farah, and Austin. Also hope they can convince Amanda Sutton to stay on as Kimberly. She is a natural.
This is great news for super-handsome Frankie Valentini. Go, Frankie, Go–Whoo, Whoo!! 🙂 🙂
Being that Destiny, Sean and their Parents/Grandparents are the only African-American family represented on the show, I hope they continue on with the online series.
That is fantastic news! OLTL is by far the best show on ABC daytime… the network made a huge mistake cancelling the show as it’s ratings continue to climb. ABC loss is Prospect Park’s gain. Congrats, Mr. Valentini!
If ABC had put Frank in charge of Daytime at the network the soaps never would have been cancelled. The people who run Prospect Park are very smart, now they have to sign Ron Carvalati, Roger Howarth, and Robin Strasser.
I am so happy! Frank is outstanding and everything the cast has said about the way he treats them says a lot. He should have had Brian Frons position and maybe OLTL and AMC would both still be on ABC. So ABC’s loss is Prospect Parks gain IMO. Good luck Frank and congrats!
This is great news! As Cameron Matheson said in his interview with GMA that just as soaps transitioned from radio to TV….now with TV to the Internet….it gives them a whole new life!
Such a shame. I’ve been a fan of AMC since its first episode. I became a fan of OLTL when I failed to shut my TV off after AMC and have been a fan ever since. Daytime will never be the same. Congrats to Frank V.–at least they got that right!
And speaking of AMC, what’s going on with that? It’s a bit to quiet!!!!
Great news!!!!
WORST. NEWS.
He’ll tank AMC. I don’t like his judgement. I’ve hated OLTL for over a year, now I guess I’ll hate AMC now too. Horrible news Prospect Park.
AMC needs no help in that department…..they’ve been doing well at tanking themselves, for quite some time now.
I have to disagree. AMC is a much stronger programme than OLTL has been in the past year(s).
He’s going to tank AMC like he’d done OLTL.
Then we will have to agree to disagree….because OLTL is far superior to AMC, in my opinion. AMC hasn’t been watchable for at least 4 or 5 years now…. Go back to when they killed off some of the great characters of the show, or at least I thought they were….Dixie, Julia, Edmond, Babe and others I can’t remember right now, but I’m sure they’ll come to me later. Then the whole fiasco with Bianca, Reese, Greenlee, Zach which led to the whole drama with Bianca carrying Zach’s baby & Spike being hurt by Greenlee’s hand…then the whole Ryan/Greenlee takeover the show campaign… AMC has been on the downward spiral for some time now…And OLTL just keeps getting better and better. The only complaints I have is that they need to bring back Robin Strasser and Trevor St. John….and I wouldn’t complain if Lindsey came back to town either…lol
AMC has been amazing, OLTL has been the unwatchable one. The writing has been horrific, and the stories have just been dreadful. I’m not surprised ABC canned it, I saw it coming. Should’ve happened before ATWT.
Agree with Torrey, it’s OLTL that’s been on fire for years. AMC has fizzled for years thanks to people like that head writer Chuck Pratt. Hell, even Susan Lucci acknowledges this!!!!
The show has steadily gone uphill since Pratt was fired. OLTL has fizzled. I can’t watch it it’s so horrific.
OLTL has been awesome. AMC has bored me for years.
thank god he’s staying at oltl i thought abc would promote him an put him in charge of gh and then turn that show into a show w/ all the guys taking their shirts off, and add silly plot twist and make the characters more stupid like they are on his show. so what a relief i don’t have to worry about a trio of siblings checking in to gh and taking turns showing off their bodies, no silly porno plots, or psycho twins ect..
Yayyyy! Frank Valentini I am your biggest fan! As of late the man himself has been directing episodes and they have been stellar. I know he is the reason that OLTL is so classy and is the show of the grown and sexy. On the other hand AMC ( I am a fan) feels like its more for co-eds. That’s not a slam either.
This is the best news!!! I was so afraid the rumors FV was going to GH might be true. I have always thought highly of FV and this just adds to my admiration; he is staying with our best show on TV, OLTL! We have Michael Easton, KDP, ES and Ted King with FV still at the wheel, so that’s a great start right there! Get Roger Howarth and it will be the best of the best! I hope BF eats his heart out over this for canceling OLTL for no reason! Many thanks to FV for taking a chance to stay with his wonderful cast and crew and devoted fans like me!
This makes me sooooooo happy, I have been watching OLTL since I was 12 yrs old, I’m now 33. They are like family, I know that sounds cheesy, but I’m not looking forward to them going off the air. Now all we need is a cable network to pick up the online episodes so we can TIVO them. Again Thank You, Thank You
So do we need a account for this online Soap viewing now?
Yes he’s pretty great because he emailed me once with insurance but then the actor in question decided to leave. But he wants to come back. Brandon Buddy.
Since Brian Frons is stepping down in Jan. They should reconsider their deceision about OLTL……..Whoever is taking his place should override Brian Frons cancellation of OLTL………..It has provided entertaiment to millions of viewers and provided good employment to dozen of talented, dedicated writers & actors /actresses..Yes! OLTL & AMC have been groundbreaking for DECADES! Let’s Never forget all these two shows have done to raise social consciousness of THE DAYTIME VIEWING AUDIENCE! The emotional content, sentimentality , stock characters,and THE ENTERTAINMEMT! We should NOT GIVE Up……Let’s FIGHT TO KEEP OLTL ON THE TELEVISION ! If not ABC then another CABLE CHANNEL!!!!! We don’t want THE REVOLUTION To come about on Jan. 16 2012…………..What will it take to get threw to ABC/Disney/daytime!!!!!!!!!!!!!We don’t want this show on daytime programming .. We have Dr. OZ at 4:00 P. M. on Abc For medical information.. Why do we need two medical information shows on back to back.of each other!!!!!!!!Doesn’t make any sense..This reality show The Revolution won’t last a month!!! Look at The Chew ,their ratings didn’t take long to crash. none is interested in these shows… We want ENTERTAINMENT not INFORMATION!!!!!!!!!!! They don’t care what the viewers want at all !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ABC isn’t going to have much of a viewing audience for daytime programming with these new shows they are trying so hard to shove this garbage down our throats,each and everyday pushing the commericals for these garbage shows…One last thing rality shows are cheap & BORING!!! SAVE OUR STORIES…. KEEP ONE LIFE TO LIVE ON TELEVISION…………..SOAP FANS FIGHT FOR ONE LIFE TO LIVE NOW! NEVER GIVE UP THE FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!! BECAUSE DAYTIME PROGRAMMING WILL NEVER BE THE SAME WITHOUT OUR SOAPS(OLTL) OLTL FOREVER!!!!