As The World Turns
Emmy Winner and Noted Soap Opera Head Writer; Hogan Sheffer Passes Away At 61
Over the last several hours, reports have broke that one of daytime’s most notable scribes has died. Hogan Sheffer, who was head writer at As the World Turns, Days of our Lives and The Young and the Restless has passed away at the age of 61.
Soap Hub, first reported the news via multiple sources, however, many writers who worked with Hogan during his tenure on the soaps have taken to social media to share their condolences and their grief and remembrances.
Sheffer’s appearance on the soap scene was unexpected, especially in a genre where it is often rare for new blood to take the reins at the head writer position. Proctor & Gamble had decided to bring in Hogan after his work as the Director of Screenplay Development for DreamWorks, not because of his writing credits for a previous network soap. He was given trial deal as a breakdown writer for the CBS soap and 10-weeks in became the beloved town of Oakdale’s new head writer.
Hogan and his then writing team were able to turn the classic, As the World Turns around. The show went up in the ratings and during his time with the series ‘World Turn’s’ won two Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series, and he and the writing team picked up four Emmy victories all through 2000-2004.
Photo: JPI
Next, Sheffer landed in Salem as head writer of Days of our Lives along with Meg Kelly from 2006 through to the beginning of 2008. He would later join The Young and the Restless and team up with then head writers: Maria Arena Bell and Scott Hamner, and eventually stay with the show till 2012. During Sheffer’s time in Genoa City, Y&R also won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in 2011.
On Sunday, former WWE and daytime writer Tom Casiello, who was extremely close with Sheffer… and who shared how Hogan gave him his start at writing in daytime, took to his Facebook page to pay tribute to a man who had such an impact on his life and many others. It is worth the read here.
Y&R writer, Sara Bibel tweeted: “Hogan Sheffer was a gamechanger for ATWT and daytime. Everyone I know who worked with him adored him. RIP”
And, iconic ATWT star, Martha Byrne (Ex-Lily) tweeted on Sheffer’s passing: “To say he was one of a kind would be a tremendous understatement. Our years at ATWT with Hogan at the helm were a rebirth for our beautiful show. Loved his writers, actors,crew. Blessed to have him on the first floor in Brooklyn ready to listen. Talented. Funny. Generous. RIP”
Colleen Zenk (Ex-Barbara, ATWT) also took to Twitter upon learning of the passing of Sheffer sharing: “I loved him, loved him, loved him… he was so good to me. Thank you for everything, Hogan. You were so loved. Especially, by me… Rest in peace…”
Michael Fairman TV will continue to bring you updates as the soap world mourns the loss of a creative force in our genre. Share your condolences and thoughts on the death of Hogan Sheffer via the comment section below.
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He was only 61. I think I watched all of the soaps he wrote for and saw most of his material. With so many changes in the industry, he seems like a throw back to another era. A different time, and to these aging eyes a better one. Rest in peace and godspeed.
He was a good writer. I remember him from all his Head Writing stints. E especially Days because it was heralded as another of their umpteenth reboots. Stephanie came back as a race car driver. Billie cane back and was at odds with Hope. John was hit by a car in a rare outdoor shoot. That fly the skies story. And so on. Isn’t that also when Belle and Sean jumped off a ship holding Claire. That was hilarious even if it wasn’t him. And when he judged that next soap star competition. Sadly that was a car crash LOL.… Read more »
Typos. You can’t comment with them. You can’t comment without them LOL.
Like Michael and so many in the daytime drama industry, Hogan was indeed a breath of fresh air. He did so much for the industry and revitalized several shows that were floundering storyline wise.
May he RIP.
Sad news. Hogan certainly resurrected As The World Turns. I remember when he accepted the Emmy for ATWT. Daytime needs to take a chance with new writers to come in and help the remaining four daytime soaps. Quit recycling the same old writers.
You said a lot with that statement. I wholly agree with all of it.
As The World Turns
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All My Children
‘Soap Opera Know-It-All’ Virtual Game Show Debuts
This week, the Michael Fairman Channel dropped the premiere episode of the first-ever virtual soap opera game show, Soap Opera Know-It-All.
The game features four soap fans from around the country who test their knowledge against each other for prizes and the bragging rights to be the “Ultimate Know-It-All” come seasons end.
Photo: MFTVInc
With the coronavirus pandemic still among us and life not fully back to normal, the game show is produced and hosted by Michael Fairman that brought fans from different parts of the country together for the kick-off. They are: Marni Ockene, Floyd Elwell, Nicholas Hess and Gina Patterson.
The game is played in two rounds, and the players receive points for each correct answer as they choose questions from 2 game board categories which are all soap operas; either primetime or daytime in a ‘Jeopardy’-like format.
Photo: MFTVInc
However, come the knock-out round we are left with two players who try to answer the final question from this week’s guest performer, The Young and the Restless‘, Sharon Case (Sharon). If no one is eliminated, the game goes into “Sudden Death”.
On each new episode, different soap operas will be featured on the game board and/or in different amalgamations, plus you never know just which of your favorite soap stars might pop up!
Check out the premiere of “Soap Opera Know-It-All” below. Then, let us know what you thought of it via the comment section below.
As The World Turns
Amanda Seyfried Scores Oscar Nomination for ‘Mank’; Opens Up About Her Bad Times on As the World Turns
Monday morning, Amanda Seyfried (Ex-Lucy, ATWT) landed her first ever Academy Award nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance in Mank in the role of Marion Davies. The film also led the way for the 93rd annual Oscars with the most nods for any film with 10.
The Oscar ceremonies will air live on ABC on Sunday, April 25th. You can view all the nominations here.
In a recent interview with SiriusXM host, Jess Cagle on his Jess Cagle Show, he asked the talented actress about her start on As the World Turns, to which Amanda replied, “It was really exciting, and really heartbreaking. They were mean – whoever was in charge there. I was 15 years old, like fire me in a nicer way. I clearly wasn’t making the cut. I was terrified. It wasn’t a warm environment – and not that anyone was being mean to me to my face, but these people were coming to work and doing their thing and leaving, and I was 15, and I was bad, and they sent my character off to South America. They didn’t tell me that, they just didn’t invite me back. I heard it through the actors playing my parents talking about where Lucy had gone – she had gone back to Montega. Then, Peyton List came on and resurrected my role for three years, and Peyton List is still my friend.”
Cagle then asked Amanda if her time in Oakdale soured her on continuing to be an actress, to which the now Oscar nom replied: “No, it didn’t. It actually made me double-down at that point. This is what I want to do. This is where I need to be. I want that back, let’s get me another job, and I kept on auditioning and I got another job on another soap opera.”
Photo: JPI
The other role Amanda is referring to is her time as Joni Stafford on All My Children, where she often shared scenes with Michael. B. Jordan, then Reggie.
You can watch the exchange between Cagle and Seyfried sent to us by soap fan G.T. Lem below.
Now, share your thoughts on Amanda’s Oscar nomination and her remarks on her time as a young actress on ATWT in the comment section.
FYI – Actress Amanda Seyfried discusses her time on “As The World Turns” saying it wasn’t a warm environment and the person in charge (who later fired her) was “mean”
Video below pic.twitter.com/9GB4XLbzdY
— G.T. Lem (@gtlem) March 15, 2021
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General HospitalApril 3, 2021GH’s Nancy Lee Grahn to be Featured in Alexis-Centric Episode to Mark Her Upcoming 25 Years on the ABC Daytime Drama
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General HospitalApril 8, 2021GH’s Kin Shriner Talks on Franco’s Demise, Scott’s Budding Romance with Obrecht, and His Enduring On-Screen Partnership with Genie Francis
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Breaking NewsApril 5, 2021Cameron Mathison Joins General Hospital
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General HospitalApril 1, 2021Sean Blakemore Returns to General Hospital
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As The World TurnsApril 8, 2021‘Soap Con Live’ Event to Feature Panels from The Doctors, ATWT, OLTL, GH, Plus Virtual Meet & Greets
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