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Erika Slezak Shares Her Remembrances of Jerry verDorn, One Life to Live’s Viki and Clint, and the Times They Shared (EXCLUSIVE)

By Michael Fairman

Published

4 years ago

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Photo: JPI

This week, the soap world has been deeply saddened by the passing of one of its most beloved veterans, Jerry verDorn. The two-time Daytime Emmy-winning star, died on Sunday, May 1st after a battle with cancer. He was 72-years old.  The talented actor leaves daytime TV audiences with two indelible roles and performances that will forever be remembered; that of Ross Marler on Guiding Light, and Clint Buchanan on One Life to Live.

Jerry took over the role of Clint on One Life to Live in 2005 (the part had been previously played by Clint Ritchie), and he would take it on for 8 years – from his time on the ABC television version and one season on Prospect Park’s online version.  Throughout his time in Llanview, Jerry worked with his leading lady, six-time Daytime Emmy-winning icon, Erika Slezak (Viki). Together, they made on-screen magic as the often embattled, but ultimately happy couple of Llanfair.

In a touching conversation, Michael Fairman TV spoke exclusively to Erika Slezak to pay tribute to her former co-star and friend, share her remembrances of their time working together, and to honor Jerry for all that he meant to those who worked with him. Here’s what Erika shared  below.

There has been an outpouring of tributes and remembrances for Jerry, since his passing.  He was just so beloved by all who knew him and worked with him.  Would you say that it was a ‘good day’ when you knew you got to work with Jerry during your time together at One Life to Live?

ERIKA:  I loved working with him.  I always said he was my reward for my many years at One Life to Live.  This was my gift at the end, for the last 8 years.  He was a pleasure.  He was a joy every single day, and if I woke up in the morning, and I knew I had scenes with Jerry, I thought, “Whoopee, I can go to work happy!” His humor was so delightful, and as I said in the statement I released to my fan club, the only image I am going to keep in my mind and in my heart is of Jerry with that lovely, little, impish smile on his face because there was always something going on behind it.  There was always a joke coming or something.  He was a darling man.

Photo: JPI

You are heralded, by many, as the best to ever act in the soap genre. What was your take on Jerry as an actor?  I think people may have originally underestimated him, even though he won two Daytime Emmys.  He was as solid as they come.

ERIKA:   Jerry was a very talented actor.  When he was Clint on ABC’s One Life to Live, he became very strong, and they really wanted him to become more like Asa, and he took that with stride. He said, “Yes, I love that.  I can do that.”  Then, when One Life to Live went to the internet, they really went full out with that and they made him almost a villain. Jerry played it brilliantly, which I was surprised at, because he’s such a nice man!

Photo: JPI

Do you remember when they said they were recasting the role of Clint, and Jerry getting the part?

ERIKA:  Oh yeah.  They were recasting, and they had three people in mind.  I know that Jerry came in to read, and they had put him in Bob Woods’ (Ex-Bo, OLTL) dressing room because I think Bobby wasn’t there, and Jerry was a very close friend of Mark Derwin’s (Ex-Ben, OLTL, Ex-A.C, GL). Mark had said to me, “You have to make them hire Jerry!” and I said, “Honey, I don’t have that kind of power,” and he said, “Yes, you do!  Go and do it!”  So, I went and knocked on the door, and I introduced myself to him, and I said, “Listen, good luck.  We really are rooting for you.  I should tell you this up front: there is one other actor who they’re waiting to audition, but it won’t be for another week, so you won’t hear anything for another week.”  Jerry said, “Thank you, I’m very grateful for you telling me that,” because you know, you leave an audition as an actor, and you don’t hear anything for a week. So, you think, “I blew it.”  I remember that Jerry and I had chatted just for a minute, and I said, “Good luck.  It was so nice to meet you.  I’ve heard so much about you from so many people!”  Then, when he got the job, I was delighted because I thought he was so not Clint Ritchie (Ex-Clint), but the kind of progression of Clint into a businessman and more like his father, like Asa.  On his first day at work, he said to me, “I can’t tell you what a day this is!” and I said, “Oh, I’m delighted you’re happy.”  He said, “Yeah, well it’s good and bad.”  I said, “Why?” and he said, “Beth (Jerry’s wife) and I sold our house, and we bought a new house.”  I said, “Oh, I didn’t know that.”  He said, “Yeah, we’re moving, and when I got the call that I got the job, I told my wife, ‘I’ve got good news and bad news,’ and she said, ‘What’s the good news?’”  He said, “I’ve got the job!  I’m going to be Clint!” and she said, “That’s fantastic!  What could possibly be the bad news?”  He said, “My first day is the day we’re moving.”  So, she had to handle the move all by herself.  I said to him, “You’d better put a sticky note on your dashboard.  Make sure you go to the right house tonight!” That’s because he lived all the way in Sparta, so it was a good distance, a good drive for him from the studio. But, from the day we started working together, I thought, “This is just sheer pleasure.”  It was just joy.  There was no work involved – even when we were fighting, or angry, or whatever the script called for, we would laugh and laugh and laugh.  His sense of humor was so fantastic and so funny, and he always had a twinkle in his eye.

Over the years, anytime I talked with Jerry, or interviewed him, I just came away saying, ‘That is a good man’.  Jerry was always present, and always there.  I know that Bree Williamson (Ex-Jessica, OLTL) and Melissa Archer (Ex-Natalie, OLTL), thought of him as almost like a second father to them.  They were all very close.

ERIKA:  Jerry was very close with them, and he treated them all like his family.  The girls really loved him, and you could see it in their relationships.  Jerry was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life.  Everything about him was good.  He was an awesome human being, and it’s hard to find people like that, who are that good, and that’s why it’s so sad that he died so young.  He was only 72, and he was so looking forward to spending a lot of time with his grandchildren, who he was so excited about and so proud of.

Photo: ABC

What I also remember is that you taped your final scenes at ABC’s version of One Life to Live with Jerry.

ERIKA:  Yes.  It was a bunch of us.  It was Bree and Melissa, and Jerry and I, where Clint had just opened the letter, and he wouldn’t read it, and Viki had to read it to him. It turned out that Jessica was indeed his daughter and not Mitch Laurence’s daughter, which was one of their crazy twists.  Then we had the last scene.  I don’t think there was anyone else involved.  It was very touching because it ended with Clint on his knees saying to Viki, “Will you marry me?” and I couldn’t answer.  I just had this kind of smile and cried, and the girls were happy and hugging, and that was the last scene. Normally, I like to be up first in the day, because I like to be in first and to get out first.  Frank Valentini (Ex-EP, OLTL, now EP, GH) asked me that day, “Would you mind?  I’d like to put you up last.”  I said, “I would be delighted to close out the show.”  It was so much a part of my life, and I really loved it.  I loved going to work.  I was happy, and when you go to work happy, it makes all of the difference in the world.

Photo: ABC

Being that you closed out One Life’s run on ABC with Jerry, did he in any way help you through the sadness of that moment?

ERIKA:  At that time, we thought that within a few weeks, we would be going on to Prospect Park, and when we all said goodbye, it was the day before Thanksgiving.  We shot the last episode in November of 2011, and we all said, “See you in December,” and then of course, the whole thing fell through. Less than a year later, I got a call from the production company in California saying, “We’d like to do this, and we’d really like you to be a part of it,” and I said, “Who else has joined in?”  They said, “We’re trying to nail you down, and then we’ll talk to others,” and I said, “Well, let me know what you come up with, and I’ll let you know,” because it depended so much on who they could get to continue the story.  Thank God, they got Jerry! Then, Melissa Archer came on board, and I think Hillary B. Smith (Ex-Nora, OLTL) and Tuc Watkins (Ex-David).

Photo: JPI

Do you have a favorite scene that you shared with Jerry?  You had so many that I’m wondering if there’s one that stands out?

ERIKA:  I remember a great scene where Viki and Clint were supposed to get married, and then they split up because Viki said, “I don’t want your help.  I don’t want you to buy out The Banner.” Then, he went behind her back and did it, and they had a terrible fight about it, and Viki said, “That’s it,” and gave him back the ring.  No, I don’t have a favorite scene.  I have so many favorite scenes though with Jerry, so it’s hard to pick just one.

Do you think in 2022, Viki would still be married to Clint?

ERIKA:  Oh yes, oh yes, because she always loved Clint.

Phot

Had you communicated with Mark Derwin since Jerry’s passing?

ERIKA:  Yes, I did email him, and he said, “I am just devastated.”  You know, everybody who knew Jerry, loved him, and it was a very hard pill to swallow.

Photo/Courtesy: MSU

Are there any final thoughts you would like to share on Jerry as we remember him?

ERIKA:  In terms of my feelings about Jerry, I can just go on and on and on.  There wasn’t a better person on earth.

Share your thoughts on Erika’s sentiments on Jerry verDorn, and their time as Llanview’s Viki and Clint, and more, in the comment section below.

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Thank you Michael for sharing this interview. Erika Slezak is always a class act. I loved watching Jerry working with her. You could feel the mutual confidence and respect they shared for each other. She is so right. Clint grew into a respected businessman, father and, ultimately, head of the Buchanan family. Jerry played all of it beautifully as well as Clint’s manipulative Asa like behavior.

Bravo Jerry verDorn!!!!!!!!! Rest in peace.

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Interviews

WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus Talks Humble Beginnings, Test and Albert, WrestleMania 22 with Mickie James, Current Women’s Roster (Exclusive)

Published

1 day ago

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April 30, 2026

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WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus has had an incredible in-ring career, on and off for over 25 years. Having debuted as a heel back in 2000, she held the then WWE Women’s Championship for a record 445 days back in 2005 and into 2006, before dropping the title to her nemesis, Mickie James at WrestleMania 22, and is considered one of the best to ever to it by many in the women’s locker room, then and now. When it was her turn to be inducted into the Hall of Fame Class of 2013, she chose Stephanie McMahon (this year’s Hall of Fame class 2026) to do the honors at the ceremony.

Fast forward and April’s WrestleMania 42 week in Las Vegas, Michael Fairman TV had a reunion with Trish for this very special interview. For when Trish started in the WWE, Fairman was working as a writer/producer for ‘Raw’ and ‘SmackDown’ and as told in their discussion, recalled how he worked with an upstart Stratus to help her learn her lines for her promos and more. Now two and half decades later, we caught up at Trish’s WrestleMania 42 pop up at Flankers at Mandalay Bay entitled First Crush by Trish Stratus. Trish had created an immersive experience for wrestling fans, Trish fans, and offered on stage Q&A’s with special guests and much more.

Backstage, she sat down with us to take a trip down memory lane, share her picks for WrestleMania 42 in the top women’s bouts (see if she predicted, correctly!) and talked some of her greatest moments. opponents. and friendships in the ring and out, plus what keeps getting her to come back when she has already accomplished so much in her iconic career.

Photo: WWE

TO SINK OR SWIM IN THE WWE

Trish shared on being a rookie in WWE with little to no experience, explaining, “I was thrown right into it. I was a fan of wrestling, watching it, enjoying it. Started to dabble into fitness modeling. So suddenly, I was kind of a public figure all of a sudden. Modeling is very different than actually speaking. They (WWE) literally threw me into the water and it was like sink or swim. The wrestling was one thing and they threw me out there for my first couple matches. Most people come up in the independent wrestling circuits. I had done some wrestling, but it was foundational kind of stuff. It wasn’t like performance yet and they gave me my first promo and I was the green one.

In the world of pro wrestling its all about getting the moment to prove yourself and making something out of it, Trish did just that when she became the beautiful manager/wrestler of the late Test and Albert, and suddenly they were known as .. yup … you remember … ‘T and A.”

BAD GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN

Photo; WWE

Stratus recalled, “I was sitting backstage waiting for them to find the storyline. I remember just chilling actually with Lilian Garcia (then the ring announcer.) We bonded right away. She was my little bestie. I was on the road for a couple weeks in a row and, and then finally they came to me like, ‘Today’s the day. … we’re putting you out there.’ So, there I was with Test and Albert, otherwise known as T-and-A … get it! Those were the days of the double entendres. We were told we were bad guys, and we had to flesh out our characters.   had to get people to boo me right off the bat.”

“I love being a heel” Stratus said passionately. However, when she comes out of retirement or makes special appearances, or comes back for a lengthy storyline she prefaces it with, “The thing for me to come back to the business for a little while means leaving my kids. I have to make sure that it checks all the boxes, right? I want be challenged as a performer, number one. I want to make sure I’m coming back and giving back to the businesses. Not just being self-serving.  So, when I can check those boxes, it’s exciting, and makes it fun to come back.”

BECKY LYNCH AND MICKIE JAMES

Photo: WWE

Trish revealed her favorite WrestleMania moments through the years and her perfect opponents; the women she feels she created magic with in the ring. “When I returned in 2023, we had done the babyface come back. I’ve come back and they’re cheered me and they’re excited to see me. Nobody expected that, and that’s what I love doing. I love the unexpected. I was working with Becky Lynch.  I knew she was the perfect babyface to be a bitch to and to turn on; bringing in the bestie so that I could turn on her with all those years of history, that’s juicy to me. I love it.”

As to her WrestleMania match resume, it was an easy pick fo Stratus, “I’m going to do with Mickie James WrestleMania 22. We like to call us the hashtag ‘longest rivalry in history.’ Becky Lynch and I might have rivaled that rivalry just because we did have a lot. But, I’m all about the stories, and to make sure there’s a meaning behind it. I want to foreshadow a little. I want to understand what my character’s thinking when I go into this. We had the fans captivated. I think at WrestleMania 22, with the way the crowd reacted and the way they were so invested in our storyline, I feel like we got them.”

Proud of what she and Mickie accomplished, Trish added, “They were like, ‘the women can hold a crowd, like the men can.’ I think that was like the moment we kind of had arrived. I have to say the Jazz/Trish stuff, the Victoria/Trish stuff, this is all stuff that planted the seeds. Mickie James and I, right there at WrestleMania, and we’re talking about a WrestleMania moment. I’m also going to give a shout out to WrestleMania 19 with Jazz and Victoria and Steven Richards … who took the best Stratusfaction I’ve ever seen!”

THE STACKED WWE CURRENT WOMEN’S ROSTER

Photo: WWE

While WrestleMania 42 is in the record books, we asked the Hall of Famer, her picks for the key women’s championship title match-upsbetween: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan, AJ Lee vs. Becky Lee, and Jade Cargill vs. Rhea Ripley as you will see below in our video chat.

Trish went three for three and had nothing but high praise for all six of the women who laid it all on the line less than two weeks ago at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Now below, watch this exclusive conversation with Trish Stratus. For more WrestleMania 42 week interviews, make sure to check them out on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.

Let us know, have you been a fan of Trish through her years in the WWE? Do you agree with her favorite WrestleMania moment with Mickie James? What has been your favorite match and story in Trish’s in-ring career? Share your thoughts via the comment section.

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Interviews

Y&R’s Christel Khalil Talks the Emotional Winters Family Turns of Events; Shemar Moore, and Lily and Cane’s Future (Exclusive)

Published

3 weeks ago

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April 9, 2026

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This week on The Young and the Restless, viewers have been served up an emotional series of scenes and episodes centering around the return of Malcolm Winters played by Shemar Moore, who returns to Genoa City to ask his daughter, Lily for her help (Christel Khalil). 

In story, Malcolm has aplastic anemia and needs a bone marrow transplant and his best option is a family member. However, things turn bleak when they both learn that she cannot be his donor because Lily previously had cancer. Enter Dr. Stephanie Johnson, the also returning Vivica A. Fox, who tells her son, Holden (Nathan Owens) and Malcolm, that Holden is his biological son! This admission gives Malcolm a chance at a donor match to save his life.

Now, Christel Khalil, who recently came back to the CBS soap opera following her maternity leave, and the birth of her third child, chatted all about the new complex family dynamics, working with Billy Flynn as her new Cane, and Lily being in cahoots with Victor Newman, and more in a new conversation on the Michael Fairman Channel. Here are some of the takeaways below!

Courtesy/CBS

Working with Shemar Moore again and their touching scenes in front of Neil Winters’ portrait

CHRISTEL: “It’s always amazing to have anyone come back that’s been away for a while, but especially, Shemar. It’s all the history with him being Lily’s dad. For me, it’s been 20 years of knowing him. Obviously, I don’t get to talk to him or hang out with him and that kind of thing. So it was just nice just to see him again and have that moment around Neil’s portrait, and to be able to share that together and even talk about that off-camera. It’s just special and feels like family, which is nice.”

The emotional scenes with Malcolm and learning Lily has a brother

CHRISTEL: “It’ a great story. I love when anything is grounded in reality where people who have maybe gone through the same thing can relate and it can help people I feel like that happened when Lily had cancer on the show. It’s nice to see something really heart-based, really family-based. I feel like we haven’t been able to see that with Lily in a long time. Then, finding out that she has a brother, I thought that was really amazing.”

Photo: CBS

Working with Nathan Owens

CHRISTEL: “I love Nathan. We have so much fun together. We’re already teasing and joking each other on set like brother and sister, so it’s really nice. I was really excited to find out that he was part of the family, which is I think more interesting.”

Shemar Moore returning to tape more episodes

CHRISTEL: “I haven’t read that far ahead, but there must be something happening because when Shemar returns, I know a lot of people are involved in something. So we’ll see!”

Photo: CBS

Lily’s involvement in faking her own abduction

CHRISTEL: “When I first read it I was like, ‘Yikes, that’s really bad. It’s very not like Lily.’ It seemed very out of character for her. But then, as I started reading more and learning more about the reasons behind doing it, I actually really liked it. I see what some of what the fans say and they’re like, ‘Lily’s always on her high horse and she’s always, little ‘Miss Goodie Two Shoes.'”

Lily with an edge

CHRISTEL:“Oh yeah, she can definitely be bitchy for sure. I think when she’s bitchy, it’s because she’s usually judging someone else. I think this was a nice thing to kind of temper the judgment that she’s always giving where it’s like, ‘Ok, you do some things wrong too, so let’s just relax.'”

Photo: JPI

Billy Flynn

CHRISTEL: “I love Billy. He’s such a sweet, amazing guy, and an amazing actor and very professional. We have a great time together.  I like how they’ve really switched up the Cain character completely. He’s not trying to be the old cane. It’s a completely new cane and you know, I think we have good chemistry together. So, t’s been really fun to play with him and there’s some exciting stuff coming up. Hopefully, everyone likes it.”

Phyllis and Lily’s history

CHRISTEL: “Lily’s always annoyed with Phyllis, right? Michelle Stafford and I always have  conversations where I’m like, ‘You killed my mom.’ She’s like, ‘No! I didn’t. She let go! ‘(in reference to Dru falling off a cliff) To know that Phyllis and Cane had a thing, is very disturbing to Lily.”

Now below, check out our full conversation with Christel on the homecomings of Shemar Moore, Vivica A. Fox and welcoming Nathan Owens to the Winters clan, plus the drama ahead for Lily.

So, have you enjoyed the Lily and Malcolm scenes thus far? What do you think will happen when Shemar returns for another set of scenes taping this month as teased by Christel? Are you down for Lily and Cane, as played by Billy Flynn? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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Interviews

‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Jacqueline MacInnes Wood Talks What’s Next for Steffy Forrester (Exclusive)

Published

4 weeks ago

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April 6, 2026

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Three-time Daytime Emmy winner, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood is celebrating nearly two decades as Steffy Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful. Last September, she returned to the CBS daytime drama after her most recent maternity and giving birth to her 5th son.

Now back at the soap opera and a mom of five, Michael Fairman TV caught up with Jacqui at the recent launch party for the BBTV global streaming app which also served as a gathering for the series 39th anniversary.

Wood gave us the lowdown of what may lie ahead for the often in-your-face Forrester dynamo who has no problem snarking a comment or two to Hope (Annika Noelle), and who definitely wants her mother, Taylor Hayes (Rebecca Budig), and all her loved ones to stay away from Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown)!

Photo: JPI

‘It’s been fun what we’ve been filming, we’ve been non-stop,” shared Wood. “The other day I was doing four episodes back to back, and we were just in it. It’s fun to play Steffy right now. Love her or hate her. I have fun playing her.”

FROM LEADING ROLE TO SUPER MOM

Jacqui also weighed-in on; if throughout her run on the show, she has changed dialog or  something in a script to help out her performance. “Sometimes, but not all the time. I let Brad Bell (executive producer and head writer) write. I try to execute the best way I can,” reflected Wood. “There are times where I see it and I go, ‘Let me take the reins here. I got this.’  They’ll kind of let me go. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I’m OK for critique. We can’t work scenes over and over again. We’re not on that kind of medium or set. You kind of have to know what you’re bringing, but I’m always open.”

Being supermom to sons: Rise Harlen, Lenix, Brando Elion, Valor James and Talon, wife to husband Elan Ruspoli, and a leading actress on The Bold and the Beautiful is a lot to juggle, but Wood has found the way to do it all. “Honestly, I just truly live intentionally, ” explained Jacqui. “I know what we have here, and it makes me truly grateful to have my kids and to be able to still be a mom. I still see myself as a full-time mom. I’ll film episodes back to back, and then I go and I be a mom. I get to bring my kids to set. So. it’s cool.”

Photo: JPI

THE YOUNG AND THE BOLD

Wood is very impressed by B&B’s “new kids on the block,” Crew Morrow (Will), Sydney Bullock (Dylan), Brayan Nicoletti  (R.J.) and Laneya Grace (Electra) and shared she likes where Steffy is at in 2026, “I like the steady right now. I don’t want to like hit my cortisol levels yet. The younger generation can do that right now. I love the younger generation. I think they’re doing such a fantastic job, I just want to lean in and let them go and let them do their thing. If Steffy needs to chime in she will do that, and if she needs to slap some people, she can do that too!”

As to what man is in Steffy’s future, if it’s remaining happily married to Finn (Tanner Novlan), rekindling a romance with her ex-Liam (Scott Clifton ) for the umpteenth time, or a new man enters Steffy’s life, Wood would not say the way things may go down the line.

Photo: JPI

When talked turned to Steffy’s former pain killer addiction, Jacqui did say that. “It’s always a possibility” for the show to bring that back when it makes sense for Steffy and to service the story.

You can check out the full conversation below, and all the BBTV launch party interview with the cast, now on the Michael Fairman Channel.

So, do you think Steffy will be giving everyone trouble at Forrester? Do you think she will stay with Finn for years to come? What story would you like to see Wood be given at this point on the daytime drama series? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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