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Groundbreaking Star of ‘Dynasty’ and ‘Julia’, Diahann Carroll Dies At 84

Photo JPI

One of the beautiful and beloved actresses in the world, Diahann Carroll, has passed away in heartbreaking news on Friday.  Carroll died at her home in Los Angeles after a long bout with cancer, according to her daughter,  producer-journalist Suzanne Kay.

Carroll, who was first-known for her amazing singing voice, and then as an actress, received a Tony Award and an Oscar nomination in her legendary career. She also make television history for her turns on Julia and Dynasty.

In her role as Julia, Carroll, became the first African American female to star in a non-stereotypical role in her own primetime network series . Julia, premiered in September 1968, finished No. 7 in the ratings in the first of its three seasons, and Carroll received an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe for her work.

Photo ABC

And later in her career, after loving ABC’s primetime soap, Dynasty, Carroll got the attention of producer Aaron Spelling to create a role on the show for her. And thus she became the one and only Dominique Deveraux … the half-sister of Blake Carrington (John Forstyhe).

That part broke ground as well, for Diahann in 1984, became the first featured African American character on a prime time soap.  Carroll later appeared on the Dynasty spinoff, The Colbys,  In films, Carroll earned her Oscar nomination for her work in Claudine (1974),

Diahann was married four times.  In addition to her daughter, she is survived by her grandchildren, August and Sydney.

For more on the passing of Diahann Carroll check out the Hollywood Reporter.

Share your remembrances and condolences on the passing of Diahann Carroll via the comment section below.

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very sad news, Diahann Carroll was a wonderful actress. she was a very classy, sassy lady. may she RIP.

I always thought Diahann was one of the most beautiful women in show business. I remember “Julia” when I was a child, and knew back then she was a classic beauty. I always wanted to see her play Halle berry’s mother in a movie. Huge loss, sad news.

A classy lady

Such a beautiful and talented singer and actress. She was wonderful as Dominique Deveraux and definitely held her own when going toe to toe with Alexis. I was a huge Dynasty fan.

Thank you Ms. Carroll for sharing your wonderful talent with all of us. Rest in peace.

Someone dying in their 80’s is not ‘heartbreaking news”. It is a natural, expected part of life at that age. It is sad for her family and loved ones, for sure. But she lived a full, wonderful life. She had a groundbreaking career and touched many lives. My point here….it just bothers me a bit when a celebrity dying at age 84 is classed as heartbreaking and news. When a non celebrity dies at an advanced age, it is never sensationalized as tragic, or heartbreaking. It is sad, but she she was old, and it was her time. A glorious celebration of her life should ensue, not grim depressing adjectives.

I hope that was cathartic. Cathartic: providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions; causing catharsis.

When does a non-celebrity death make the headlines of an entertainment website? The news is sad, heartbreaking, upsetting (pick an adjective) for her many loyal fans and admirers. She was a beloved actress. The state of mourning is not one size fits all. Bottom line is fans can mourn her loss however they wish and words like “heartbreaking” are okay to capture the sentiment.

I adored her so lovely !

A game-changer, grounbreaker and trailblazer. Rest peacefully Ms. Carroll.

R.I.P. Julia was one of our favorite night time programs we were allowed to watch on school nights. I was a wee lad of six back then. That along with The Flying Nun, Bewitched, Ed Sullivan-(except for Tina Turner episode)-LOL-we literally got sent to bed. The FBI, Land of the Giants, Lost in Space, Brady’s, Giiligan,and Peyton Place and the Honeymooners. We consumed A LOT of TV in the 60’s and it was fabulous! AND we slept on the porch and didn’t bother to lock the door at night, or during the day. Back then it was like, why you lock the door?

Peyton Place actually featured African American actors on its prime time soap in the late 60s long before Dynasty…

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George Cheeks, CBS President & CEO, on Timeline to Launch New Daytime Drama, ‘The Gates’: “We’re So Focused on Getting it Right”

March 2024 will be remembered in the TV and soap world when the news broke that CBS is prepping a brand new daytime drama. Many had thought a major network would never bring a new daytime soap into the world, given that the last time it was attempted was 25 years ago when the now defunct Passions bowed on NBC.

However, The Gates is definitely in development and moving forward with some major players associated with it including: Michele Val Jean as The Gates writer, showrunner and one of its executive producers, and Sheila Ducksworth from NAACP Venture

Now, for the first time since its announcement, George Cheeks, the president and CEO of CBS and chief content officer for news and sports at Paramount+, spoke on the project that will feature a Black family as its central focus who live in a wealthy gated community.

Photo: NAACP

Speaking with Vulture, and when asked if The Gates is really something that truly has a chance of getting on the air, Cheeks clarified, “It’s super real. And just to give you a little bit of the backstory,  when we hired Sheila Ducksworth to run the NAACP Venture, she and I had multiple meetings talking about what different genres she was going to lean into, and we talked a lot about daytime.”

Cheeks added, “One of the things that the data made very clear to both of us is that daytime soap operas over index with Black women, and yet when you look at soap operas, it’s usually sort of a white-led family with supporting characters that reflect more of our society. So we just thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to flip that and make the core anchor family a Black family, and then make the other characters reflect more the broader scope of society?”

Photo: JPI

The CEO gave props to Michele Val Jean,  and how Ducksworth came to the table with the former B&B and GH writer. “She found this great writer, Michele Val Jean, who’s been in the soap opera space for 30 years. She came up with a pitch, and we loved it,” shares Cheeks. “We brought Procter & Gamble into it as well, because if there were going to be (product) integrations, we could do it more holistically and organically. All of that is to say, we did a lot of work on the front end to put this together. So while yes, it’s development, it’s accelerated development.”

When prodded on the timeline of when The Gates could come to full fruition, Gates related, “The actual timeline and when we’re going to do it is still uncertain, because we want to get this right. I mean, there hasn’t been a new soap opera launch since I can’t even begin to tell you when. But we have great success with Bold and the Beautiful and Young and the Restless, and so we think we’re the right folks to be launching a new soap. I wish I could tell you more about exact timing, but we’re so focused on getting it right, and that will dictate when we’re ready to launch it.”

The CBS exec also shared that whether The Gates will wind up an hour soap or half-hour is not yet determined, but that it is being developed as an hour show.

So, after reading what George Cheeks, the CBS President & CEO had to say about ‘The Gates’, are you even more excited for what looks to the first new network soap in 25 years? Comment below.

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Robyn Bernard, ‘General Hospital’s’ Terry Brock, Dead at 64

Former General Hospital star, Robyn Bernard, who played aspiring singer Terry Brock has died. She was 64-years-old.

Bernard’s body was found Tuesday in San Jacinto, California. A Riverside County Coroner told TMZ they identified the actress’ body using her fingerprints after deputies responded to a death investigation call on Tuesday March 12th.

Sources told the outlet that Bernard’s body was found in the wee hours of the morning. The cause of death has yet to be determined.

Photo: ABC

Bernard joined General Hospital back in 1984 as Terry Brock, the daughter of the abusive D.L. Brock (played by David Groh). Robyn remained on the ABC soap opera for six years before making her exit in 1990. At one point, Terry’s stepmother would become Bobbie Spencer (the late Jackie Zeman) when the nurse married her father.

Terry was involved in the Laurelton Murders storyline and after first setting her sights on Frisco Jones, wound up with killer Kevin O’Connor. Later, Terry was blamed for several murders and in the end killed Kevin in self-defense. In addition, Terry had a relationship with Dusty Walker played by none other than Shaun Cassidy.  She eventually left Port Charles after landing her own recording contract.

Photo: ABC

The last time GH Fans may have seen Bernard was in 2014, when she appeared at the GH Fan Club Weekend Past Cast event. Robyn is pictured below with the late Susan Brown (ex-Gail) at the fan gathering. She has been out of the limelight for several years.

Photo: JPI

In addition to her role on GH, Bernard was featured throughout her TV career on primetime’s Simon & Simon, Tour of Duty and The Facts of Life.

Share your remembrances and condolences for GH alum Robyn Bernard and her loved ones via the comment section below.

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Breaking News

51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Announce Broadcast Date on CBS

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) revealed on Tuesday, that the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be broadcast live on Friday night, June 7th (8 – 10 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+*.

This year will mark the 18th time CBS has broadcast the Daytime Emmy Awards, which is more than any other network.

The 2024 Daytime Emmys will take place at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles. Back in December of 2023, the delayed 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were also held at that venue. The June 7th date for the upcoming ceremony will be the first time in several years that the event is scheduled a few weeks earlier than normal; excluding last year’s revised date to the actors and writers strikes.

Photo: NATAS

Lifetime Achievement honoree, nominations, host, and additional information will be announced in the coming weeks.

In a statement, Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS noted, “We eagerly anticipate our return in June as we once again partner with CBS to recognize the exceptional and talented individuals who make daytime television great. We’re thrilled to kick off our second half-century of the Daytime Emmys.”

The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of categories, including daytime dramas, talk shows, instructional programming, hosting, culinary, and legal/courtroom programs. In 2021, NATAS and the Television Academy jointly announced plans to realign the Daytime and Primetime Emmy Awards to be organized by content genre, as opposed to program airtime.

Photo: JPI

The 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will once again be produced by NATAS and Associated Television International (ATI), which produced Daytime Emmy Award ceremonies on The CW in 2009 and on CBS in 2010, 2011, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Adam Sharp and Lisa Armstrong are executive producers from NATAS, while David McKenzie is executive producer from ATI.

So, glad to know that the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards honoring performance and shows in the 2023 calendar year, will be held in early June this year, and once again broadcast on CBS? Comment below.

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