Breaking News
Guiding Light’s Lee Lawson Dead At 83
UPDATED: More loss for the Guiding Light family. Now comes word on Monday that Lee Lawson, who played Bea Reardon on the CBS daytime drama series from 1981-1990, passed away Sunday night in Los Angeles at 83-years-old. Lawson passed away at Cedars Sinai hospital in Los Angeles after a decades-long fight with cancer with her children by her side.
What makes this all the more heartbreaking is that Guiding Light and soap fans just recently mourned the loss of one of Lee’s on-screen daughter’s Lisa Brown (Ex-Nola Reardon) who died back in November of last year.
According to Lee’s dear friend, Marian-Hailey Moss via Facebook, she shared: “My down-to-earth, sassy smart and beautiful friend LEE LAWSON is telling it like it is in a better place. A fine actress and a super generous friend. I’ll meetcha there LEE!!”
Michael Fairman TV spoke to Marian-Hailey Moss and confirmed Lee’s passing.
In addition to her time in Springfield, Lawson also appeared in for a time in 1979 on One Life to Live in the role of Wanda Wolek and started her soap acting career on Love of Life in 1965 in the part of Barbara Sterling.
Lawson also appeared on numerous primetime television shows from Kojak to Maude and many others. After a long career in entertainment, Lee achieved a lifelong ambition by gaining a doctorate in clinical psychology, and enjoyed a fulfilling successful second career in Los Angeles as psychologist and crisis counselor. She was especially proud of the work she did for many years at the Los Angeles Times before moving into private practice.
Lee’s daughter, Leslie Bova, took to Facebook on May 24th and shared: “My Mother died. May 22, 2022. Thank you for having Chris, Me & Gaby so that we could have Gianna, Wilder & Sterling. We love you. You fought Cancer & COVID-19 like a champ. Rest, you brilliant, woman . Thank you, mom. R.I.P.”
She is survived by her children: playwright Christopher Stetson Boal, Gabriella, and Leslie; her sister, artist Susan Gray Arlow; and her grandchildren Wilder, Sterling and Gianna.
Below check out some scenes between Bea and Nola from Guiding Light.
Share your remembrances of Lee Lawson as Bea Reardon and your condolences in the comment section below.
Bea Reardon. Classic mama-bear. Rip Ms. Lawson.
One of my all time favorites. One Life To Live, Guiding Light and especially loved her as the spoiled rich brat, Barbara Sterling on Love Of Life. She was a wonderful actress. R.I.P dear lady.
Gosh this scene was wonderful a real conversation not the 30 second “scenes” now. Lee was so great I loved her. I love Lisa as Nola so much!
She was a joy to watch as Bea Reardon on GL. So many wonderful memories. Rest in Peace, Ms. Lawson. My condolences to her family and friends.
Oh how I miss Guiding Light. Rest in Peace Bea.
When Lisa Brown passed away last year, I wondered what became of Lee Lawson. I had no idea that she was on the west coast in LA. No one else could have portrayed the humble yet frustrated Bea Reardon on GL. After all, Nola was a handful for anybody. But these 2 ladies made us laugh, cry, and yes hope for a better life outside the boarding house. Sometimes dreams, love, and success are not outside but just where we are. Rest In Peace.
I remember her on LOL as a kid and being Bruce’s daughter. She was a good actress and when she came to GL I loved it because I was familiar with her work. RIP Lee and God speed. Best wishes to her family. Many of my beloved GL actors have died this past year, I’m getting old and sad to see all these GL actors pass because I have vivid memories of all of them in story.
Breaking News
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.
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?”
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.
Breaking News
Robyn Bernard, ‘General Hospital’s’ Terry Brock, Dead at 64
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.
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.
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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