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It's Erika Slezak Day! OLTL honors her with 40th Anniversary Surprise Party!

By Michael Fairman

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Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

Yes, it is St. Patrick’s Day throughout the land, but in the soap world, there was, and is,  an even bigger celebration going on.  One Life to Live’s six-time Daytime Emmy winner, Erika Slezak (Viki) celebrated today her 40th anniversary milestone with the east coast sudser.

Think about it. What would One Life be without Viki and Erika’s brilliant performances over the last four decades?  Erika, who embodies such grace and class, and is one hell of a phenomenal performer has brought us to tears time and time again, as we have gone through Viki’s  joys and sorrows.

So the cast and crew in Llanview this afternoon brought Erika to a secret gathering!   She thought they were having a St. Patrick’s Day luncheon on set… needless to say she was completely surprised.  Later, a highlight reel and video tribute featuring some of her OLTL cast members including Castle’s Nathan Fillion (Ex-Joey) and the series creator, Agnes Nixon was shown to all in attendance.

According to Soap Opera Digest. Slezak was said to be overwhelmed with emotion at the party, saying, “I’ve been here for 40 years because I love it.  I’m so grateful for the job and to you, my family.  It’s been just magical.”

View our photo gallery from the celebration below.  There are eleven shots, so for the last one, make sure to hit the NEXT GROUP icon next to the + symbol or just simply wait for the slideshow to play through. Then, check out the emotional video clip of the moment Erika joined her surprise celebration!

One Life will continue Erika’s celebration with a special episode devoted to Viki next month! So we ask, what is your favorite Erika Slezak performance over the last 40 years? There are so many it’s hard to choose, right?  But, let us know.

Exclusive Photos

[slidepress gallery=’erika-slezak’]

Photo credits: Courtesy/ABC

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HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY TO YOUR YEARS ON OLTL, ERIKA!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear Erika,

We love you madly here in Evanston, Illinois! 🙂 Happy Anniversary! 🙂

Ms. Slezak: You are one of the 3 remaining actresses with class left on the Soaps today!!!!!!! You are simply the best dramatic actress of your generation……I love watching you everyday…as I have when I started watching OLTL 40 years ago……..Congrats……………

I love any scene with Erika in it. My favorite moments were when Viki was in a wheelchair after the stroke and managed to get up the stairs as one of her alters to kill Johnny D. Also loved when she locked Dorian up in the secret room. Also loved her as a waitress in Paris, Texas. Too many to choose from. I look forward to her kicking Charlie to the curb. That will undoubtedly be her Emmy reel for next year.

happy anniversary erika!!! you go girl!!

I’ve been able to view the photo slideshows on this site in the past, but this one doesn’t work for me at all. It says “Error: Slideshow data cannot load due to security issue”.

Please fix this since I’m anxious to see the photos from the celebration. Congrats to Erika!!

Happy Anniversay Erika, May God Bless You with many more years.

Erika deserves this tribute more than any actress because of her consistency and unwavering performances for so many years. The fact that she can embody her character of Viki after so many marriages and personalities proves that she is the grande dame of soaps.. I really liked her multiple personas,especially Niki the floozie. She can do no wrong by me. Congratulations Erika. Onward and Upward….

Congratulations on 40 years to a WONDERFUL actress! Your portrayal of Viki is simply amazing!

Congratulations Erica! One Life to Live was my first soap. I started watching because of Gillian Spencer’s Vicky/Nicky performance. Split personalities was a new thing then. I remember when Erica took over the role of Vicky. It was a seemless transition.

Tip of the hat to a performer that spent her career in daytime.

To a consummate performer, we love your work and are wishing for many more years of the same!!!

Thanks Michael for another great piece of Soap history your have shared! I love Erika and so glad that she is being appreciated! I have watched since Viki had to choose between Joe and Steve!!! I am glad she and Dorian are going against Echo! Great Stuff!

She looked shocked. So glad they did this for her. TY for the pics.

The class act of Daytime TV and it’s best actress

I have been watching you on OLTL for 40 years and you get better and better. I just think you are the best.

Erika has been the reason I have stuck with OLTL thru thick and thin. She is classy and an amazing performer and after all these years feels like family.

I recognize amazingly few faces in that group photo. Where was the majority of the cast? Perhaps the younger members of the cast don’t realize how lucky they are to be working with such a talent.

just want to be amoung the many fans of yours that we r grateful to have such a fine actress grace our television screens for so many fine years here is to 40 and many more to come. i have watched u since i was a young girl of 10 and i have always enjoyed the show and u so good luck and happy 40th anniversary

Happy 40 years on O.L.T.L. Erika. I have been enjoying watching you perform since 1978, and I have to say you have kept me mesmerized and entertained and you are the only reason that I have been watching for so long. so here’s to many more great years to come.
God Bless.

I also have to congratulate Erika on this accomplishment. She is truly an icon and matriarch of One Life to Live, as well as all daytime TV. I remember back when I first started watching ONTL. It was in the late 70’s, and Vicki’s husband at the time, Joe Riley was missing, if I remember right. Then he was in the hospital. Vicki was right there by his bedside, in anguish over his condition. I also remember that she was wearing a very lovely navy blue dress with white lace trim in that scene. It is so very sad that OLTL and AMC have been canceled.

i will miss you and all the cast its all about money

what?

This wonderful woman has NO IDEA how many lives she has touched. God Bless You ALWAYS Erika. My only regret is that I never met you face to face to tell you this myself. -Your Fan of over 35 years Brian in New York.

I have had you in my life since I was 12. I will not have the same kind of a day with out you in it. I love you and OLTL.,

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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Dominic Zamprogna

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).

On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.

Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC

HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT

Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”

Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”

Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Dom and Liz

Photo: ABC

DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES

In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”

Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”

You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.

Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy  for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

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Mike Manning

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon)  and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.

According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.

Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene,  Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.

WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?

Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”

The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”

MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE

In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.

Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.

So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

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Patrick J. Gibbons

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.

However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.

Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC

FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG

Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!

Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”

MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL

Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).

Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI

PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY

Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”

It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”

A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons

IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS

As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”

He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”

Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.

So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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