Guiding Light

Kim Zimmer chats about Ellen Wheeler, Oprah & Drinking in new Book!

July 22, 2011

And that headline is just for starters folks! In a new interview out today with TV Guide, Kim Zimmer gives us a further preview into her upcoming memoir which is going to be a non stop page turner! I mean, Guiding Light, Peapack, Wheeler, Oprah, drinking, One Life to Live, Clones and god knows what else! But it sounds like a soap fans dream to hear the gospel from four-time Daytime Emmy winner, Kim Zimmer!

I’m Just Sayin’!: Three Deaths, Seven Husbands and a Clone! My Life as a Daytime Diva is set to hit the book shelves on August 2nd, but for now here is what Kim said to TV Guide about who she trashes in the book. Well, one name came to mind to her.. ,Ellen Wheeler the final executive producer of Guiding Light!

Zimmer on stating in her book that Ellen Wheeler was crying all the time on set: “When they vetted the book, the only thing the lawyer called my publisher about was my reference to Ellen crying all the time on the set. Of everything I say, that’s what worried them! The lawyer wanted to make sure someone else could verify that fact. [Laughs] I said, “Oh, my God, at least 150 people can verify that Ellen Wheeler was a crier.” My publishers are very anxious for me to write another book, although I don’t know where I can go from here. A.C. read three chapters of this one and hated it! He wanted it to be more of a teaching book, something that helps actors learn about survival in this business, a book about self-preservation in a business that’s basically dying.”

Zimmer on if she felt the outlandish stories of time travel and the Reva clone story were a precursor to the demise of GL: “As much fun as it was, as an actor, to be a clone or to time travel, those storylines did not benefit the show at all. Back in the great years of GL we had no idea we were living in the golden age. It was so wonderful and comfortable and meaningful — the fans really cared about us and the stories that we told. Then soaps got ridiculous. They stopped being what they were created to be — human drama! That’s why people are leaving us and seeking out replacements. That’s why people get such a kick out of the Stupid Housewives of Wherever. Those shows are today’s soap operas!”

Kim makes a valid point here! I mean television viewers are finding Real Housewives of (well, you can fill in which ever city you want) more intriguing then daytime soap opera storytelling in 2011. Enough said.

Related Topics:Echo DiSavoy Guiding Light R.I.P.I'm Just Sayin!kim zimmer One Life To Live Reva Shayne tv guide

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Guest

Adam

I didn’t watch GL for many years, then once AW went off, I began my journey watching GL till the end. Not sure why Zimmer has to be so ugly towards Wheeler, she was great! I was never a fan of Zimmer anyway…now reading this about her novel, I wouldn’t spend my $ reading trash she has to say. If you going to knock down the show that paid you money to live and eat then its obvious she was not that grateful to have a job in daytime. She was not all that there over actors on this show… Read more »

Guest

Mark Schreier

GL should have brought back Nola and Quint and Ed & MIke Bauer a long time ago .. they kept bringing in new families and characters that viewers were not invested in. Nola is one of daytime’s most memorable characters and Lisa Brown is one of the best daytime actresses of all time. Her fantasies were incredible…. great TV…… instead of going for great TV and human drama, real people, they went for gimmicks to try to get viewers that were totally unreal — cloning Reva, etc. P&G or whoever was in charge of those shows … Mary Ellis Bunnum… Read more »

Guest

Maureen

I would be interested to know what the actual ratings are for the Real Housewife series of shows. It is easy to make generalizations about how viewers more interested in those reality shows than soaps…but I am not and I know quite a few people who don’t watch most of the reality shows on television. Yes, network soaps do not have the ratings they once did…but the same can be said of prime time shows…cable news channels…you name it. But soaps still pull in great and consistent ratings…that just about any network or cable prime time show would love to… Read more »

Guest

kay killgore

Years ago a friend of mine was at the Soap Opera Digest Awards, back when they had those Ms. Zimmer was there, my friend sit on her scarf because they were moving you around every commercial break so the place would look full she said Ms. Zimmer was nasty as all get out you would have thought someone would have sit on her head. You know why soaps are going down the tubes? Becasue it is an ensemble piece that makes it work not just one actor. It became the Reva show and that’s why I tuned out…

Guest

Lew

Hey, Ms. Zimmer is just telling it like it is. The soaps have lost their way and it is reflected in the ratings. Soaps are supposed to be about family, friends and drama. That has been replaced by corporate wars and the mob on the waterfront. On some soaps, you don’t even have core families anymore. If the genre is to last, they have to go back to what worked. Days and GH seem to be on the right track.

Guest

Mark Schreier

Guest

Jeff Moree

Well i am definately going to Read this book.. I read an article or interview many years ago where Ellen wheeler said that acting saved her from bieng schizophrenic in real life. I can harldy wait til the book is on shelves.

Guest

Ceridwyn2

I’m a long time ABC soap fan (AMC, OLTL, GH) on and off for over 25 years. After hearing some interesting things happening over at GL in Dec 08, I decided to switch over to the Otalia storyline, and watched to the end of the show. I came in for Otalia but stayed for the entirety of the show. Yeah, looking back on some of the show clips, it was rough when they changed production models. Some thrived in the new environment, while others did not. It took a little while but it did improve. And from the standpoint of… Read more »

Guest

Bob Andelman

Kim Zimmer fans will also enjoy the Mr. Media VIDEO interview in which she talks about working with her friend Alec Baldwin on “The Doctors,” replacing Kathleen Turner on “The Doctors” and playing her double onscreen in “Body Heat,” her 26 years on “The Guiding Light,” and her struggles with alcohol in the show’s final years. Check it out: http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=2172

Guiding Light

Soap Veteran Executive Producer Jill Farren Phelps Virtual Interview on Tap

June 15, 2021

In a very special conversation, don’t miss one of soaps longtime executive producer ‘s Jill Farren Phelps appearance on an upcoming livestream on The Locher Room.

Jill joins host and former ATWT and GL publicist, Alan Locher on Wednesday, June 23rd at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST.

As soap fans know Jill has helmed Another World, General Hospital, Guiding Light, One Life to Live, Santa Barbara and The Young and the Restless.

She has also been nominated for 15 Daytime Emmy Awards and took home 11 Emmys for her work.

While Phelps has been a polarizing figure on the soaps, look for the good, and the bad decisions under her tenures at the soaps to be discussed and more.

Here is the link to watch it live

So, what would you want to ask Jill? What was her best decisions and worst decisions as EP of the soaps? Let us know via the comment section below.

Guiding Light

Guiding Light Alum Melina Kanakaredes ‘Greek Candy’ Series to Debut on Amazon Streamer ‘IMDb TV’

May 3, 2021

We all knew her when she played Eleni Andros on the beloved Guiding Light, and two Daytime Emmy nominations later, actress Melina Kanakaredes left the soap for Hollywood, where she has appeared in numerous TV series and motion pictures ever since.

Now, Melina who currently stars on Fox’s hit medical drama, The Resident is set to launch her very own project in which she not only stars, but co-wrote and is one of the executive producers.

According to Deadline, look for Kanakaredes new series ‘Greek Candy’ to hit the new Amazon streaming service, IMDb TV as part of its inaugural launch.

In story, Melina Kanakaredes and her family’s 100-year-old chocolate factory in Akron, Ohio is the inspiration for Greek Candy. The single-camera comedy, from Sony Pictures Television, tells the story of mom, dad, their three teenage daughters, four very Greek immigrant grandparents, and one very non-Greek “adopted” son and what it means to live the American dream in 2021.

So, looking forward to checking out Melina’s new comedy series? Have you loved her work ever since Guiding Light? Comment below.

Guiding Light

Guiding Light’s Michael O’Leary Will Recur on ‘Law & Order: Organized Crime”

April 22, 2021

Good news today from former Guiding Light star, Michael O’Leary (Ex-Rick Bauer). He informed his fans via social media that he is continuing on in his role of Father Hogan on the NBC crime series, Law & Order: Organized Crime.

The series airs Thursday’s at 10pm EST/9 pm CST and stars Christopher Meloni reprising his ‘Law & Order’ role of Det. Eliot Stabler, and Dylan McDermott.

O’Leary tweeted: “Law & Order Organized Crime-exciting news! My character ‘Father Hogan’-now recurring! Thrilled to work with Chris Meloni again!”

So, will you be looking forward to seeing Michael more on the NBC crime drama series? Comment below.