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Llanview in the Afternoon: An Oral History of One Life to Live Coming In 2013!

By Michael Fairman

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Missing Llanview as much as we are? Well news today via a press release is that a new book by Jeff Giles will take a look at the history of the 43-year-old soap with interviews from its cast, to production and crew, and more! The book is said to be due out in the summer of 2013.

The author, Jeff Giles is an entertainment writer and editor with over 20 years of experience, as well as the editor-in-chief of the online pop culture magazines Popdose and Dadnabbit.  Here is the official press release below of what Llanview in the Afternoon: An Oral History of One Life to Live will contain and cover.

Press Release: “During its more than four decades on the air, the ABC daytime series One Life to Live told countless stories, from sensational adventures to thoughtful social commentary. But the tales that went untold — the experiences of the writers, producers, cast and crew behind the scenes — are just as fascinating as any kidnapping, baby switch, or courtroom confession. As a youth during the medium’s ratings peak in the ‘80s, entertainment writer Jeff Giles absorbed years of OLTL storylines, thanks to his mother’s dedicated viewership of the ABC daytime lineup.

Today, network soaps are struggling for survival against cheaper-to-produce talk shows and reality series, but their cultural impact resonates more strongly than ever — and a tribute to the work that goes into producing them is long overdue. “Soaps have been at the vanguard in a lot of ways, and now that so many of them are being canceled, I’m afraid they could be the canary in the coalmine for scripted entertainment,” says Giles. “I don’t think Hollywood could support a medium that tells a 40+ year story anymore.”  Giles became reacquainted with OLTL during the 2007 Writers Guild strike after reading that the show was undergoing a creative renaissance, and was quickly convinced that there was a more in-depth, less sensationalistic story to tell about the people and the work behind one of the longest-running series in a much-maligned medium.

To that end, Llanview in the Afternoon: An Oral History of One Life to Live focuses on some of the most unique aspects of working on a five-day-a-week television series — from the actors, who had to deal with the daytime stigma and the psychology of living so intimately with their characters for extended periods of time, to the crew, who produced scripts and episodes at a blistering pace while working with a dwindling pool of network resources.

Giles is currently wrapping up an extensive list of interviews, which already includes discussions with such OLTL vets as Erika Slezak, Robin Strasser, Robert S. Woods, Hilary B. Smith, Ilene Kristen, Kassie DePaiva, Michael Storm, Judith Light, and Nathan Fillion — plus many more — with an eye toward publishing the book by summer 2013.”

So will you be picking up your copy of Llanview in the Afternoon: An Oral History of One Life to Live ? Let us know!

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SOLD! I treasure the OLTL 30 Years of Memories harddover (and to a lesser extent the 40th Anniversary paperback), so this is a must buy for me.

Sorry, but that would be dull, boring reading..
Interviews and reading about what was really has no point and being it is not a story continuing OL on book form, I’m not interested..
If it were a continuation of stories of the people of Llanview, that would be worth my time and money 🙂

Are we the only ones who think this way? I agree with you. I want to see these people on my t.v. every day. Not read about how things went for forty yrs. behind the scenes. There are people in the ‘cast’ I wouldnt even know, not having watched the show for that long. I miss it A LOT, really..just like I still miss my CBS soaps ATWT and GL. But would not buy a book .

I agree with su000 and vik, I’d rather see my soap again. Would thumb through the book for pix, but probably wouldn’t read it. At least we get a little OLTL through GH. LOVE LOVE LOVE GH.

I LOOOVE Seeing Llanview In port chuck, wish they all were there! Should have merged the two shows, I know a lot of GH fans dont think so or like them on thier show, but more characters, and storylines just makes a soap better! Im loving GH NOW!

I agree with Vik……………….

That will be great! I’ll buy one for myself and one for Mum, who is still heartbroken about OLTL. Networks should figure out that we’re not interested in talk shows, self help and other cheap programming. We want the escapism that only scripted drama can provide.

this book will be nice to have but, it isn’t the same as watching it everyday on the T.V. Mon.-Fri………………….

I can’t wait! Especially since Michael Storm is included in the actors listed as interviewed. Would love to know if even more old-timers from OLTL are included in the book. This gives me something to look forward to, as OLTL will always be alive in my heart!

I still iss OLTL & all the heart-warming stories………..Makes me want more….They should make a T.V. movie about OLTL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And put it on DVD to buy…

I’m buying!

Looking forward to buying and reading this! Yeah!

Summer 2013 too long to wait. Hope he includes a bunch of photos. But it will also be a little when the book ends.

Waiting for my copy!

I find the soap genre fascinating for more than just the story on screen. I love the art behind it and the fact that it is multi-generational. OLTL was my absolute favorite, so I would love to buy this book!

Oh Yeah! definately sold here! Michael keep us up to date on this please!

Definitely OLTL was my favorite soap opera and I miss everyone , if we can’t have the show the book will have to do. Michael keep us up to date and where we can purchase the book. Thank you for always keeping us informed about things.

OLTL was the best soap by far. I miss it more than I can say.
And I love behind the scenes stuff! I will buy this for sure.

It’s not like we ever hear the TRUTH in these books anyway! We always hear about “oh, we are a just a family”…and “its all for the fans.”. Lol. If someone would publish the TRUTH, I would buy that. It would be juicier than any soap plot. Soaps are dying because of bad recycled writing, actors who think they deserve astronomical salaries, and a refusal to shift away from what they have been doing since the 50’s. Personally, despite the initial glitches, I loved what Ellen Wheeler did at GL. Fake outdoor sets make.soaps look cheap. She gave us locations and REAL houses. I love that. A prime.example.from prime time iS the Golden Girls…LOVE the show…but the outdoor scenes they used as establishing shots totally betrayed what was happenijg.on screen. I also loved seeing a REAL outdoor Pond as the Snyder Pond on ATWT.

IF IT is cheaper to do it that way…WHY NOT DO IT? this is not the era of stars like Erika Slezak and Susan Lucci who command double.digits.

Sold. A book signing with some cast members and author would be wonderful !!!

i hope i can get the book in canada a big fan of one life to live

I will get one,I have Days of our lives and Another World and ATWT and AMC
I got collectors special my People 41 years of love,lust and life in pine valley!12-9-2011
all the pictures of all the soaps are so much to see and read,,,,
35years of AW,,I love it
45 years Days,,, all the pictures ,,,so nice to have

and I miss Another World ,I would love to know how Jake and Vicky and their twin grils are,I now ATWT killed off frist Vicky and then Jake,but to me they live on and are haveing the time of their life, the twins will be about 13 now,,,
o”and my dear Cass,how much I miss you,,,,
Donna,you are so very much missed by me,but I have them on DVD now,,, 🙂
YES I LOVE soaps,and I miss them so much when they go,
I watch Days and I hope it stays on forever just like the other 3….

Can’t wait!

Of course I would rather have OLTL back on our TV screens, but I would absolutely buy and read this book! It might bring a few tears, but I would love to learn about the behind the scene stories.

Absolutely !! Can’t wait !!

Can’t wait for this. I will be buying if for sure! For those of you who say you won’t be buying it because you miss the show, you are missing the point.

Dear Santa

all I want for Christmas is the One Life to Live book…

ok. truth be told, that book would be my 2nd Christmas wish as it doesn’t look like I’ll ever get what I really want – the show to return!

For sure! Every day as a gh, (a show I never watched before the end of oltl,) I think to myself, ” man I miss oltl. ” I love Vicky and Jessie and everybody else that didn’t make it on gh.

No choice but to watch gh now that oltl got killed!

News

Susan Flannery and Ian Buchanan Visit the Set of ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’; Daytime Emmy Winners Reflect on Show Then and Now

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Susan Flannery and Ian Buchanan

The one and only Susan Flannery (ex-Stephanie Forrester) dropped in to see her former co-stars on The Bold and the Beautiful at their Sunset Las Palmas Studio in Hollywood, along with her good friend and another B&B co-star Ian Buchanan (ex-James Warwick) on Tuesday October 20.

It was the first time in a very long time that The four-time Daytime Emmy winning actress was reunited with Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke), Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy), executive producer and head writer, Brad Bell, Jennifer Gareis and even her TV sister, Alley Mills (Pam, B&B now Heather, GH) showed up for the day too!

Flannery played the Forrester matriarch from 1987 until 2012. It was then that after playing the part of Stephanie for 25 years that Susan made the decision to retire from acting and in one of the most heartbreaking sendoffs, passes away from lung cancer in Brooke’s arms in November of 2012. During her B&B tenure, Flannery won 3 of her 4 Daytime Emmys, the other being for her first soap role as Laura Horton on Days of our Lives back in 1975.

Susan and Kelly

Photo: Bell-Phillip TV

As for Ian Buchanan, he played Dr. Warwick, psychiatrist, from 1993 to 1999.  He returned for other runs in 2014 and 2017.  Buchanan took home his Daytime Emmy in 1997 for his work as James. Soap fans also remember, Ian as mobster Duke Lavery on General Hospital, and Dr. Greg Madden on All My Children,

Both Susan and Ian shared their thoughts on coming back to The Bold and the Beautiful, for Susan 14 years later since he exited and for Ian close to 9 years since his last appearance below.

Susan said, “It’s definitely like coming home in a way, even though it’s not the same studio. It’s really lovely to see old faces and old faces with new faces. It takes you back mentally. You start remembering what it was like back then, even things like how much your feet would ache at the end of the day from wearing six-inch heels. It was just lovely to be back and see everybody.”

Susan Flannery and cast

Photo: Bell-Phillip TV

Ian expressed, “It’s a mind trip, you know. When I was sitting looking at the big Forrester set, it was like stepping back in time, almost. It takes you back mentally, and you start remembering what it was like when you were here before.”

“It’s lovely to see all these people again, even if you don’t know everybody,” explained soap vet Buchanan. “There’s something really special about coming back and seeing the show and the people who have been part of it for so long.”

So, happy to see Susan and Ian with some of their former castmates? Do you think Stephanie and Brooke is one of the greatest frenemy stories in daytime history? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Beyond the Gates

Tabitha Brown and Kandi Burruss Guest Star on ‘Beyond the Gates’ for Dani’s ‘Welcome to Your Life’ TV Special; What Could Go Wrong?

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Kandi Burress, Tabitha Brown, Karla Mosley

As previously announced, Beyond the Gates is bringing chef, author and actress Tabitha Brown and Grammy Award-winning songwriter, singer and actress Kandi Burruss to Fairmont Crest in a special episode of the CBS daytime drama airing Thursday, October 22.

In the episode, Dani’s (Karla Mosley) best friend Pamela Curtis (Cady McClain), arranges a “Welcome to Your Life” television special for her. As it turns out, Brown will play the show’s host, Tia Allen, while Burruss takes on the role of Dani’s first modeling agent, Kalista Kilroy, who turns the celebration of her life into a bad trip down memory lane.

Dani’s parents Anita and Vernon (Tamara Tunie, Clifton Davis), sister Nicole (Daphnee Duplaix), and daughters Chelsea (RhonniRose Mantilla) and Naomi (Arielle Prepetit) all join the show to celebrate and support her but also witness how things so south. Also appearing in the episode are Molly Figueroa as Tatum Stewart and fan-favorite Anita Williams (Tunie) impersonator Jackie Tyree!

Beyond the Gates

PhotoL JPI

THE 411 ON TIA AND KALISTA

Speaking with TV Insider, about their soapy experience in Fairmont Crest, Tabitha Brown previewed about her host with the most, “Tia is very professional, but she’s a girl’s girl. She is a protector of women and wants to tell their stories in a beautiful way, but she also wants to make sure they’re seen in a very good light.”

However, Burruss previews that Kalista arrives with a score to settle. “She’s spicy,” shared the recording artist. “I always love playing somebody that has come to start trouble. It’s always fun to play a villain of sorts, but Kalista feels like she’s been done wrong and she’s hurt by what she feels has been done to her. So Kalista is stirring up trouble, but she feels justified putting Dani on blast. Kalista is ready for some payback.”

Beyond the Gates is produced by CBS Studios, as part of the CBS Studios/NAACP Venture, in partnership with P&G Studios, a division of Procter & Gamble. Created by head writer Michele Val Jean, executive producers include Val Jean, Sheila Ducksworth, Julie Carruthers, Tracey Thomson, Leon W. Russell, Derrick Johnson, Anna Saalfeld and Lela Coffey.

Beyond the Gates is broadcast weekdays on CBS (2:00-3:00 PM, ET/1:00-2:00 PM, PT) and is available to stream on Paramount+**.

So, looking forward to this special episode of Beyond the Gates when Dani is put on a blast during a blast from her past and Welcome to Your Life TV special? Share your thoughts via the comment section.

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Days Of Our Lives

‘Days of our Lives’ Reveals Kyle Pryor Cast as Dominic Marino

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Kyle Pryor

For months now, Days of our Lives has teased the character of Dominic Marino. In recent weeks, viewers learned that Marino is on the down low working with Sami Brady’s (Alison Sweeney) apparent fiancé ‘Dante Vitali (Franco LoPresti), and that he is the never-before-heard-of child of Stefano DiMera (the late Joseph Mascolo) and Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall)!

Up until now, the Peacock streaming soap opera has never revealed his face, but that all seemed to change on the Tuesday, October 2o episode of DAYS. In story, Dante met Sami’s parents for the first time, Roman (Josh Taylor) and Marlena.

He shows them a photo of Dominic, which he happened to have on his own phone and even commented he kind of looked like he could be Marlena’s son. The photo, which has quickly made it around Soap Twitter/X, revealed that British-born actor Kyle Pryor is the man in the photo and eagle-eyed viewers actually located said photo on Pryor’s Instagram.

Dominix

Photo: Peacock

Deadline revealed Pryor started taping at the end of 2025 and will first be seen in the role, on air Monday, November 2.  In addition, Days will celebrate its 61st Anniversary with two special episodes featuring Dominic’s arrival, as well the returns of Tony and Anna DiMera, played respectively by Thaao Penghlis and Leann Hunley, on Friday, November 6 and Monday, November 9.

Those in the know, are are that Pryor previously held series regular roles on Australia’s Home and Away, and the UK’s Hollyoaks and guest starred on Emmerdale. In an ironic twist, Pryor appeared in the series Spartacus: Blood and Sand which is the same action series his apparent TV brother, Dan Feuerriegel (EJ DiMera), once appeared in before coming to DAYS.

So excited to see Kyle Pryor take on the role of Dominic Marino as Days of our Lives sets its anniversary story to kick-off with is arrival in Salem? Share your thoughts in the comment section. And in case you missed our latest conversation with Conner Floyd (Chad DiMera) he weighs-in on how Dominic’s appearance will shake things up in Salem. You can check that out below.

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