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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!

Beyond the Gates

RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

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Beyond the Gates and General Hospital

The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.

According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.

Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.

Photo: CBS

MORE BY THE NUMBERS

In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .

BEYOND THE GATES

Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:

Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).

Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.

Photo: ABC

GENERAL HOSPITAL

Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:

Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.

Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.

Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.

Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a  benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.

However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.

So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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General Hospital

Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

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Antonio Sabato Jr.

Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.

Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU  Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.

The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”

Jack Sabato

Photo: NBC

Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”

He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”

The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”

Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.

Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.

This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.

So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.

 

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A post shared by Antonio Sabato Jr (@antoniosabatojr)

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Breaking News

‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis

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James Reynolds

Days of our Lives long-running cast member James Reynolds revealed on the November 10 edition of Entertainment Tonight that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and his character of Abe Carver will now be going through an on-screen Parkinson’s battle as well.

Speaking with ET’s Nischelle Turner, the 80-year-old actor and Daytime Emmy winner shared how he attempted to hide the warning signs dating back to 15-20 years ago when he would have, “What they call the hallucinations. My wife (Lissa) would say, ‘You were hitting me last night in bed,’ and I would say, ‘What?!’ I was having these really horrible dreams.” Reynolds also added that he realized falling out of bed was an early symptom of Parkinson’s too.

Discussing the on-going tremors that have become more noticeable over time especially in hands, James shared that when he finally told the Days of our Lives cast they were nothing but “extraordinarily helpful and supportive.”

Photo: ET

SCREEN LIFE TO MIRROR REAL LIFE

Now with DAYS about to launch into Abe’s Parkinson’s storyline, Reynolds hopes that he can turn his experience into something positive by encouraging others facing the disease to keep fighting. During the sit-down, Reynolds co-star Jackée Harry (Paulina Price) recalls her reaction to learning of Reynolds’ real-life diagnosis and how she has continued to search for new treatments to inform James about.

Although Parkinson’s disease currently has no cure, there are medications and treatments can help those manage symptoms and improve quality of life. The condition progresses at a different pace from individual to individual.

As discussed in his conversation with ET, Reynolds cited Michael J. Fox and Alan Alda as two high-profile celebrities who have brought awareness to the disease.

Abe

Photo: JPI

In story on DAYS, Abe in recent weeks had been experiencing tremors which led to seek help and a diagnosis Dr. Kayla Johnson (Mary Beth Evans). Soon Abe and others will find out of his battle with Parkinson’s. Although on the promo for this week’s DAYS, Abe is seen telling Kayla, that he will do something, “when the time is right.”

James Reynolds is one of the most prolific performers, being the longest-running Black Actor in a role on a television series, not to mention his aforementioned Lead Actor Daytime Emmy win in 2018, and being inducted in 2025 into the Daytime Emmy Gold and Silver Society of honorees.

You can check out James’ in-depth conversation on his Parkinson’s diagnosis below.

Share your thoughts for James after learning of his health battle, and what do you think of Days of our Lives incorporating the disease into Abe Carver’s Salem storyline? Let us know in 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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