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All My Children

Memories, Love & Heartache in the Afternoon – The Cast of AMC Says Goodbye to Its Network Television Run!

Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

In a brand new feature out today from On-Air On-Soaps Michael Fairman at FrontiersLA.com, several of the key members of the cast of All My Children are profiled and interviewed on their memories, the heartbreaking cancellation of the series, their loyal fans, and the sense of family camaraderie they have had together with all the trials and tribulations it took to keep the show on the air.

AMC’s Susan Lucci (Erica), Thorsten Kaye (Zach), Cameron Mathison (Ryan), Rebecca Budig (Greenlee), Bobbie Eakes (Krystal), Christina Bennett Lind (Bianca), Sarah Glendening (Marissa), Vincent Irizarry (David) Jill Larson (Opal), Michael Knight (Tad) and J.R. Martinez (Brot) are all part of this piece.

Below are just a few excerpts!

Jill Larson on her on-contract, then off-contract status with the show: “It has been quite a roller coaster ride really since the spring of 2006 when I went off contract. Then they started using me! I think it was Chuck Pratt [ex-head writer, AMC] that saw the value of the character and started using her more regularly. I did become the resident psychic and I did make all the other residents of Pine Valley look a little dense, because I had 100 percent accuracy and nobody would believe me!” [Laughs]

Jill getting emotional recalling the love of the fans at the recent All My Children Fan Club event: “Emotions are close to the surface right now. [Teary-eyed] I did not have any understanding of daytime, or the power and the potency of it in people’s lives when I started here. I feel so honored that I get to do a job that brings that kind of delight to people. That is extraordinairy to me. My character has evolved over the years in a way that I did not necessarily intend, but the voice of my mother, and my grandmother, and aunt Edna are in there with me, and they have come forth now in Opal after all my years of playing her. I thought she was a great distance from me, but clearly that is not the case. At the fan club weekend there were so many families that came. There was the daughter, and the grandmother, and the great grandmother in the wheelchair, the children and the grandchildren. Soaps really provide a common language and glue for families of every generation. I understand for the network it’s costly to do these shows. But, I don’t think they really appreciate the value and the uniqueness of this form, and the power of it.”

Susan Lucci on having those moments where she realized how amazing it has been playing the one and only Erica Kane: “I did pinch myself all along the way. I feel so lucky. I knew it from the very beginning that Erica was special, and then all along the way. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’ The range I have got to play as Erica has been astounding. I think back to her modeling days in New York City, and being at the Met, and running down that grand staircase and all that went with it. Also, the comedy with David Canary [Adam/Stuart Chandler] comes to mind, and the great romances, but also the groundbreaking and socially relevant storylines … Bianca’s coming out, Erica’s addiction to prescription pain pills … both those stories were told in real time. That is a luxury of this genre.”

Vincent Irizarry on remember one of David’s most heinous acts … stepping over his mother, Vanessa! “There was one time David stepped over his mother while she was having a heart attack in the parking lot, and Erica is going, ‘Dr Hayward. I am so glad you are here.’ And I am like, ‘Oh, you bitch.’ And I keep walking off. And she is like, ‘Dr. Hayward why would you walk away from her?’ And someone goes, ‘That’s his mother!’ He loves to tell people in Pine Valley, ‘Look at yourselves! You’re not so different than me. You are just lacking the brilliance.’ Look, in the end, I will take away from this experience the wonderful relationships with the people that I work within every area of this show. It’s been incredible.”

Make sure to read all the actors thoughts on their time with AMC, and on its conclusion on television, by going to the full story here!

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Michael, Thank you (and thank you, AMC) for all of these wonderful interviews. I love this show and these actors! I’m hoping they will come back re-energized and fresh on the web and take it by storm.

thanks michael – i could not help but tear up reading this article……..

Wish you could have interviewed Jacob Young

I’m sending thank yous too, Michael! 🙂

All My Children

Carol Burnett Talks About Being a Superfan of ‘All My Children’ on ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’

In a heartfelt reunion, of sorts, the one and only Carol Burnett appeared on Monday March 25th episode of Live with Kelly and Mark.

Burnett had first met Kelly Ripa (Hayley) and Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo) back when they all appeared on All My Children together. Carol played Verla Grubbs first in 1983 and then again in the 90’s.

Host Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley, AMC) noted to Burnett that “we go back a long time”. She also described Burnett’s character of Verla Grubbs, “extraordinary in every way.”

Carol’s love for All My Children is well-documented, hence legendary soap creator, Agnes Nixon, created the role of Verla for Burnett.

Photo: ABC

Speaking on how her passion for All My Children began, Carol told Kelly and Mark, “It started with my kids. They would watch at noon. I said, ‘What are you guys doing?’ I sat down and I started to watch and I got hooked!”

When Carol’s family decided to travel through Europe during one summer, the comedic legend recalled thinking, “How am I going to last if I don’t know what’s going on in Pine Valley?” She revealed she had a friend, “who sent me a telegram to the (different hotels) on Fridays to bring me up to date.”

Photo: ABC

In a hilarious moment from the segment, Carol recalled receiving a late night telegram while in Lake Cuomo when there was a knock at her hotel room door from the hotel manager who was shaking.

Carol related what it said, “Erica is still in a coma. Mark slipped again and ran away from rehab.” As Kelly and Mark broke into laughter, Burnett continued, “Chuck has learned that Donna is carrying his baby, who was once a hooker.”

Check out Carol explaining how she became an AMC Superfan below.

Now, let us know, did you enjoy Carol as Verla Grubbs? What show do you consider yourself a Superfan of? Tell us in the comment section.

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All My Children

Malachy McCourt, ‘Ryan’s Hope’ and ‘All My Children’ Actor, Dead at 92

If you watched Ryan’s Hope through its 14-year-run, you know that Kevin the bartender became a beloved “member’ of the Ryan clan on the defunct ABC daytime drama series. The character of Kevin MacGuiness became so loved by the fans because of the actor who portrayed him, Malachy McCourt.

Sadly, according to his wife Diana McCourt to The New York Times, Malachy passed away on Monday from a heart condition and battling cancer. The actor was 92-years-old.

Playing Kevin on Ryan’s Hope was not much of a stretch for McCourt, because in his lifetime, he was the owner of 1950s Irish pub Malachy’s on Third Avenue in Manhattan. Known as one of the city’s great story-tellers, patrons from longshoremen to the actor Richard Harris would stop in and talk all things Irish with . On Ryan’s Hope, Kevin was best friends to “Ryan’s Bar” owner, Johnny Ryan (Bernie Barrow) and he tried to keep Delia (Ilene Kristen) on the straight and narrow.

Photo: ABC

In his soap opera career, McCourt also was widely-known for his role of Father Clarence McCourt on All My Children especially come Christmastime. Was Clarence, actually St. Nick? That was always the proverbial question. McCourt also appeared on the New York soaps: One Life To Live, Search For Tomorrow and Another World. Other roles included: Devil’s Own, Brewster’s Millions, The Molly Maguires, and Starman, to name 

Later in 2006, Malachy ran for governor of the state of New York as a Green Party candidate. He tackled social issues of the time including being an advocate for gay and lesbian groups to march in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Photo: ABC

McCourt’s childhood was recounted within his brother Frank McCourt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela’s Ashes, which detailed their mother’s attempt to raise the four of their surviving seven children in poverty in Limerick, Ireland. Later, Malachy wrote his own memoirs: 1998’s Monk Swimming, and 2000’s Singing My Him Song.

Malachy is survived by his aforementioned wife, Diana, daughter Siobhan McCourt; sons Malachy Jr., Conor and Cormac; stepdaughter Nina Galin; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

Share you remembrances and condolences for Malachy McCourt via the comment section, but first check out this scene from a 1983 episode of “Ryan’s Hope” featuring the late actor with Ilene Kristen.

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All My Children

‘Live with Kelly and Mark’s’ Annual ‘After the Oscars’ Show Brings Backstage Interviews, Fashion Review and Red Carpet Arrivals from Movie’s Biggest Night

Monday morning, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos took to the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for the talk show’s annual Oscar post show.

However, this time it would be Consuelos’ first time as the co-host of ‘Live’ for an Oscars episode. Mark took over the gig from Ryan Seacrest to team with his wife back in April of 2023 and since then the show has seen a ratings spike hitting several all-time highs.

The After the Oscars show opened with a tribute to the movies were the former All My Children stars took on iconic roles from: Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct to Barbie and Ken in Barbie, to the Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller role’s in the romantic comedy Something About Mary and more.

Courtesy/DisneyABC

During After the Oscars, Kelly and Mark were shown in clips backstage as the first stop for the newly-anointed Academy Award winners including: Finneas and Billie Eilish and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The Bachelor host, Jesse Palmer was the talk show’s guest correspondent who spoke to the nominees, and celebrities as they were entering the Dolby Theatre on Sunday night.

Singer Andy Grammar took to the stage and performed on Live’s  After the Oscars show as well, and Project Runaway’s Elaine Welteroth shared her thoughts on the night’s Oscar fashion.

You can watch the full ‘Live with Kelly and Mark After the Oscars’ show below, plus the full movie parody below that. Now let us know, what do you think of Kelly and Mark’s first post-Oscar show together on ‘Live’? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

 

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