News
OLTL's Erika Slezak on Zimmer, Passanante, her bandage & more!
Courtesy/ABC
The November newsletter is out from One Life to Live’s six-time Daytime Emmy winner, Erika Slezak (Viki Banks) on her website www.erikalslezak.com In it, there is a brand new Q&A with the legendary actresses which addresses many of the changes in front of the camera and behind-the-scenes in recent months at OLTL! Here are just a few excerpts!
Erika on former ATWT head scribe, Jean Passanante on the OLTL writing team : “Jean has been working since June (I think), which is when “As the World Turns’” production shut down. They had that much in the can when they went off the air in September, because they had finished shooting somewhere at the end of June or early July. So she came to us then, and yes, she has just been wonderful. She is a breakdown writer but she sits in on all of the meetings, and apparently has had some very good ideas. The whole Echo story, which I love, was Ron’s idea. Jean is very, very intelligent and very savvy as to this business. And so she knows how to direct things and where to go. I think she is going to be a great addition, and already has been one to the writing team.”
Erika on working with Kim Zimmer in the reigniting of the Echo/Viki feud: “It is delightful – absolutely delightful. You know, I said to her, “I can’t wait to hear that big ol’ laugh of yours!” She’s just a joy and she is so professional. She knew exactly how to do it and what to do. It was a little different for her because she has spent the last couple of years practically on location. She said, “Oh, it is so nice to have a studio.” And she’s just been wonderful. We have had a lot of scenes together – very fun scenes. She’s been working with Robin a bit and they’re having a great time. The whole thing has just turned out well. She and Brian Kerwin get along brilliantly. Yes, the whole thing is just working out really well. I like the story – I like where it is going. It gets much more complicated, of course, as time goes by, but I like it.”
Erika on the bandage Viki was wearing in recent scenes above her temple: “That was real life. I had a little pre-cancerous thing, and I’m not sure what it is called – a lesion or something. It was a little bump on my right temple that wasn’t going away. I spoke to the dermatologist and he cryogenically tried to remove it – they freeze it with this stuff, and anyone who has gone to a dermatologist knows what it is. If it didn’t go away after freezing, they would have to biopsy it. So, a couple of weeks later, it hadn’t gone away, so they biopsied it and said it was a basil-cell skin cancer, which is a pre-cancerous condition. In order for it not to advance and become cancer, they removed it in what was a very simple procedure.”
Make sure to read the rest of the newsletter with Erika on her thoughts on Terri Colombino coming to Llanview, (Erika screen-tested all of the Aubrey’s) and how she feels that the show is not in danger of cancellation anytime soon, with all the upgrades the show has made in production quality while pairing down the budgets at the same time to ensure its future.
General Hospital
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As The World Turns
Lisa Brown to be Honored In Virtual Interview With ’42nd Street’ Co-Star Lee Roy Reams
Coming up on a very special edition of The Locher Room, the show will honor beloved ATWT and GL actress, Lisa Brown, who passed away at the end of November in 2021.
Since Lisa was never able to participate in an episode of the series, host Alan Locher is welcoming longtime Broadway star, Lee Roy Reams, who starred along with Brown on the Great White Way in 42nd Street.
Courtesy/TheLocherRoom
It was one of Lisa’s wishes to have Reams interviewed on The Locher Room. Lee Roy will chat on his almost 40-year friendship with Lisa, memories of working together, as well as his storied career.
Some of Ream’s other credits include leading Broadway roles in: The Producers, Beauty & The Beast, La Cage Aux Folles, Hello Dolly!, An Evening with Jerry Herman, Applause, Lorelei, Oklahoma and Sweet Charity.
Courtesy/TheLocherRoom
Circle Thursday, January 27th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST for the interview and you can watch the livestream here.
So, glad to know that the incredible Lisa Brown will be honored through the appearance of Lee Roy Reams on The Locher Room? Comment below.
General Hospital
ESPN Sports Personality and ‘General Hospital’ Guest Star, Stephen A. Smith Reveals COVID-19 Nearly Took His Life
In a harrowing account of coming down with Covid-19, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who also has a recurring role on General Hospital as Brick, revealed his battle over the holidays that led to him being hospitalized because of the severity of his symptoms.
On Monday, Smith returned to his co-hosting gig on ESPN’s First Take and it was there he shared what happened during his breakthrough case of Covid. Stephen had been fully vaccinated. Smith said that he had tested positive late in December and wound up in the hospital with pneumonia in both lungs over New Years.
Photo: ABC
Stephen A. discussed the details, expressing: “I had 103 degree fever every night. Woke up with chills and a pool of sweat. Headaches were massive. Coughing profusely. And it got to a point where right before New Year’s Eve, I was in the hospital into New Year’s Day. That’s how I brought in the New Year.”
He went on to say about contracting Covid-19: “For me personally, it hit me differently. (Doctors) told me, had I not been vaccinated, I wouldn’t be here. That’s how bad I was. I had pneumonia in both lungs. My liver was bad, and it ravaged me to the point where even now I have to monitor my volume, get to the gym every day … I’m still not 100% with my lungs, but I’m Covid negative … I’m on the road to recovery.”
On a happier note, Smith shared how glad he was to be back at work after testing negative: “I’m ecstatic to be back. I’ve missed being at work. I’ve used more sick days in the last month than I’ve used in my 28-year career in this business. And I can’t tell you how lucky and sincerely blessed I am to be sitting here with you guys today because two-and-a-half, three weeks ago, I didn’t know if I was gonna make it.”
So, glad to know Stephen A. is on the mend from a very scary bout with Covid? Share your thoughts in the comment section
“And they told me had I not been vaccinated, I wouldn’t be here. That’s how bad I was.”
— ESPN’s @stephenasmith details his recent, nearly fatal battle with COVID pic.twitter.com/jtkZV62RIA
— The Recount (@therecount) January 18, 2022
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General HospitalJanuary 19, 2022FRIDAY: Luke Spencer’s Family and Friends Gather To Say Goodbye On General Hospital
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All My ChildrenJanuary 18, 2022TONIGHT: All My Children’s Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams Together Again on All-New Episode of ‘Our Kind of People’
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NewsJanuary 13, 2022Remembering One Life to Live on the 10th Anniversary of its Final Episode on ABC
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Breaking NewsJanuary 13, 2022The Bold and the Beautiful to Dedicate Episode to Betty White On What Would Have Been Her 100th Birthday
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General HospitalJanuary 21, 2022(WATCH) GH’s Genie Francis Shares: “I Just Have a Hard Time Believing, In My Heart, That The Great Luke Spencer Died in an Accident”
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NewsJanuary 14, 2022B&B’s Lawrence Saint-Victor and Thorsten Kaye to Guest on THE TALK
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Breaking NewsJanuary 13, 2022Days of our Lives, General Hospital, and The Young and the Restless Receive WGA Award Nominations
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General HospitalJanuary 18, 2022ESPN Sports Personality and ‘General Hospital’ Guest Star, Stephen A. Smith Reveals COVID-19 Nearly Took His Life
Someone who calls Jean Passanante intelligent has to be as stupid as JP. JP along with CG destroyed the wonderful LURE love story on ATWT. Let’s see what Erika Selza has to say when JP will ruin OLTL and bring it down just like she did for ATWT.