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Susan Lucci Recounts Thoughts On Ending Of All My Children: "We Were All Blindsided!"

Courtesy/AOLBuild

In a full-length interview on AOL’s Build series, former All My Children icon and now star of Devious Maids, Susan Lucci was the special guest.

When it was time for those in the studio to ask questions of Susan, one audience member asked Susan (Ex-Erica Kane) her thoughts on the ending of the iconic daytime soap opera when it was cancelled by ABC back in 2011.

Susan answered: “We really all were blindsided … we didn’t expect it, and it was like the loss of a loved one.”  Lucci made note of grieving the loss of the series, and what a close-knit family cast and crew had become.  She also revealed she was so concerned over the crew losing their health benefits when the show was closed down by ABC.  When asked what helped her get through the loss of the show, Susan said it was the people to this day that she meets in airports or along her life travels:  “People stop me and tell me how much they love Erica and what an influence she had on their lives. Those things are very gratifying.”

Devious Maids is currently filming its fourth season in Atlanta, and as Lucci previewed. viewers will learn the upshot of if  her role of Genevieve saved Zoila’s (Judy Reyes) life, or the maid’s baby in the season premiere to air this spring.

So, what do you think about Susan’s comments almost five years later on the disheartening end of AMC?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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I love her on Devious Maids she is actually quite good at comedy. She tells the truth plus all the actors that sold their homes in New York and took losses to move to Los Angeles when they knew all along they were going to be cancelled.

I think, respectfully, that some actors on AMC knew that the end was near. I’ve read and heard interviews with several actors where that was acknowledged. I think it was a bad move for ABC to deny, deny, deny each time Susan Lucci asked about the odds of the show being cancelled and she went on talk shows and repeated what she’d been told, but it’s not true that no one thought the end was coming. In addition, many of us fans who followed Nielsen ratings knew it was likely to happen (especially after the show moved to L.A. and we knew it was on borrowed time), and the rumors on the internet were white hot, starting in January 2011. Having said that, I do miss AMC, and IMO, a lot of what is left in Daytime now is not nearly as good as AMC was on its worst days (and it had some bad ones). I watch Susan on Devious Maids and she’s excellent, but she’ll always be Erica Kane to me. I’m glad she still feels the support of AMC’s fans. She was always a great ambassador for AMC and for Daytime.

ABC indeed botched the cancellations of AMC and OLTL, a real shame as ABC was the network that really boosted daytime popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. I miss Pine Valley and Llanview. Each series was so important and engaging. I pray for a renaissance of the genre.

Beth says, “a lot of what is left in Daytime now is not nearly as good as AMC was on its worst days….”

I couldn’t agree more Beth.

Although the quality is lacking i can rebutt that just by saying……..Zarff !!

I was so mad that they canceled All My Children……..I grew up watching the ABC soap operas including AMC……..I wish they could’ve found a way for the show to continue on ABC……..Why did they cancel such a GREAT show ……..I miss all of the stars who played on there…….Now you see the actors and actresses are on other soaps……..And some has passed on which is such a sad thing……..I Love and Miss all of you…….And Good Luck …..Life after All My Children!! ♡♡♡

Her comment about being blindsided is just ridiculous. It was widely reported the show has been canceled a couple months prior to the official announcement. she and her husband are quite savvy, I don’t believe for a minute she was blindsided.

I have to agree. I remember the rumor mill as well as the poor ratings. I like Susan but I think she has sour grapes. I liked AMC as well as G.L & As the world turns but they ran their course & she needs to let go of her anger and get on with it.

I believe that Susan Lucci asked repeatedly if AMC was going to be cancelled and time was told “no”. I doubt Susan and her husband would have made the move to LA if they believed the show was going to be cancelled. Why would she? Susan’s children and grand children live on the East Coast. Nor do I believe that the others in the cast would have made the move unless each was convinced by the producers that AMC would be cancelled.

I know, even with all the rumors, I was blindsided. My Pine Valley and Llanview families of 40+ years were leaving! It broke my heart and still breaks my heart.
Love you Susan.

ABC knows it even if they don’t admit it. What a mess Frons created and he is gone…

Frons was hired to kill the soaps and when he succeeded, they let him go “mission accomplished”

I still miss AMC and all the talented cast. I’m still hopeful that ABC will reconsider and bring back AMC. I refuse to watch the Chew.

I’m glad Susan has gone on to prime time but I wish she was still im daytime she was so much fun to watch.

She said all this years ago, as I remember. I remember seeing her interviewed on a show. Just a couple of weeks before she had told an interviewer it was not true that AMC was being cancelled.

I still miss AMC!!!!

Love her on Devious Maids. I encourage anyone who misses Erica Kane to watch DM. I think you’ll really love her as Genevieve. It is a very entertaining show.

The viewers were blindsided as well. I was able to watch it on Hulu and at the end of the season, we were told that the show would be back. I watched it for forty years and I still miss it. I wish someone would at least do a special and tie up the loose ends.

How were the viewers blindsided when the ratings for this show had been on the bottom for four or five years? Cancelation rumors started about 2007. Millions quit watching. One soap opera columnist went on the record saying the show was canceled and Agnes Nixon had been informed
I don’t believe for a minute Susan Lucci did not see this coming but I recall her saying this before and she is sticking to her story.
The actors moved to keep their jobs a while longer. No job is guaranteed. I firmly believe they all Knew they were on borrowed time.

Miss Erica Kane and her spectacular, bigger than life persona, Susan……my heartfelt best wishes to you and to everyone from AMC & OLTL.

My email to – ben.sherwood@abc.com &
channing.dungey@abc.com ___ “Just want to let you know that WHEN “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” are back on ABC Daytime programming, then I will also return. The only program that I watch on ABC now is “General Hospital” … nothing else in the daytime and certainly, nothing in the nighttime!

You did a great disservice to the Cast & Crew of “AMC” and “OLTL” … as well, as the longtime, loyal viewers of “AMC” and “OLTL”.”

Lashing out at 2 people who had nothing to do with cancelling AMC or OLTL is immature. Those shows were cancelled by Brian Frons, head of ABC Daytime, back in 2011. At the time, Ben Sherwood worked in NYC in the ABC News division. Channing Dungey has worked in ABC’s Primetime Division since 2009. Why is primetime responsible for anything that happens in daytime? What a childish response…

I still grieve the loss of our beloved All My Children and One Life to Live. We viewers have lost so very much.

They botched it alright. AMC & OLTL didn’t deserve their fate. Reality T V is the worst bringing low lives from all over to where real actors should be in good dramas.
Some of us just eat up reality TV and continue to help it along.

AMC deserved to be cancelled, ratings were very low and storylines were horrible. OLTL had good ratings, that was a big mistake for cancelling OLTL. Brian Frons better hide, or I will kick his ass Lol. Brian Frons is a punk and sob.

Although GH has always been my favorite daytime show, I also grew up watching AMC (since the late 70’s). It still holds a very, very special place in my heart. It was unique in that while it focused on youth, it also offered storylines that heavily involved characters who weren’t all teenagers or 20-30’s, but middle-aged to older characters (Phoebe, Ruth, Joe, Opal, Palmer, Daisy, Chuck, Mona, Langley, Myrtle, Enid, Lars, Pat, Ray, Olga, Adam/Stuart, Marian, Ellen, etc., and the list goes on and on..including characters who began on the show as a part of the younger set and then grew to become established, older characters.

God, I miss that show I miss all of its opening credits.

I sure miss it too, when I watch DAYS OF OUR LIVES, just to get a “soap fix” I think to myself…geez “all my children” was SOO much better than this! I watched AMC for over thirty years…geez….don’t like to admit that – and I really miss it.
I think, in fact I know that they should have just trimmed it down to a half hour as well as One Life to Live and kept them going.

AMC and OLTL were pure class and sophistication too. Quality shows, both of them. A huge loss.

Bring back our soaps! Daytime tv is horrible for the most part. I have been watching DOOL and Y&R but DOOL is my favorite right now. It is really good. Y&R is not that good right now. Storylines are slow and really could not tell you what is going on. I can’t figure out who the young people are in Y&R. They all look alike. Girls tend to be skinny blonds and guys are same height and dark hair. There are way too many young people on Y&R. Yes I know the name is Young And The Restless.

Bring back Susan and AMC!

I always wondered why after the shows were cancelled, when I would go to sites like this, the only thing that I ever heard about was oltl. They faired basically the same in viewrs. Im referring to respoce of fans. I didnt start watching the show until I heardit was cancelled and was amazed at how much I enjoyedit. Really great acting and cast. However when went to view it online there was only a comment or two for the days show. Then when I went to gh, the show I normally watch, there were pages and pages of comments under just one episode. It became clear that the shows were in two different places. Its unfortunate bc I think that if the show got a new producer and new writers and uped their game and shook things up a little, amc could still be on air.

“Its unfortunate bc I think that if the show got a new producer and new writers and uped their game and shook things up a little, amc could still be on air.”

In my opinion, this exact same sentence could have been said about ATWT, which had over 50 years of history and 6-7 actors remaining who had been on the show a minimum of 25 years. It bothers me when I see the frequent comments criticizing the cancellation of OLTL and AMC that the longer running ATWT rarely is mentioned. ATWT seems to have been almost forgotten when it was cancelled. (I’m NOT suggesting that OLTL and AMC deserved cancellation. It just irks me the way many sites and the comments fail to mention ATWT, which did not deserve the fate it got).

I do believe the AMC cast was blindsided. I believe the initial plan was to cancel only One Life To Live. I think had AMC performed better in the ratings after its move to California it would have lasted a bit longer.

I have really tried to get past the cancelling of both AMC and OLTL and then the sabotage of Prospect Park. Other than GH and DWTS I no longer have much use for ABC. I appreciate CBS commitment t o quality daytime shows. ABC could bring back a hybrid soap but then have to admit they were wrong.

ABC make amends to your loyal daytime fans.

I cannot understand why the powers that be at ABC did not put their soaps or one of their other cable channels. If the rating is down put it on a station that shows old reruns. Or something else that is just filling up time until evening! I think that this could be a solution. To save money, they could cut it down to 3 days a week and take out all the crap that prolongs the story line.

Great idea! ABC listen to your viewers.

Thank you

Have to admit I miss AMC. I wish it were still on eventhough I only watched it once in awhile. I knew the characters, and I liked to tune in every now and then.

will never forget my oltl and amc(I watched oltl since 1960s) they should have just combined the shows or put them on lifetime network thier other affiliate. idiots..idoubt if they could collect all the actors nd bring them back now. they are truly over l..sadly…let’s all move on .will miss my “sis ” Vicky lord and nora bucahanens anfdtheir families forevah.

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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