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Hunter Tylo Reflects on Son Mickey’s Tragic Death, and Refusing to Play Trauma Surrounding Phoebe’s Death on B&B; “My Pain is Not for Sale”

By Michael Fairman

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1 year ago

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Photo: JPI

The original Taylor Hayes of The Bold and the Beautiful, Hunter Tylo, recently made two surprise livestream appearances. It is the first time in several years that anyone had heard publicly from Tylo herself. As previously reported, she showed up as a guest on the Unexpected Cosmology You Tube Channel.

One of the more emotional and heated moments came when Hunter was asked about getting a start in show business as an actor. In her response, and to make a point, she recalled some of the harrowing moments that led to her beloved then 19-year old son, Mickey Tylo, falling into the family pool after having an epileptic seizure and dying back in October of 2007. Meanwhile, on-screen, Taylor’s daughter, Phoebe Forrester (MacKenzie Mauzy) died in a car crash on an episode that aired in December of 2008.

In the story, Phoebe came back to town and she was mortified to find Rick (then, Kyle Lowder) in bed with her mother! Later in 2008, Phoebe learned Rick kissed her fraternal twin-sister Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) against her will. When Phoebe confronted Rick at his office about it, he tried to get away. She followed him to his car and got in with him. As he drove, she became physical, hitting him. Rick lost control of the vehicle and then crashed. While Rick survived, Phoebe died in her father, Ridge’s (then Ronn Moss) arms.

Photo: JPI

While Hunter seemed a bit off on her dates; as to when her son passed away and then having to play the reaction to Phoebe’s death as Taylor on The Bold and the Beautiful; she explained how being an actor on a soap, or in film or primetime, can be difficult, and how she has gotten a “reputation” over the years for standing up for herself.

Hunter explained, “I don’t think people understand what they’re getting into by wanting to be an actor or an actress. I have, in the past, temperamentally walked off off of a set. I have refused to say things or do things because either they didn’t jive with what I believe in, or I could just see how flat out wrong it was.” Next, Tylo began to illustrate how sometimes soap writers may use actors real-life experiences and write it to their storylines.

MICKEY TYLO’S DEATH 

Hunter added,“They (the writers) will start taking your real life and then they’ll write it into the story. So, you get to live it twice. In real life, my 19-year-old son, used to go to all these concerts. He wanted to be a DJ.  We were living near Vegas. I used to commute to L.A, because I hated L.A. He would go to all these concerts. He was hanging out with “Panic at the Disco, and all these guys who were just getting started in Vegas. They were making him their promoter. Mickey was getting overstimulated by all of the flashing lights and probably the grinding crazy music that also scrambles your brain with death tone frequencies. He ended up getting epilepsy from it, and by time he was 19 1/2, it killed him, because he went outside to get phone reception at our house in Vegas and he had a seizure at that moment. He fell in the pool and no one was there. Unfortunately, his brother had to find him.”

Photo: JPI

REFUSING TO PLAY SCENES FOLLOWING PHOEBE’S DEATH ON THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

“The next thing I know in the script, one of my daughters dies. She gets hit and killed in a car wreck,” recounted Hunter. “I’m like, ‘What? I can’t do that. I can’t do this!’ This only happened like three weeks ago or two or whatever, however long it was. I don’t know. Each day (I was supposed to show up for work) I noticed I was getting later and later coming to the set. My body was saying, ‘Don’t do this. Do not relive this because you’re going to have to use real life to get the tears to flow. You’re going have a meltdown or something.’ There were a lot of people talking who were bad mouthing me (saying), “Look at her. She’s late to the set all the time. Look at her. She’s just acting like a drama queen.”

Photo: JPI

Hunter recalled the time she refused to perform a key moment in the story: “They wrote a scene where I’m supposed to go to the morgue to identify my daughter, which everybody knows what a parent would really have to do. I did have to go through that, and they wanted me to reenact it, live it, and do this whole thing of grieving and holding her body and her toes and her hands, and kissing their head like you do. I wasn’t going to do that. I said, ‘I don’t care. Fire me. Goodbye. This ain’t happening. I mean, it’s not for sale. My pain is not for sale, okay?”‘

UNDERSTANDING THE STRESS OF BEING AN ACTOR

As she finished her recollections, Tylo ended with, “So, that’s why I say to anybody who wants to be an actor know what you’re getting into. You don’t understand the stress. It’s not all roses. It’s not all flashy cars and limos and gowns and red carpets and lights are flashing and everybody loves you. It’s not. Sometimes people hate your guts and sometimes you’re doing stuff that is extremely traumatizing to yourself. So that’s my two- cents.”

You can check out the moment during her livestream conversation where Hunter brings up her son’s tragic death and Phoebe’s on-screen death on The Bold and the Beautiful below.

Now, let us know, what are your thoughts on an actor having to relive something close to a real-life tragedy that impacted them significantly? Do you remember Phoebe’s death on B&B? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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I admire Hunter for refusing to do a storyline while she was grieving the loss of her son. Brad bell was wrong to even write a storyline so personal.

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Hunter Tylo always seemed to be the class of B&B even dealing with such stupid stories. Just reread the recap of the lead-up to Phoebe’s death, for example. Ridge’s step/half brother and/or stepson Rick (depending on who is married to whom when) — son of his dad (Eric, who raised him) and his true love Brooke — was in bed with Taylor, his step/half brother and/or stepfather’s on-again/off-again wife, and mother of his children, twins Phoebe and Steffy, at times Rick’s stepsisters, or first cousins once removed. And Rick romanced both of them and their mother, his step sister-in-law.

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Well, that’s an actor’s job. It was a year later. I do agree having to do the morgue scene would be tough. Hopefully she could talk to the writers, etc. and explain.

I don’t think epilepsy is brought on by being around flashing lights.

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Agreed on both points. Perhaps the writers could have been a lot more sensitive Tylo’s emotions in writing elements of that story, given the loss of her son the prior year. That said, she returned to her *job* as an actress *on a soap opera* and surely had to expect that she would be asked to portray sadness and grief again eventually. Grief does weird things, so I won’t judge her for it *feeling like* it was weeks after her son passed away — that truly would have been unspeakably cruel — but it really wasn’t.

On your latter point, yes and no — while flashing lights/sensory overload can absolutely set off epileptic seizure episodes for those who already have the condition, you are correct: you can’t actually acquire the condition itself that way. While they don’t know the exact cause for people to get the condition itself, it’s usually related to genetics or a brain/head trauma issue. There’s no valid research to suggest that someone can get it by being around things that trigger episodes in people who already have it. Doesn’t mean he didn’t have epilepsy or that it didn’t contribute to his death, but it’s odd that she’d blame it on him being around the music scene.

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Still don’t know why Brad brought her back one year later just to destroy her character. She was on Larry King after her son died I believe she did sue the doctor for malpractice but nothing came of it she has had a tragic life ups and downs but to me she was the only Taylor. Hope she comes to peace and moves on Brad destroyed the character so I’m happy for her not to come back .

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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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1 day ago

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October 21, 2026

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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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2 days ago

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October 21, 2026

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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

Published

3 days ago

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October 20, 2026

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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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