Courtesy/CBS

Who says you can’t reinvent yourself multiple times over after portraying one of the most iconic, identifiable, and memorable characters of the soap genre and pop culture?  Well, don’t tell that to Daytime Emmy winner, Genie Francis.  The former Laura Spencer of General Hospital has gone on from her life in Port Charles’ sturm and drang, to her new role as mother-from-hell (sort of) Genevieve Atkinson on The Young and the Restless, to her starring role in the Hallmark series of made-for-television movies The Note.   But now Genie is taking another left turn in her stellar career, playing Dr. Kate, the pageant therapist, in creator and writer Steve Silverman’s hit comedy web series, Pretty! (www.prettytheseries.com)

If you missed the season-three premiere of Pretty, you will want to make sure to watch Genie, as she is plopped in amongst the zany and outlandish pageant-crazy Champagne family!  Francis will also appear in several more webisodes, where her Dr. Kate tries to make sense of it all … something we don’t think anyone can do with these folks!  On-Air On-Soaps chatted with Genie, not only about being part of a series on the web, but the consistent rumors that she is heading back to General Hospital, her current role as Genevieve on Y&R and what’s in store for fans of the show who have been missing Genie on-air.  And yes, she tells us about working with her CBS co-stars, including fan favorite Daniel Goddard (Cane) who plays her on-screen Genoa City son.

We also take a look at the genre today as opposed to when Francis first started in the glory days of daytime, and where she feels some much needed transition did not occur that might have saved the soaps from becoming extinct.  And what about that Oprah Show appearance with her and Tony Geary (Luke, GH), and being trotted out as part of the soap star legend spectacular?  Genie tells us more on what went down behind the scenes. We think that any long time soap fans will enjoy this interview with Genie, in which she tells it like it is, with honesty, humor, and as an actress who has been through it all in the tough world of show biz, and let’s not forget … the woman is still quite young!  Here’s the incomparable Genie Francis!

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/PrettytheSeries

Genie, you came into being on Pretty through your former on-screen GH mom, Denise Alexander (Ex-Lesley Webber) who also appears in Pretty in the role of Louise Kirkpatrick.  How did she get you to even consider doing something like this wickedly funny and off the wall comedy web series?

GENIE:

I got a call from Denise Alexander telling me how much she loved this script, and Steve Silverman, and how fun he was to work for.  And since Denise is in the show too, she said, “It would just be great if you would do it, and would you consider it for me?”  And I said, I would, because this woman has been so good to me all of my life.  And, she has never asked me for anything in return.   So it was sort of a chance for me to do something for her.  So based on that … I made my decision to do it.  Then, I went through a very busy time in my life with making this movie for Hallmark, and working on the soap and getting my kids back into the first week of school.  I was just running around like a crazy person and I did not really read the script of Pretty till right before I had to go to work.

MICHAEL:

So you said “yes”, but had not read the script, and truly had no idea what you were getting yourself into or involved in.  You must trust Denise implicitly!

GENIE:

Yeah, because I basically made the decision that I was going to do this for Denise!  And then, I was very pleasantly surprised that it was this cute, funny, interesting group of people, and that it was actually a really fun experience.  So that’s it.  That’s the whole story. (Laughs)

Courtesy/PrettytheSeries

MICHAEL:

In Pretty you get to play Dr. Kate, Pageant Therapist!  I thought you were so funny! And it was so great, because we don’t get to see you like that.

GENIE:

Oh, I am so glad to hear you say that.  Thank you for telling me that.   And you’re right; you don’t get to see me like that. (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

When you watched back the season three premiere webisode, with you front and center, did you think you were funny?

GENIE:

I was happy with the thing I did, that was much in the style of the hit comedy show The Office, where I was talking about the gold curtain and the lighting.  And that was great because I did what I wanted to do, which is that style made famous by The Office.

MICHAEL:

So were you acting by yourself in many of those “therapy” scenes with the cast of characters, which includes a hilarious cameo from The Bay’s Mary Beth Evans? Or, were they in the room with you?

GENIE:

Courtesy/PrettytheSeries

Sam Pancake (Michael Champagne) and Stacy McQueen (Annette Champagne) were there and Mary Beth Evans was there. But then there were others who were not there.  All of my part was done in like four hours!

MICHAEL:

Did you come in the way you were going to interpret the character and that was how you were going to play, Dr. Kate?  Or, did Steve Silverman give you more direction? Or, was it a ‘I’m going to run with it, here you go’ type of scenario?

GENIE:

Steve jokes about this, since I waited till the night before the shoot to read the script, but I was really busy.  And I have to take each job one at a time or I get confused.  So I just go one job, and one day at a time.  So I called Steve the night before and I went, “Ok. What do you want from me here?”  And he basically said, “I want you to be the voice of reason, because that would be the worst nightmare for the character of Michael Champagne, which would be to have to face the voice of reason.”  And I said, “Oh Great.  I can do that.  See you tomorrow.” (Laughs) There have been years that I have had in the past where I have not done a darn thing, but this happened to be during a busy time.  Like I said, Steve knew exactly what he wanted from me, so he facilitated that beautifully and quickly.  He got what he wanted.  The guy is very professiononal, smart, and very talented.  He deserves all the kudos.

MICHAEL:

So, would you come back and do another season of Pretty?

GENIE:

Oh yeah!  I would for him.  For him I would do it, because I think Steve is cool.  I don’t know that I would do it for just anybody.  Denise was right when she said, “I needed to do something that I have never done.”  I think she did not steer me wrong.  She involved me with somebody who is actually interesting creatively, and for that I am grateful.

Courtesy/Prettytheseries

MICHAEL:

The Mary Beth Evans therapy scene was hilarious!  Wasn’t she Sara Garrett from The Bay who was confused that she was in the wrong therapy office?

GENIE:

Yes.  I also thought that Mary Beth’s long monologue about all the things that happen to her was terrific. (Laughs) She did a really good job at it, and it was hard for me not to laugh while she did it!  I was happy to see her dealing with the monologue that way, because there are so many times in soaps that we are asked to do these ridiculous speeches, and we always say to ourselves, “This could be comedy real easily, if we could just play it that way.”  And there she was playing it that way.  And I thought, “Good for her!”   I was proud of her and impressed with her ability.

MICHAEL:

So on The Young and the Restless you came on as Genevieve, and you had said in interviews it was like breath of fresh air for you.  After years of playing “put-upon” Laura Spencer on GH, you got to play an eerie bitch!  How did that feel?

GENIE:

I will tell you it made me feel immediately lighter in my person.  I just felt like I don’t have to wring my hands and cry all the time, and worry and focus on the pain, you know. Now the focus of this new character was: how do I entertain myself, even if it’s at your expense?  It’s kind of like the character in House.  I just say what I want to say because it tickles me.  That was a fun-freeing part of the character to play and I enjoyed it.  I think they are changing Genevieve now a little bit, where they are leaning towards making her a more traditional heroine model, which is also OK with me.  They have a very big show to tackle, and how they want to use me in their show should be their decision, and I don’t have my heels dug in.  We know that Genevieve has this caustic side to her that is not gone.  Right now she is in a happy moment in her life and there is a little bit of softening going on, which I think is good.  Ultimately, she should have both.  She should have her tough side and her soft side.

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/CBS

It was interesting because fans and soap pundits where saying, “Was Genie channeling her inner Helena Cassadine?”  Through your portrayal of Genevieve, were you at all doing that?

GENIE:

At times I was in the very early part of playing her, and then it started to change a bit as we went forward because I started to make her funny.  I don’t think Helena was ever funny.  Then it also started to be more fun for me to play.  I know that a lot of my cast mates thought it was funny, and I liked it.  And honestly, I don’t know how the audience receives it because we are so in a vacuum.  It’s very hard to tell.  You can use Twitter to try and ask people.  But even that represents a small group of people, and it’s not inclusive of everybody.  It’s uncomfortable being in that sort of a void, and seeing how people are receiving it.  I am hoping that the networks know more than me. (Laughs)  I am just grateful for every day of work they give me, and whatever they write for me.  I try to bring it to life as fully and as completely as I can, because that is what I am hired to do.

MICHAEL:

I think people were worried once they wrote off Tristan Rogers ( Ex-Colin, Y&R) and they saw less airtime from you that you were leaving Genoa City as well, and that you were rumored to be heading back to General Hospital.  So what would you say to that?

GENIE:

Well first of all, the rumors about me going back to General Hospital are just that… they are just rumors.  I wanted to go back to General Hospital for many years and they did not want it.  And I am quite sure, even after my Oprah Show appearance, they were not interested. 

MICHAEL:

Well, to this moment that stuns me!  I am damn sure, you were stunned too.

Courtesy/HarpoProds.

GENIE:

Yeah, I was little angry that they would put me out there as part of Luke and Laura and then not follow-up with a job offer.  They were getting me to do free press for their show, but not offering me any employment.  So to tell you the truth, I have really quite had it with that.  It is not fair.  I was very grateful that someone like Y&R’s executive producer and head writer, Maria Arena Bell said, “Well, I am interested and I will write for her.”  And in fact, CBS really embraced me in a very nice way.  They gave me lots of press.  They worked hard at creating a character.  I could not have asked for more from them.  I really couldn’t have.  I am very grateful to them at trying to re-launch me on a soap!

MICHAEL:

Any thoughts now with Garin Wolf and Shelly Altman co-head writing GH and it being a different regime? If they were to come to you now and ask you to come back, would that make any difference for you?  Would you consider it?  Even though Jill Farren Phelps is still the Executive Producer over there?

GENIE:

First of all, I think Jill is a very good producer, and I have nothing against Jill.  She is very smart and very talented.  I think she was stuck in a bad situation too.  I think it’s great that GH has a new creative team writing the show.  I hope it’s going to help them.  I would like to see them go on and do well.  But I suspect, they can’t make me an offer or do anything because they don’t know how long they are going to be on the air.  They can’t write a contract with me, when they don’t know what tomorrow holds.  You know what I am saying?

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/CBS

Exactly!  GH is the show that unfortunately looks the most vulnerable right now compared to the rest of the soaps that are left, because of the moves made by ABC Daytime to shift and change their programming perspective.

GENIE:

Right!  ABC does not appear to have a commitment to the soaps that the other networks are holding on to.  I think that is the reason.  It’s not that I would not give them a chance to have me back.  It’s just that I don’t want to quit a three year contract to go for three months or so there.  It does not make sense for me, and there you have it.  I mean, I am thrilled to be back working again, and these people at Y&R have made a long-term commitment to me.  I am working with them and it’s a nice relationship.  I prefer to continue there where they do have a long-term picture in mind, and they haven’t given up.  They are not just biding their time just waiting to be canceled.  They want to keep working.

MICHAEL:

For the Genie Francis fans that adore you, let’s clear something up. When you are not on Y&R that does not mean you are off the show.  That means they are pushing forth other story and you are still going to be in the mix?  Right?

GENIE:

What happened was, I went to do a movie and the fans and some magazines assumed I was done.  But it just meant that I went to Canada for a month for another “Note” movie that I signed on to do before Maria Bell hired me for Y&R.  So for that reason, she had to write in my contract she would let me go do the film.

MICHAEL:

How was working with Tristan Rogers as his on-screen wife, after years of working with him in a different capacity at GH?

GENIE:

Courtesy/ABC

I loved working with Tristan.  I loved it.  I think he is a great guy and it is sad not to have him anymore on our show, but I hope he will go back to General Hospital.  I think they should pick him up.  And, I just want to say I hope GH makes it.  I really don’t want them to go off the air.

MICHAEL:

It’s hard for people not to see you, and Jonathan Jackson (Lucky, GH) and Tony Geary (Luke, GH) together again.  It’s like the three best actors on daytime!  There is a piece missing.

GENIE:

That is very sweet of you to say, but that piece has been missing for a very long time. And the piece was willing to come back, and honestly, they have been unwilling for whatever reason to give me a contract position there.  What can I do?  Someone else was willing to give me a contract position, and so I snapped it up.

MICHAEL:

How was working with Daniel Goddard (Cane, Y&R) as your son?

GENIE:

I think he is a great and he has been a sweet friend to me.  Daniel is very easy to get to know and very open.  I enjoy him and I enjoy working with him.  I hope that now that they are changing my character a bit that I will get some more realistic scenes with him that are a bit more about the relationship about these two people, and less about the agenda of getting rid of the evil dad.  So now we can delve into the history of these two people, which I think Daniel plays very well.  And I think it’s interesting for my character too.

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/S.Fleming/CBS

Did you go, “Gosh. I have such a good-looking on-screen son!”

GENIE:

You know what I did?  The first day I said to him, “How old are you?” (Laughs)  He is nine year younger than me!  I could not conceive at eight, I am sorry.  Anyway, we giggle about that, but that is television, you know. (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

And how is working with Peter Bergman (Jack, Y&R)?

GENIE:

I love working with Peter and I got into his dressing room once.  And, I went into his bathroom, and Oh my God!  The guy has like 21 Emmys on the wall and these photographs, and that is the most intimidating bathroom!  I am like, “21 Emmys!  I am so out of my league here!”  And I laughed and laughed.  But it was terrific. The truth is I think he is possibly the best leading man I have ever had.  And I mean that from the bottom of my heart.  I love that he is really concerned about making it about the best scene it can be.  And there is a critical difference there.  Some soap actors want to make the best “them” they can be.  They want to steer the story to make it all about “them”, and I drive everything their way and that is all not who Peter is.  He just wants to make a great scene and he is concerned with your half of it as well as his.  And for that reason, I always listen to him and never question his judgment.  So when he says, “Hey Frankie, try this?”  I do.

MICHAEL:

“Frankie” is your nickname?

Photo Credit: Getty Images

GENIE:

It is my nickname that has been in my family for a long time.  But, I am using it over at Y&R because of Jeanne Cooper (Katherine).  There is one Jeanne over there, and it ain’t me.  I am Frankie to those people. (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Should fans expect more with Jack and Genevieve?

GENIE:

I hope so.  I would like to continue to work with him because he is just so good, and Peter is so nice.  I did do a couple scenes with him that I was really proud of, and they were right before the two of them make love for the first time.  There were two scenes where Genevieve bares her soul to him.  And through that, the audience hopefully got more insight into who this woman really is.  That day was fun because we had some really nice long scenes.  Now most of the scenes they write these days in soaps are a page to a page and half, and that can be very tough.

MICHAEL:

Isn’t it so different than back in the day?  Soap operas would have two or three person scenes that would go on forever!

GENIE:

We used to have two or three character scenes that went on for nine to ten pages, almost like a play!  We just don’t have that anymore.  I just don’t know why we don’t have that anymore.  It doesn’t work as far as I am concerned.  You keep skimming the surface and never get anything deep or meaty.  I don’t like it.  I prefer the older way of writing where we really got a chance to lose ourselves in the material and the other actors.  And then some wonderful surprises would come out of it and thus the material would have more depth, and a scene would have more depth, as a result of it being a “scene”.

MICHAEL:

Photo Credit: PR Photos

I was there the night you won the Daytime Emmy, and I was so thrilled for you.  And I remember thinking that this was something that I felt should have happened many times over, and was a long time coming.  Did you feel like it was a defining moment?  And where is your Emmy?

GENIE:

My Emmy is by the TV cabinet by the television set, because they sort of go together.  In a weird way, it was sort of anti-climatic because it feels like it was done posthumously!

MICHAEL:

I know.  I couldn’t agree more. (Laughs)

GENIE:

It seems a bit like that, but that’s O.K. and you have to be grateful.  Better late than never, but who knows?  I got it at a time in my life when I could really be grateful for it and not tipped off balanced by it.  It didn’t blow up my ego, so in turn I would go act like a weirdo.  Now, when I was a teenager that might have happened.  Everything happens for a reason.  I am thrilled that they finally acknowledged my work, and that I got to put the little statue in my house.  I am glad I got the recognition.

MICHAEL:

When you and Tony Geary were on Oprah, it felt like such as short segment to me. Was it weird being on there?

GENIE:

You know what?  It actually really was.  I think the reason it feels like that to you is that they cut so much of that interview down. There were a lot of things that were said that were actually not included on the air show.  But I think to the producer’s credit, they cut out things that should have been cut out, and not have gone over the airwaves.  I think the Oprah Show and their producers are to be commended for how they put it together.  I personally thank Oprah for really taking the time.  And if you notice, she really teases out of me, “Well, c’mon. What do you want?”  She was like for the underdog in a way, and she was trying to give me a chance to speak to say what I wanted.  She made sure I got that moment.  I actually think the Oprah people handled that situation beautifully.  

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/ABC

Do you and Tony Geary ever stay in touch?

GENIE:

You know, we really don’t.  He has always been a very private person and has kept to himself, and even in times of closeness, we were not particularly close.  I have not talked to him, and I don’t know what is going on with him at all.

MICHAEL:

When you think of that, and then the magic that happens on-screen between the two of you, it is truly amazing.  You must be proud of that and that you are iconic!

GENIE:

I am proud of what we created.  I think Tony is also proud of what we created.  And then when we do work together, we try to live up to it.

MICHAEL:

It had to be daunting from a very young age playing all of Laura’s crisis and despair up through being a grown up and a mother of several children.  Did you ever just want to yell, “Stop.  I can’t cry one more tear!?”

GENIE:

(Laughs) I enjoyed playing Laura right up until they had Lucky “die”.  And I played that as real as I could, and it was so tragic and so painful.  And then they kind of wrote the loss of a child through Tony eyes and they kind of put me aside.  So I really see that as the moment that they got off track with Laura.  For me, it was not much fun to play her from then on.

MICHAEL:

Even doing all of her heavy emotional breakdowns?

Courtesy/ABC

GENIE:

When my contract fell apart with them and I had to work with them for three or four more months, before I was going to be done, they finally wrote something for me. That was the Rick Webber situation and her losing her mind and going off into the straightjacket into a mental institution.  I loved that.  But I had to get fired to do it! (Laughs) It actually wasn’t a firing, it was a mutual decision. We both were done with each other at that moment, but out of it came some really exciting acting that I did enjoy immensely.

MICHAEL:

What did you think of Luke and Laura’s re-wedding?  Perhaps some of the biggest tearjerkers in soap history as we watched Laura slip away from her family and the man she loves, and she could not do anything to stop it.

GENIE:

When I did the re-visit for six weeks that I got my Emmy for, I had a lot of fun.  I enjoyed playing someone who had a physical ailment. Laura had a chronic illness and then she would only be around for a short period of time, and then she would go back into her trance-like state.  It was based on the movie Awakenings.  And again, I enjoyed that too because there was a story.

MICHAEL:

You are an icon.  So, what is it like for someone like you who is witnessing the genre dying?  It’s hard for me and I have been covering the genre for so long.  Do you think things could have been done differently at some point, so it wouldn’t have gone this way?

GENIE:

I think one of the biggest problems that I see is that the great, great, great writers, and minds, who created this stuff, the Doug Marlands’s, the Gloria Monty’s, the Bill Bell’s, the Agnes Nixon’s …they did not replace themselves.  They did not grow a new one to pass the baton on to.  It was like they held the position and held the power and closed the door as if it was all mine, mine, and mine.  They didn’t grow a new generation of people to carry it forward.  There really isn’t that new blood and I think that is a shame.  I think there are a lot of talented and new writers that don’t want to write for daytime because it’s dying and nobody wants to be associated with something that is dying.  So in a way, we can’t get the fresh blood we need.  They did not groom a new person who was passionate about soaps.  I am not sure why that is, but they didn’t.

MICHAEL:

What is it like being Genie now as opposed to back in the heyday in 1981 with the historic Luke and Laura wedding that blew up through pop culture and brought in sensational ratings and numbers? Do fans still come up to you from everywhere?  How do you handle those types of encounters different now?

GENIE:

Courtesy/ABC

It is much mellower, when I meet the fans now. They are not hair pulling on me or crying.  (Laughs) It is much more, “Oh my God!”   And then there is this very warm feeling I get from them.  Then, I sort of do a very genuine check-in with them.   And I will often ask them, “Well, what are you doing now in your life?  And how are your kids?”  And then I will tell them about mine.  So it’s sort of like class reunion time and I treat it that way, sort of a “You were watching and I was doing. What is your life about now?”

MICHAEL:

Deflection! Very good.  I like your style!

GENIE:

It makes sense, doesn’t it? (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

I know you have had so many trials and tribulations through your relationship with GH, but you have to look at your life and be extremely proud of what you have accomplished.

GENIE:

I am very grateful that after 36 years I am still working and under contract.  That alone is such a huge gift.  Most of us in television and as actresses work a long time and then you don’t hear from us.  I have been at this for 36 years.  I am still able to earn a living at it.  I am grateful and happy for my life.  I do hope the soaps can continue on, but if they can’t, you will see it grow into something new.  If you look at primetime television, there are tons of continuing dramas with continuing storylines.  People love to tune-in to get more of the story next week and that is never going to go away.  I just watched The Hamptons for the first time; I think it’s a soap!  I don’t think we are going to see soaps completely die.  I think we are going to see the genre move into different time slots, where there is an audience.  There is not much of an audience in the daytime anymore.  Everybody is at work and busy.

MICHAEL:

When you went onto the Y&R set for the first time, were cast members falling over themselves going, “Oh my God. I can’t believe it’s Genie Francis!  And she is on our show!”

GENIE:

(Laughs) I was welcomed by open arms, particular by Jess Walton (Jill).  I was greeted by such warmth right away from Jeanne Cooper, who could not have been sweeter and nicer.  It was my second day on the set and she was having a union rep into her dressing room and rounding people up. She yelled to Jess, “Go grab Genie Francis!” So I was summoned to her room and I was there.  So right away, I was treated as one of the gang, and you really can’t ask for more than that.

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/TimesColumnist

And finally, are you going back to work for the first time in a while next week? When can fans expect to see Genevieve figure prominently into story?

GENIE:

I have been doing one episode a week for the last four weeks.  I work this week and then in November I am working a lot.  I have got several episodes per week.  So I think the storyline that they have been planning and building must be coming to a head in the next four weeks of shooting.   We should look for Genevieve to be playing heavy as the year comes to a close.  Needless to say, there will be a lot of “me” in December on TV. (Laughs)