Interviews
The Stacy Haiduk Interview – The Young and the Restless
The number one rated daytime soap, The Young and the Restless, has a penchant for finding incredible actresses to fill incredible ‘psycho-babe’ characters. When Stacy Haiduk arrived on the scene as Mary Jane Benson, a woman whose look and identity has been changed, and who is harboring some very dark secrets, fans took notice of this sultry actress. Stacy has previously portrayed bad girl Hannah, on All My Children opposite Thorsten Kaye (Zach), only to have that character slip on a cliff and plummet to her death.
Now, Stacy is becoming a runaway hit with the fans and soap pundits for her performances along side her co-star…
her dead stuffed cat, Mr. Kitty. Stacy Haiduk is revealing to soap viewers a tormented character gone haywire.
She is exacting revenge on the man who wronged her, Jack Abbott, but at the same time wanting him! Just look at last week alone. She gave poor Summer Newman anaphylactic shock by kissing her on the lips with remnants of a peanut butter cookie… knowing the little one was allergic. This was all done in the hope of getting Jack Abbott away from Phyllis, and her estranged husband Nick, back with Phyllis!
A few weeks back, online reports stated that young actress Tammy Barr is set to play a young Patty Williams in Mary Jane’s dream sequence this Thursday. So, On-Air On-Soaps wanted to get the low down of the bizarre dream and what’s in store for Patty/Mary Jane, and the citizens of Genoa City. With this whack-job on the loose, everybody in town probably should take cover. Here’s the amazing Stacy Haiduk to fill us in!
Listen to the audio:
[display_podcast]
MICHAEL:
You have made this role of a whack-job so believable. Is it difficult making her realistic with the beats of the story, and going off in tangents with Mr. Kitty?
STACY:
Actually, I am really enjoying finding the levels to play her. It has been a good experience. One thing I wanted was for people to feel for her, and that she was not just a whacko. I wanted them to feel bad for her. She is in pain. I feel sorry for her.
MICHAEL:
Those scenes where you shot the bird, after watching Jack making out with Phyllis… I remember watching you through the window in the rain and the thunderstorm. You looked so evil and soooo upset. Are those scenes hard to do?
STACY:
Yes. That one specifically, was hard to find the balance, and not over-exaggerate it. I gave just a facial expression, and I remember Paul Rauch (co-executive producer, “Y&R) saying, “You have to give it a little bit more.” I am used to subtlety and sometimes that does not always play to the audience. So, when he said, “You need to go a little bit more with it,” I just said, “Ok, just find it inside.” I took a second. I found a place that was really painful for me, and put my face in the window and they shot it.
MICHAEL:
For a bit of the back-story… Mary Jane had her face redone.
STACY:
She had facial reconstruction surgery.
MICHAEL:
Victor Newman brought her to Genoa City….
STACY:
That’s right.
MICHAEL:
And he found her somewhere?
STACY:
Yes, and I don’t even know where that was.
MICHAEL:
Your job is for Victor, who wants revenge on Jack Abbott and you have got it “bad” for Jack Abbott. In recent episodes, Jack has brought up the fact that he was shot three times below the belt and he drove a woman mad at one point. Obviously, it looks to all of us that you are indeed Patty Williams!
STACY:
Sounds good! I think you hit it all right on the head.
MICHAEL:
Will we see her unravel more in the coming months?
STACY:
Yes, you will.
MICHAEL:
How is working with Peter Bergman (Jack)?
STACY:
I love him and he is fantastic! He has been so kind to me, since the audition. He has been right there for me. He is amazing; he likes to run lines and is a true professional.
MICHAEL:
What does one have to do when they go in and audition to get the part of a whack-job with a new face?
STACY:
They did not tell me what the character was going to be about. They gave her an “audition” name that was not Mary Jane. I went in and played a businesswoman. They did not ask for whack-job. They asked for a sexy businesswoman.
MICHAEL:
On Thursday, we see a young Patty Williams in a dream played by Tammy Barr. Is it going to be a painful moment or a shock for the fans?
STACY:
I hope its both…that people will be in for a painful shock as people get to know more about Mary Jane. I think it’s going to be fantastic. We are going to understand why she is the way she is.
MICHAEL:
Let’s take a stroll back to what Jack had done to Patty. He slept with all these women behind her back. And when she shot him, it was like, “Well, good for her.” It’s kind of hard to picture the young blond version of Patty now (played originally by Lilibet Stern), as you are much taller and sexier. What can fans look forward to in the dream sequence?
STACY:
Mary Jane has a dream of her past and she remembers Jack had an affair the moment she tripped and lost her child. That was another horrible thing that happened. As the dream progresses, young Patty tells Jack that she wants to die. He begs her to kill him, so he tells her to shoot him, and she shoots him three times.
MICHAEL:
So, what else is unraveling in the dream for her?
STACY:
It’s an emotional waterfall. It’s painful, and the audience is going to find it’s disturbing. All the people who remember what really happened with Jack and Patty will get it.
MICHAEL:
So, it is Mary Jane’s take on reality?
STACY:
Yes, it’s totally Mary Jane’s dream and her being able to shine some light on some things. It’s got some other surprising things in the dream, as well. Mr. Kitty is in it, and we love Mr. Kitty. Sharon and Victor are in it. So you have the entire dynamic going on of who Mary Jane wants revenge on. She wants revenge on Jack, but she wants the love from him, too.
MICHAEL:
So, she does want revenge on Jack, but she really does want him?
STACY:
Absolutely! I feel when you are coming from a sense Patty/Mary Jane is; it’s this deep, deep, past pain where she lost her baby and then she shot him, but wanted to shoot herself. Now, there is Jack and he does not want to be with her. Then, Victor says, “Hey, come to Genoa City, and in the end you will have him.” But then, Jack does not want her.
MICHAEL:
I would think Mary Jane would eventually turn a gun on Victor! He manipulated her the whole time.
STACY:
I think she is pissed off at him a little bit. He says he is done with her and washes his hands of her. And what does a kid do? They get rebellious and they do something that changes the adults mind. When I look at her, she seems child-like at times. She is as smart as can be, and she knows how to manipulate people and things, as well. That is fun to play, as well as the scenes with Mr. Kitty.
MICHAEL:
So she took Mr. Kitty to a taxidermist?
STACY:
Mary Jane hurt Mr. Kitty and killed Mr. Kitty. She killed the bird and then went back and talked to Mr. Kitty and said, “You know I did this and it’s similar to what I did to you. But you understand Kitty, right?”
I think what they are saying is when she does not get what she wants, the pain inside of her begins and the pot is boiling over, and she can’t hold it in anymore, and she does something like that.MICHAEL:
You know what they say, “You start killing animals, and you can wind up killing people!”
STACY:
Maybe that’s where they are going.
But it does make for a good story.MICHAEL:
Getting to watch you playing with the other great actors on “Y&R”, such as Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) and Eric Braeden (Victor), has been terrific. Fans remember you on “AMC” as Hannah. It seems like any actor who leaves “AMC” and comes to “Y&R” does amazing work. For example, look at Elizabeth Hendrickson (Chloe), and Billy Miller (Billy)!
STACY:
Well, thank you. There are a bunch of
us over here. Everyone here is pretty fabulous. I love working with actors and seeing their performances. Eric works very differently than Peter, and they all offer something different that makes it an incredible experience. Michelle is fun. We just laugh in rehearsal. Mr. Kitty is my other co-star that we laugh about here. The crew will say, “So, who do you get to work with today Stacy?” And I go, “Mr. Kitty. I get to talk to Mr. Kitty all day.”
So there is a running gag going on, and tongue and cheekiness on the set.MICHAEL:
It has been interesting to see her reaction to Paul played by Doug Davidson. After all, it’s her brother. What does she really feel for him?
STACY:
She loves him and that’s her brother, and she would give anything to tell him who she is. She has this fantasy of telling him who she is. I don’t know when he will find out.
MICHAEL:
He will be there for her. I would think Paul would feel so god-awful for Mary Jane!
STACY:
Oh, yeah. I think so. But I can’t wait, and I am looking forward to that.
MICHAEL:
What about Patty’s mom, Mary Williams, formerly played by Carolyn Conwell? She needs to find out!
STACY:
Doug has actually told me things about her. I heard she is a very, very interesting woman.
MICHAEL:
Victor is on to Mary Jane. Coming up, is he going to send her packing for good this time?
STACY:
Yes. Victor will tell Mary Jane he is sending her away again. But this time, Mary Jane escapes and runs away from him. However, Mary Jane does not leave Genoa City. She hides somewhere and it’s good, too! It’s really good where she hides.
MICHAEL:
So when you go home and leave the set and put her behind for the night, does she ever disturb you?
STACY:
At first, when I read that Mary Jane talks to a taxidermal (stuffed) cat, my first initial thing was that people are going to hate her. I did not know that it was
going to be kind of fun, funky, and you know, ‘whack-out’. People like that.
As I was getting into the character people were laughing and having a good time with her. Now, I go home and I tell my husband, “I got to talk to Mr. Kitty today. It was a fabulous day, today!” I feel good when I go home. I really love
that I get all my inner demons out on set before I go home. (She laughs)MICHAEL:
You are married in real life. So does your husband go, “Who is that woman on that TV screen?”
STACY:
Sometimes he does. For the most part he likes my work and has been a big fan of mine for a long time. And no, he does not think it’s strange that I am playing a whack-job. I think he’s thinking it’s right up my alley, to be honest. (She laughs)
MICHAEL:
Well, looking at it, it seems to be right up your alley.
STACY:
Thank you! (She laughs)
MICHAEL:
So, what about Mary Jane’s bizarre scrapbook that she flips through while sipping wine, after a night of passion with Jack? Who is in the scrapbook?
STACY:
She has pictures of Sharon, Phyllis, and a picture of Victor. So nobody is safe when Mary Jane is around!
MICHAEL:
In closing, give us the teaser of what can we look forward to from Mary Jane next week.
STACY:
Victor discovers what Mary Jane has been hiding from him, but it’s too late to stop her.
General Hospital
(WATCH THE REPLAY) ‘A Tribute to Jackie Zeman’ Featuring General Hospital Co-Stars

Several of the late Jackie Zeman’s (Bobbie Spencer) former General Hospital co-stars gathered together last Thursday night, to honor the beloved actress during a special livestream event on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.
Joining in remembrance of Zeman, who passed away in May following a short bout with cancer, were several of the loves of Bobbie’s life including: Rick Springfield (ex-Noah), Brad Maule (ex-Tony) and Sam Behrens (ex-Jake). In addition, Kin Shriner (Scott), Jackie’s longtime GH co-star and dear friend participated, as well as Tamara Braun (ex-Carly, GH, now Ava Days) and Tristan Rogers (Scorpio).
Throughout the hour, love was sent Jackie’s way, not only from the stars, but the fans participating in the live chat. Each actor recalled their first meeting with Jackie, and in Rick Springfield’s case, how it was Jackie who told then GH-EP Gloria Monty, that he was her pick to play Dr. Noah Drake.
Later, Brad Maule shared heart-tugging moments when working with Jackie and how he was pretty much in awe of her throughout their time together on the soap. When the talk turned to the iconic B.J. heart transplant storyline, Brad says it’s still difficult for him to watch even to this day, because of how emotional it was.
Tamara Braun, who was the second actress to play Carly, Bobbie’s daughter, revealed how she tried to, and did find peace in Jackie’s passing, as Kin Shriner gave us the back-story of his over 45-year friendship with Jackie, and Tristan revealed his special connection to her.
In case you missed it, you can catch the replay below. Then let us know what you thought of our tribute to Jackie featuring some of her GH co-stars, who showed up to give us some insights on their time working with Jackie, and to be a part of our special remembrance.
Days Of Our Lives
Days of our Lives’ Suzanne Rogers Talks 50 Years as Maggie: From Farm Girl, to Becoming a Horton, to Picking Up the Pieces After Victor’s Death

Days of our Lives enduring favorite, Suzanne Rogers (Maggie Simmons Horton Kiriakis), recently chatted on some of the high points and low points throughout her journey, as she looked back on 50 years on the long-running soap opera.
Rogers was interviewed by Michael Fairman on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel during a virtual discussion, which covered a lot of ground including: her debut as a young farm girl who couldn’t walk and on crutches, to becoming a Horton, to more recently, losing her beloved husband, Victor Kiriakis (the late John Aniston), and everything in between.
Suzanne first aired on Days of our Lives back on August 20th, 1973. Throughout her time, she has been “killed-off” the show, only to ultimately return nine months later, after it was revealed her on-screen ‘death’ was part of an overall PR stunt and story arc.

Photo: JPI
Rogers has also had her real-life chronic autoimmune neuromuscular condition, myasthenia gravis, written it to the show, even though she was originally against it. She has been married on-screen to two of the more complex men in the history of the show, John Clarke (ex-Mickey) and John Aniston (ex-Victor). As well, through the years, Maggie learned that she had more children that she thought! In addition, Maggie is an alcoholic, who has been known to have her battles with the bottle throughout the years. It was her performance in Maggie’s original bout with alcoholism that won her the very first Daytime Emmy in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category back in 1979.
Here are just a few of Suzanne’s comments on some key subjects throughout her five decades on DAYS.

Photo: JPI
On filming the recently aired scenes, where Maggie learns Victor has perished in a plane crash, and how it brought back emotions of John Aniston’s passing: “It was hard. I think right back to the memorial service (for John Aniston). That was a hard day. All I kept thinking in my mind is he’s not in any pain anymore. I kept saying that. So, I had to play the scenes. It was all surreal. It really was surreal. The fact that he was no longer gonna be there. There’s a tribute to him on the set. I just look at that all the time and I’m right there with him.”
When addressing her fears and concerns about being seen with myasthenia gravis, and being asked to come back to the show: “The producers, Al Rabin and Wes Kenny, said, ‘We would like for you to come back to the show.’ I said, ‘I think you ought to see me first.’ I just didn’t want to shock anybody. We met at Du Pars (coffee shop). It didn’t register on their face that I looked any different, but I did. I really did. They said, ‘We’ll work around you, whatever you need. If you need to come in at noon, that’s fine. We’ll put a sofa in your dressing room so you can lie down.’ (Fast-forward) Then, the audience started seeing me on camera. The first day I saw myself on camera, I turned off the TV, and I started crying. I thought, ‘Well, I guess God wants to see me, see myself like this. So, I put it back on and I forced myself to watch … and it didn’t look like me, to me. Then the audience, of course, got a hold of it, and they said, ‘What’s the matter with her? Is she drinking? What is wrong?’ So, they figured they had to write it (myasthenia gravis) into the show. I said, “Only if it has a happy ending, because I plan on beating this. That was the criteria that we went with – that they would write it in the show, but they had to have a happy ending.”

Photo: NBC
When recalling being killed-off the show in 2003, after Marlena clubbed Maggie over the head with a whiskey bottle, only for Suzanne to return to the show months later: “I thought I was gone and then to see yourself 10 feet tall. I mean, it was at least 7 feet tall that (movie) screen. It was more than I could handle. I really thought that was the end. I thought, ‘Well, this is a big sendoff.’ Marlena hit her with a bottle and smashed her in. I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness gracious’. It wasn’t a pretty scene. And no, I didn’t know (I was coming back). I had brought my mother out here, and I had added on to my house, and I thought, ‘I’m going to lose this house.’ It wasn’t a joke, you know? But then, we were all brought back on April the first. Hello!”
On the audience reaction to Maggie becoming an alcoholic: “Well, I think the first time, I knew the audience right off the bat, hated it. They didn’t like the Maggie character getting soiled in any way. But it led to the Emmy!”

Photo: NBC
On her working relationship with John Clarke (ex-Mickey): “Susan Flannery (ex-Laura) told me the very first day that I was on the show, ‘He’s (John) got to fall in love with you, or he can’t work with you.’ I said, ‘Oh, my.’ So, I remembered that in my mind. So, when we were off-stage, he would say, ‘Let’s go out to dinner.’ I said, ‘no’, because I knew Patty, his wife, and all of his kids. I just don’t mix business with pleasure. You just don’t. That’s just not a good thing. I thought, ‘Let’s just keep the two separate, and that’s what I tried to do.”‘
Make sure to check out watch our full conversation with Suzanne below.
Now let us know, what has been your favorite storyline of Maggie’s through the years? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
General Hospital
Kin Shriner and Marcus Coloma Chat On General Hospital Departures, John Stamos, Avery Pohl & New Season of ‘2D’s’

Two former stars of General Hospital, Kin Shriner (ex-Scott) and Marcus Coloma (ex-Nikolas) opened up about their exits from the ABC daytime drama series, their focus on the second season of their comedy series, the ‘2Ds‘, and more on their recent livestream conversation with Michael Fairman on his You Tube Channel.
The first season of ‘2D’s’ was posted to Coloma’s Instagram account, and it featured many of his former GH co-stars including: Finola Hughes, Jon Lindstrom, Carolyn Hennesy and other former GH cast members, Michelle Stafford, Billy Warlock with his wife, Julie Pinson (ex-Port Charles, ATWT and Days) and more.
During the livestream conversation, Coloma, who has Avery Pohl (Esme, GH) guest-starring in episode one of season two of the comedy series, opened up about his diciest plot point to portray while GH, that of Nikolas hooking up with Esme.
Marcus expressed: “That was a very interesting time, because I love working with Avery. She’s just a great actress and super professional. She’s also just a really fun person to hang out with. And so, sleeping with Esme was very stressful, because for so long I set up this strong relationship with my son (Spencer), and this popped in (the storyline) that, ‘you were going to sleep with Esme’. It would really stress me out to be honest with you, because I would try to play as real as I possibly could and I would try to justify it on how I would get to that place. On top of that, in real life, I’m 44 and Avery is 21. I’m like, “God, I am going to make out with this kid.” I was stressed about it. At the same time, I really enjoy working with her.”

Courtesy/ABC
The actor, who was finished at GH after his three-year contract as the dark prince of the Cassadine clan, shared his thoughts on his exit after several months away from the soap opera. Coloma said, “It really turned into that thing where you go on a date and fall in love with a girl . By the end of the three years, you fall in love with your castmates, you fall in love with the character. You fall in love with a lot of things about it, the fans. And, I was surprising very sad, when I found out that it was going to end. I wasn’t sad like, ‘I think we should make this thing work’. I agree, I don’t think this should continue, but I was really sad about it. Now, I’m very happy because in this silly show the I have found my happy place.”

Photo: JPI
Kin Shriner, who for six decades had played Scott Baldwin on GH, a few months back shared he was not coming back to the soap anytime soon. However, as we have seen before, Scott has resurfaced. Shriner weighed-in: “I don’t know what to tell you about that, and I am going to turn back up like a bad penny, and hopefully it’s going to be fun. My focus went from him over to this guy in the black trench coat and I’m having fun. So, I haven’t really thought about Scotty Baldwin … he’s in the closet right now.”

Photo: JPI
In the season one finale of the 2D’s comedy series, Shriner’s long-time budding, John Stamos (ex-Blackie, GH) made a cameo capping off the story. Just how did Kin get John to participate? Kin gave the back-story: “I kind of pitched it to him a couple of different ways and getting John to commit to anything is tough, but I think in the end, he probably looked at a couple of episodes (before agreeing). Stamos has been so busy with his book that I could only get him on this way (with iPhone video), but I think he is going to be willing to let me come to his house and shoot live. So we are looking forward to that and maybe he will be in the finale of season two!”

Photo: JPI
John and Kin first met when John started on GH in 1982. Kin recalls, “I took John under my wing when he was merely an 18-year-old kid that showed up eager and I taught him the ropes. He was from Orange County and he was raw, but he was tremendous at comedy. He was funny. We kind of just had fun, and then we moved to New York and hung out, and then his career took off with Jack Klugman and then Full House. John had innate comedy timing, which Marcus has, and either they have it, or they don’t.”
This weekend starting on August 19th, Marcus and Kin are hosting several fan opportunities in the SoCal area. Check out ticket info here.
In case you missed it, watch our full chat with Kin and Marcus below.
Now let us know, what did you think about the departures of Scott and Marcus from GH? Are you enjoying the 2D’s comedy series and all of the soap opera guest stars within it? Let us know in the comment section.
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