My Exclusive Interview with HARLEY JANE KOZAK

Mary Duvall on "Santa Barbara"

Harley J. Kozak starred in movies such as Necessary Roughness, The Favor, Parenthood, Arachnophobia, All I Want for Christmas and the soap operas Texas (from November 1981 to December 1982 as Brette Wheeler), Guiding Light (from 1983 to 1985 and a one day voice over in February 1990, as both Annabelle Sims Reardon and Annabelle's deceased mother, in 1983 flashbacks, Annie Sims) and Santa Barbara (from 1985 to 1986 and again in 1989, as former nun, Mary Duvall McCormick). In Santa Barbara her character died in an accident where a giant neon letter "C" toppled on top of her during an argument atop the Capwell hotel. Viewers were so angry over Mary's death that they started a letter-writing campaign demanding for her reappearance. The show received such huge amounts of letters that eventually they admitted their mistake and asked Kozak to come back. She declined the offer since she was already working with other projects and she was proud of the unusual way her character had made her exit. In February 1989, though, she made a brief return as an angel in Heaven. In 1987 Harley received a Soap Opera Digest Award from her role as Mary. Kozak has written five novels: Dating Dead Men (2004), Dating Is Murder : A Novel (2005), Dead Ex (2007), and A Date You Can't Refuse (2008) all of which feature greeting card designer and amateur sleuth Wollie Shelley, a woman with very eccentric friends and family. The first three novels were published by Doubleday, a division of Random House, the most recent was published by Broadway Books following the restructuring of Doubleday. Dating Dead Men won an Agatha Award, an Anthony Award, and a Macavity Award for best first novel. Kozak’s fifth book is Keeper of the Moon, a paranormal romantic suspense novel.

You came to SB in June 1985 and you left the show in July 1986. How did you come to SB? Can you tell us about your audition? What they told you about the character of Mary?

I auditioned while I was still living in NYC. They flew me to LA and told me Mary was a nun and by the time I returned to NYC, I think I had the job. I moved to LA that very week.

Tricia Cast (Christie), Grace
Zabriskie (Theda) and Kozak

I believe that Mary was the moral conscience of the show. When she came to SB she was still a nun, her sister Christy was raped and Ted Capwell was accused of this crime. I remember that Mary, during an outburst of anger, said that she would have liked to see Ted died for this. And she enter into moral crisis, because her feelings were not conform to what you would expect from a nun. Mary is assuming its responsibilities and that is enough to call into questioned her path. And of course she is falling in love with Mason ... A very nuanced character! How the character was received by the public? And by you?

I always had a great time with Mary. I was raised Catholic and had my own issues with faith and leaving the church, so I could relate to Mary's struggles. And the public seemed to love her from the beginning, which is no doubt due to the great writing on the show.

The love story of Mason and Mary was one of the most beautiful and most troubled of SB. Breaking and conflict. Love and hate. Mary was pure, while Mason was almost evil. Both were complicated, but attracted to each other. How was it working with Lane Davies? Your chemistry was evident. Do you have any funny story about ?

Kozak and Lane Davies (Mason)

I just loved Lane, as did all the women of America (and eventually, the world!) A true scholar, gentleman, and actor. It's funny, but I never perceived Mason as being evil -- so I guess I'm more like Mary than I realized! The only funny story I can recall is when I was on some wacky diet and he tried to make me eat an apple during rehearsal, thinking my blood sugar was low. I threatened to bite him if he didn't leave me alone. In fact, it's possible I did bite him. He did forgive me, however.

Then suddenly they decided to kill Mary crushing her with a big C. How they explained it to you? Can you tell us what do you remember of that last day on the set?

I was told they were cutting the budget and because I was up for a raise, as I'd been there a year, it was decided that firing me would be a great way to save money. I was fine with that. An actor doesn't expect long-term employment on any job, and I was ready to get on with the rest of my career and see what else was there for me besides soaps. All I recall of the last day was how amazing the acting was, going on around me as I lay there dead. It was enough to make me cry. Except that I was dead and thus not supposed to cry.

Is it true that the year after they asked you to come back to the show? Did they tell you how?

It was actually just a few weeks later that they asked me to return. I thanked them and told them it was time for me to move on. If I'd said yes, I'm sure they would have figured out some clever way to bring me back -- perhaps as my own twin.

SB was created by the Dobsons. What are your memories of them? Is it true that they were completely crazy?

I was hired by Mary Ellis Bunim and hadn't much contact with the Dobsons, so I can't tell you about their mental state!

In 1989 you briefly came back to the set of SB as Mason’s guardian angel. How it came to you?

I couldn't resist coming back for an episode or two -- I just didn't want to sign a new contract.

You've acted mostly with Lane Davies, Tricia Cast (Christy), Todd McKee (Ted), A Martinez (Cruz) and Jon Lindstrom (Mark).  Do you want to share with us your memories about the relationship with these actors? How was it working on the set of Santa Barbara?

Every actor you mention was simply wonderful--the whole cast, in fact, was really special. It was a joy to go to work every day.

Can you tell something more spicy: a few secrets on SB? Was there some antipathy between the actors? some tensions?

Well, you'll have to ask other people to discover the ones who didn't like me, as they kept their dislikes to themselves! Unless, perhaps, they were all talking about me behind my back and I didn't realize it. I'm so sorry to disappoint you, but I was completely blind to any dramas and feuds that might have been happening around me. 

You were on “Santa Barbara” at the same time of Robin Wright (as Kelly Capwell). Which are your memories of her?

Robin was the most beautiful, delightful and completely cool actress imaginable. One of the most naturally beautiful women I've ever known. I loved her. I was very happy to see her huge success post-soaps.

In the USA “Santa Barbara”  always remained at the bottom of the rankings ratings. In the rest of the world and especially in Europe it has had excellent ratings. Do people still contact you asking about SB? What made SB so special?

I wasn't familiar with the show before working on it because, ironically, soap actors rarely have time to watch soaps, even the ones they're on. So my introduction to SB was during my audition. It's impossible to say what combination of writing, acting, producing, directing and artistic design made the show so special. I simply think of it as the "magic" of theater (including television) and I have no explanation either for why it was an "underachiever" in the U.S. but so popular overseas.

Which are your plans for the future?

I act very rarely now. I mostly write novels and raise my children (I have 3; a daughter who is fourteen, and twins who are twelve, a boy and a girl). I wouldn't say no to the right acting job, but my focus is on being a mom, and it's hard to do that full-time from a movie set or sound stage.

Kozak and Nic Coster (Lionel) in 2013

This interview is primarily designed for the Italian public. In our country “Santa Barbara” was very much loved and followed. You've never been in Italy? What do you know about our country? Do you want to say something to the Italian public who loved Mary Duvall?

I love, love, love Italy. Viva L'Italia! I have been several times to Roma, Venezia, Firenze . . . it is the most lovely, friendly and cultured country in the world. I would love to live there one day. “Mille grazie, mi amici (perdona la lingua -- io non parlo molto l'Italiano in L.A.)” – (translation: Thank you very much, my friends – forgive my italian, I don’t speak italian very often in L.A.)

JUDITH McCONNELL stars on THE PURGE: ANARCHY

Judith McConnell (Sophia Armonti #2 on SB) is back with The Purge: Anarchy, a bigger and bloodier sequel that tells its tale on a citywide canvas encompassing nearly all walks of life in Los Angeles. Instead of focusing on a singular family, The Purge: Anarchy builds its menu of target practice from an ensemble of potential victims. The central heroes are Eva and Cali Sanchez (Carmen Ejogo and Zoe Soul), a working class single mother and her teenage daughter. Clearly marked by generations of struggle that runs through her family’s blood, Eva has the kind of job that forces her to serve customers at a diner merely two hours away from the annual “holiday” that begins at 7pm once every year. Frank Grillo (Hart on GL) also star as Sergeant Leo Barnes. On a purely entertainment level, there are several set pieces that will please genre diehards that were left wanting last time out. In particular Judith McConnell as the smiling hostess taking down bids has especially delectable fun in crooning about her preferred shotgun of choice, entering momentary ecstasy when thinking about the chamber firing. It was released worldwide on July 18, 2014. Go Judith, go!

TWIN PEAKS Cast Reunites in Los Angeles 23 Years After Series Run

The stars of the cult hit but short-lived TV show got together at the Vista Theatre in Los Angeles. The reunion was in celebration of the release of Twin Peaks - The Entire Mystery, a Blu-Ray/DVD collection containing all 30 episodes of the ABC show. In addition to the original episodes, the box set also includes more than an hour of unseen footage, including deleted scenes. 

The Twin Peaks féte brought together a bevy of stars from the series, which ran for two seasons from April 1990 to June 1991. Dressed in a crisp suit, show creator David Lynch mingled with actress Madchen Amick, who played Shelly Johnson in the show. In the decades since the show first debuted, both have led successful careers. Lynch, 68, has been writing documentaries and shorts as of late, and Amick, 43, currently stars in Witches of East End.

Twin Peaks star Ray Wise, who played Leland Palmer, embraced his onscreen wife Grace Zabriskie (Theda DuVall on SANTA BARBARA), who played Sarah Palmer. Zabriskie, 73, starred on Big Love for five years and appears in the upcoming film The Judge with Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall. Wise has held a busy schedule with roles in How I Met Your Mother and The Young and the Restless.  Other Twin Peaks stars who made appearances at the L.A. event included Miguel Ferrer, Sheryl Lee, Peggy Lipton, Mary Jo Deschanel, Russ Tamblyn, James Marshall, and Catherine E. Coulson.

PHYLLIS FRELICH passed away at 70

After Dane Witherspoon’sdeath few weeks ago, one more big loss for Santa Barbara’s lovers: Phyllis Frelich has passed away. On SB she portrayed Sister Sarah from June to August 1988. Capital witness in the murder of Mark McCormick, Sister Sarah was a deaf and dumb nun, who officiates at the catholic mission directed by Father Michael Donnelly. Moreover she turns to be the best friend of regretted Sister Mary DuVall.

Sister Sarah’s character  was strongly desired by Nancy Lee Grahn. Ms. Grahn proved to be the conduit between Phyllis and the show. The two met at a celebrity benefit, A Night at the Movies, and hit it off marvelously. By coincidence, a few days later, SB's executive producer, Jill Farren Phelps, weary from the effects of the writers' strike, half-jokingly announced to the cast, "I'll pay ten bucks to anyone who comes up with a good storyline". "And I'll do anything for ten bucks," cracked Grahn. She immediately went to work devising a plot line that would heavily feature her and Frelich. Nancy's idea was nixed (though production staffers who read it insist that it was superior to the one the show ultimately settled on) but Phyllis got cast anyway. That is, after a degree of deliberation. 

Reports Grahn, "They were hesitant about it. They worried that the audience wouldn't like a deaf character or that a story line with a deaf character would be boring or that it would be difficult to communicate the plot points. All the typical things that someone who's never worked with deaf performers might think. But I just didn't let up on them. It got to the point that when Jill saw me coming down the hall, she'd lock her door, moaning, 'Shaddup, already. I don't want to hear about it any more." The determined actress even made her pitch to Brian Frons, NBC's vice-president of daytime programming. Once victorious, Grahn applauded the decision. "Hooray for them for trying it. I didn't think it was risky, but for them, it was. That's the one thing about SANTA BARBARA, it takes risks. I was so confident that they would love Phyllis - and they did. When she does her scenes ,everybody comes down to the studio floor to watch her work.”

Frelych was born on February 29, 1944 in Devils Lake, North Dakota. Her parents were deaf and she was the oldest of 9 deaf children.

She is best known for being the lead female role in the Broadway production of Children of a Lesser God which is the role that won the 1980 Best Actress Tony Award. The play was also named Best Play in 1980 as well.

Her latest work on Television was on CSI during the episode - The Two Mrs. Grissom's. She has also acted on E.R (98-99) and Diagnosis Murder(99). Some of her movie roles included Love is Never Silent (1985), Bridge to Silence (1989), and Sweet Nothing in My Ear (2008).

Marleen Matlin tweeted yesterday about Frelich’s death: 

My Exclusive Interview with BRIDGET DOBSON - Part Five

Bridget Dobson in the '80s

We’re coming to the fifth part of my interview with Bridget Dobson. If you have missed the previous parts, you can read them by clicking here. In this part she is going to tell about her Hollywood-star system’s vision. A very vitriolic painting. Then we will discuss the character of Sophia (Judith McConnell) and her disguise as Dominic in particular (1984).  She later will tell the whole truth behind the famous earthquake that in 1984 killed John Perkins (Robert Alan Browne) and shocked the audience and also the truth behind the frightening Carnation Killer’s storyline (Peter Flint - played by Stephen Meadows - systematically killed each blonde women he saw, thinking they were Kelly. After he murdered them, he left a white carnation by their side, thus becoming known as the Carnation Killer. His victims included Summer Blake and Veronica).  She will paint for us a beautiful portrait dedicated to Robin Wright; we will also discuss some soap operas clichés and she finally will tell us what she’s watching on TV. Enjoy! 

The identification with Mason is inevitable, I believe. But through which indicators do you realize that a character does not work, so that the audience has to struggle to identify with him? And how can you fix it?

Let's face it, there are those who have a gut instinct for drama and those who do not.  I count myself (and my husband) among the “haves”, and I count all (almost) network executives, studio heads, and sponsors as the “have-nots”.  I understand the arrogance of that statement.  But, the simple truth is, I know by my gut instinct when a character is working (the actor, the written word, the production, the chemistry, the timing are all in sync).  No problem. After all these years, I believe I have “an ear” for such things. But the “have-nots” generally don't trust that I know.  They need focus groups and ratings, they need graphs and charts, to clarify the dramatic answers and, to be honest, the answers they come up with are often wrong.

I cannot say we have never made a mistake.  Sometimes, it's a solution to recast, but that entails a dramatic “bump” for the audience.  Sometimes it is better to write out a character for a period of time (when that character is not critical to the immediate success of a storyline).  Sometimes, when it is clear to the haves that the character is a great one, it would be easier to shoot the executive who is having doubts, but, as of this writing, that hasn't happened, except in my fantasies.  I have a theory:  successful Hollywood suits haven't got a hope in Hell of having a trustworthy dramatic instinct, because they are immune to the values that make continuing drama work.  Love, romance, family, humor, caring, sensuality, morality, subtext, sexuality...those things, and many more, elude them. In a nutshell, kindness, in Hollywood, is a sign of weakness. So what is the solution?  Bricklaying.  Or plastics.

Or maybe they could disguise themselves as Dominic, if only they had a soul. The character of Sophia is the one who makes use of disguise more than any other on SB. She is introduced disguised as a man, Dominic. She is afraid of Lionel Lockridge, her lover. Believed to be dead, she returns to Santa Barbara disguised. But why as a man? I believe for two reasons: first, to protect herself: men in our imagination are strong, determined, brave. But, by hiding her female identity, Sophia gives up her motherhood and her chance to reunite with her family. In fact the first time that you revealed to the audience Sophia’s true face and identity, was during the earthquake, when Sophia was buried under the rubble a few feet from her daughter, Kelly. Thanks to a long monologue, Sophia finally expresses her desire to return to her family. The desire for revenge gives way to love. Sophia can now stop presenting herself as a strong, rigid male and express her motherhood. Through her weakness, Sophia becomes stronger because her female side is not removed, but expressed. (Do not forget an ancillary function of Sophia’s disguise: thanks to that almost no one noticed the recast of the character - Judith McConnell replaces Rosemary Forsyth). So can we say that “disguise” on SB is a powerful vehicle of dramatic and psychological meanings? What was your intention?

Pierpaolo, you have correctly analyzed why we had Sophia disguised as a man.  (The fact that the character needed to be recast during the time of the disguise worked to our benefit, with little or no dramatic bump for the audience, but it was an accident.  It is rare to cast someone with the intention of recasting!)  I would add to your analysis that the audience is so smart we had to go to great lengths, gender changing, to hide Sophia - otherwise the audience would have been on to us immediately.  But the best characters - and, indeed, human beings - use disguise frequently. Of course, disguises are not always physical.  For example, a jocular “I hate you” may be a disguise for “I love you”, if a character doesn't want to reveal the extent of his or her feelings.  The subtext, the meaning beneath the text, is never a disguise.  But the text often is.  Subtext is not spoken, but the audience understands it intuitively.  My favorite kind of writing involves subtext - but so many writers "spell out" emotions directly.  I think this prevents the audience from “participating” and understanding a character. It prevents the, “Aha!  I know what he's really thinking.”   We all have huge emotions that we withhold from blatant exposure. P&G taught us, early on, to “play it, don't say it.”  It's great advice.

The earthquake episode is OUTSTANDING. Nowadays, series like “Desperate Housewives” have an episode with a disaster in every season. The humor was an intrinsic part of it, as it was of everything you wrote. Good and bad, light and dark, the sublime and the ridiculous in one throw of the dice. Frank Salisbury told me that he often thinks how, in many ways, it presaged 9/11. What purpose do you think the quake served in the show?

Plotting the earthquake didn't take a great deal of ingenuity or artistic skill.  It was a solution for a nasty problem.  We had a bunch of beautiful sets that were not properly built for 3-camera video-photography.  Being producers (and, thus, thinking about the budget) as well as writers, an earthquake seemed a two-pronged solution: it was a dramatic excuse to destroy expensive (but relatively useless) sets.  Such are the practicalities of television. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Maybe now I could ask you to debunk a myth, or to confirm it, if you can. Somewhere I read that the idea of the “Carnation Killer’s” storyline was born as a solution to remove an excess of blonde actresses on the show. Do you remember if this is true? And, in general, do you think that creating a storyline to solve practical needs (such as unnecessary sets or a too large cast) can stimulate creativity or vice versa constrain it?

Truth is, blondes are stamped out of a factory mold in Hollywood, and we had accidentally cast too many.  (How, you might ask, can you make a mistake like that?  Answer: when you are frantically busy, mistakes are made despite the best efforts. )  They were too beautiful and similar.  It was almost hard to distinguish between them. So we found a solution (and had a few laughs) as we devised the Carnation Killer storyline.  Sorry to say, but mistakes can be quite an impetus to creativity. It probably would have been better had we done it right the first time, but you never know.

In this case I really believe that a mistake was an impetus to creativity, as you said. The “Carnation Killer” storyline was pushed to the extreme: it made Robin Wright’s Kelly the first tragic heroine of the show. Then events led to the death of Joe Perkins and the main heroine of the show was replaced: ideally Kelly passed the baton to Eden. While Marcy Walker stands out because her strength, Wright conquered me with her natural weakness. You were the first to believe in her talent, even though she was inexperienced. Do you remember what struck you about her? Today what do you think about her path?

Robin Wright became a wonderful asset for Santa Barbara.  When we first cast her, she was very young and inexperienced as an actress, but there was a quality about her that indicated she had potential; she was more than just another pretty face.  She was curious about her character and its motivations, and we (mostly Jerry) spent many hours talking about individual scenes as well as the overall arc of drama.  We hired a drama coach to go over lines with her.  It was money well spent, both for her, personally, and for the show. She quickly became a multidimensional actress. I haven't followed her career closely, but when I have watched her on the "big screen", I have been impressed. I think she was (and probably still is) one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen.

Fallon's abduction
on The Colbys

Then she got the main role in “The Princess Bride”, a Rob Reiner movie. You were very generous in allowing her to do this, especially considering that you had to rewrite a good portion of the bible for that season. But again, what could have been a huge loss, was transformed by you into one of the most compelling storylines of the whole show: Kelly, accused of murder, escapes to Switzerland for several weeks (this justifies the absence of Robin Wright) and Gina has the videotape that exculpates Kelly… On the other shows generally, if the star is not available, the character leaves for a vacation, or dies and then resurrects, but rarely does his absence become the center of an entire storyline. Which other soap - clichés have you tried to avoid on SB?

I cringe at the thought of hysterical pregnancies ( I've never written that), rising from the dead (sometimes inevitable if the character is needed), and aliens ( I don't get it). If the characters are strong, cliches are less offensive.

Chris Bernau as Alan Spaulding in 1978

That’s funny! Can I ask you to explain why you cringe at the thought of inserting into a script hysterical pregnancies and aliens?

Storylines with hysterical pregnancies and alien beings are laughable and so far fetched that no viewer can empathize.  The best stories and characters are those that are identifiable to almost all of us, especially when we sense the "truth" of what is dramatized on the screen.  I have sometimes been embarrassed by a poorly written script or an ungrammatical actor who distorts the language of a script.  Occasionally, I have even hoped that no one I respected was watching.  But I am mortified to the core for the writer who is so desperate to be “fresh” that he resorts to ridiculous plots and characters.

Yesterday, Jerry went into Starbucks to buy coffee.  He gave the checkout person $25.00.  His change was $19.78.  As he was given his change, the checkout woman said, “Ah....1978.  It was a good year for Alan Spaulding.”  (Alan Spaulding was a character on GUIDING LIGHT  in the l970s.) Jerry was stunned.  “You remember!”  She said, “I will remember forever.”

I can only conclude that when a viewer truly experiences the emotions he sees on the screen, it lasts in a meaningful way. 

I have noticed on SB the lack of other clichés. I would like to discuss with you a couple of these, one at a time: the so-called “Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome” (the practice of accelerating the aging of a television character - usually a child or teenager - in conflict with the timeline of a series). Maybe these guys are the result of hysterical pregnancies? How do you feel about this "tactic"?

I don't admire the "rapid aging" that sometimes occurs on soaps.  I sincerely hope we didn't do it on SB; I don't remember it if it happened (it never happened on SB - Editor's Note). As you suggest, the off-spring of hysterical pregnancies might be so misshapen they don't follow normal developmental stages.  What a lovely idea!  Would anybody watch?

I really do not know if anybody would watch. But nowadays people watch almost anything, even the most improbable show. I was just wondering what you watch on TV today and what are the shows that you like, if any…

I don't watch any dramatic television, nor any sit-coms. I haven't watched one show, not even one, since we left Hollywood.  I do watch news or history or biography.  I like some documentaries.  I go to movies and the theater.  But NO dramatic television.  I have written every situation (perhaps not as well as it is done now, but that is irrelevant).  I have been there, done that.  I would rather dig ditches than watch dramatic television.  I have over-dosed on it.

to be continued...

SANTA BARBARA: It's Not Over, Till It's Over

- Marlena De Lacroix Column   9/01/1992 - 

On or around Sept. 1, NBC is scheduled to announce whether it will cancel Santa Barbara. But as Yogi Berra said, it's not over till it's over.

As a soap-world observer, I've felt obligated to watch the show because it's the work of two longtime soap-world heavyweights, executive producer Paul Rauch and head writer Pam Long. And what a collection of major-league soap talents are also gathered here: Kim Zimmer (Jodie), Jack Wagner (Warren), Nicolas Coster (Lionel), Robin Mattson (Gina), Gordon Thomson (Mason), Nancy Lee Grahn (Julia), Thaao Penghlis (Micah), Jed Allan (C.C.) and Judith McConnell (Sophia), among others. If SB is canceled, the casting directors of the remaining 10 soaps will be dancing in the streets.

In the last few months, the most important name in the whole equation has been Pam Long. Staying true to the strengths of her writing on Texas and Guiding Light, she pushed aside the wealthy, sophisticated Capwell family and brought to the forefront her own creation, the middle-class, emotion-filled Walker family. One soap critic has bitched loudly how out of sync with SB's past style Long's new material has been. No sh--, Sherlock! This is exactly why Long was hired: That old stuff wasn't working! Dying soaps always try outrageous measures when the cancellation notice is in the mail. Mating Long to SB is like grafting the head of a giraffe onto a horse. Despite all good intentions, you'll never get a thoroughbred.

Jodie (K. Zimmer), Cruz (A Martinez) and BJ (Sydney Penny)

Long hasn't had enough time to totally rework the show, but evidently she's trying. The only glimmer of what she and Rauch hope to achieve has been her sole success - the B.J. child-abuse storyline, which incorporated Jodie's confession to Cruz that B.J. is his natural daughter. This beautifully produced sequence was filled with Long's trademark emotional intensity. On dramatically half-lit sets, the characters got to spill their guts all over the screen. (Long's personal motto is "Go for it.") I couldn't help but notice, though, that much of the sequence's success was actors who were giving their all. Weren't Sydney Penny (B.J.) and molester Nicholas Walker (Frank) superb? The confession scenes showcased Zimmer and Martinez, a charismatic pair who could have been the show's future in Martinez were not leaving to join the cast of L.A. Law.

If Long could bring the emotional intensity of this sequence to her other stories, SB just might have a scintilla of a chance of survival. (And a last word about Martinez: He makes acting look so easy. Through eight years of good and bad on SB, no other actor has delivered as consistently. Wasn't the soap world lucky to have Martinez as long as we did? Now we've got to give him back to prime-time TV.)

But let's face it - the rest of Long's work has been abysmal. Long's worst crime is that she's forgotten that one of Zimmer's big selling points as Reva Shayne Lewis on GL and as Nola Dancy on The Doctors was her sex appeal. Policewoman Jodie is portrayed as a frump. Hey, 40 isn't fatal!

Gina (Robin Mattson) and Lionel (Nicolas Coster)

And as I've written before, SB's recent tries at "humor" are a travesty. Watching two favorite daytime actors, Mattson and Coster, as "jesters" Gina and Lionel doing everything but stand on their heads to get a laugh breaks my heart. Gina Jeans, indeed! By the way, Ballymoor was baloney. Grahn and Thomson should sue. Long (who on GL invented the "Dreaming Death" disease and cured Johnny Bauer of terminal cancer) should stay away from the occult or any topic that's more convincingly concocted in a supermarket tabloid.

I should really stop myself here, but, of course, I won't. I can write so much more about SB's weaknesses. All those boring summer teen stories...why doesn't Forry Smith's (Reese) acting live up to his hunky looks? Will Warren ever chuck his attitude?...SB is now nothing more than boring, average soap opera.

Marlena really hates to hit a soap while it's down. Colorful Rauch and Long have been two of my favorite soap-world personalities for more than a decade. They will resurface inevitably on other soaps. SB derailed long before either arrived on the show. If SB is canceled, you'll hear lots of chest-thumping as journalists scramble to explain the reasons why in print. As someone who has written extensively about the show for eight years, I'm not looking forward to its demise. Perhaps Sept. 1, California Gov. Pete Wilson will grant SB a stay of execution. 

DANE WITHERSPOON passed away at 56.

Dane Witherspoon, SANTA BARBARA’s original cast member in the role of Joe Perkins, passed away at 56. His second ex-wife, Tracy Shaffer, announced it through her facebook: “Good night sweet prince. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

We do not yet know the details, but it seems that Dane is dead after a few days in a coma following a ruinous fall.

In 1984, he made his soap opera debut as the original Joe Perkins on Santa Barbara. Three months later, Dane was replaced by Mark Arnold because the SB producers decided he wasn’t right for the role. This decision left fans bewildered, but Dane soon returned to daytime as Tyler McCandless on television's Capitol series. He played this part from 1985 to 1986.

Dane’s former co-star, A Martinez, wanted to commemorate Dane in this way:

And I wish to say goodbye to Dane with the following video, starring Dane Witherspoon, A Martinez, Robin Wright, Ian Abercrombie (Philip, the butler) and many others.

Remembering DANE WITHERSPOON

"Maybe not everybody knows that…" - Flash interview with Dane Witherspoon from 1985 circa.

Golden Globes 2014: ROBIN WRIGHT wins as Best Actress in a TV drama

Northern Italy. 3:00 AM . I would never have believed that Kevin Bacon could give me such great satisfaction . I do not particularly like him. So when, during the Golden Globes ceremony , he introduced the category of Best Actress in a TV drama ( the category in which Robin Wright was nominated ) , I thought that this could be a harbinger of doom ...

But “The winner is ROBIN WRIGHT !” Instinctively I yelled : “She won !”

Robin Wright, petrified in her chair . On her right, Kevin Spacey . On the left her partner, Ben Foster . After a few seconds, Robin finally stands up . She is smiling. She is stunning in her gold dress. After her initial hesitation , she literally runs to the stage, hugs Kevin Bacon, quickly grabs the award, suffering wardrobe malfunction, and  thanked someone : David Fincher for having convinced her to accept the part on House of Cards, Kevin Spacey her co-star in the show and then she says : “Ok, now I'm going” .  I believe there is still something of Kelly Capwell in your eyes. So shy as to appear almost icy. Perfect: emotionally distant from Hollywood. This is why I love you, Robin. You're a great actress with or without the award. Bravo Robin, I'm proud of you!