EXCLUSIVE AND UNUSUAL INTERVIEW WITH ROBIN MATTSON

- Gina on SANTA BARBARA from 1985 to 1993 -

Today I’m presenting to you the interview that Robin Mattson has granted exclusively to Santa Barbara Blog. Typically cast in supporting, “villainess” roles, Mattson is best known for long runs on three American soap operas: General Hospital, Santa Barbara and All My Children. In her daytime debut as Hope Bauer on Guiding Light (1976–1977), she played her only heroine. She received a Soap Opera Digest Award and an Emmy Nomination for her first major role, as Heather Webber on General Hospital (1980–1983, 2004, 2012–present). During Ilene Kristen's absence from Ryan’s Hope, she played Delia Reid (1984).Replacing Linda Gibboney on Santa Barbara, she received additional Emmy Nominations for her role of Gina Blake DeMott Capwell Timmons Lockridge, a role which lasted from December 1985 through the final episode in January 1993. Gina's character became part of a popular comic duo, pairing Mattson with Emmy Winning Justin Deas who played her co-conspirator, Keith Timmons. By the end of the series, Mattson was involved with Lionel Lockridge, played by another Emmy Winner, Nicolas Coster. Following the end of the series, Mattson moved to New York to take on the role of Janet Green on All My Children (1994–2000). Over the next few years, Mattson took on several short term parts on the soaps: Sugar (Sheila Carter's sidekick) on The Bold and the Beautiful in 2003; Madame Cheri Love on As the World Turns (2007); and Lee Michaels on Days of our Lives (2010–2011). Mattson has returned to General Hospital on two occasions, first in 2004 for six months where she was reunited with her former Santa Barbara co-star Jed Allan. Her most recent return came about in April 2012.

In 2002 she also played Francine Landon on Law & Order.

 

Gina has had a great evolution during the show. And at every stage of her development there was a male friend who accompanied her: she becomes the comic soul of the show with Keith Timmons (Justin Deas), then Gina becomes even more surreal and fun along with Bunny (Joe Marinelli), and finally she becomes more adult alongside Lionel (Nicolas Coster). Which of these relationships was your favorite?

Gina and Keith - Justin Deas was an inspiration to work with and had such a knack for dry humor that I felt I gained development as an actress from working with him.

 

 

Gina has always been very protective of her original family: Brandon (Justin Gocke) is the love of her life, Hayley (Stacey Edwards) was her moral conscience and then Phyllis (Stella Stevens) was the ditzy mother. Can you tell us one specific anecdote of your relationship with one of them?

It was funny to be working with the mother of a good friend. Stella Stevens' son, Andrew Stevens, was a close friend of mine, via Kin Shriner.

 

 

 

Gina was probably addicted to marriage. She was married six times: once with Stockman DeMott (offscreen), twice with CC (Jed Allan), once with Mason (Lane Davies), once with Keith and once with Lionel. Can you describe your relationship with Jed Allan?

We were very good friends and I very much enjoyed his company on and off screen. There were times when he was there for me when I needed him most. I worked with him on SB as well as GH.

 

You acted with Robin Wright (Kelly). She was one of your victims during the storyline of the videotape. Can you make a Robin’s portrait for us, please?

Her portrayal of Kelly on SB launched her career.

 

In 1988 the Dobsons were fired. What effect did this have on the show?

It was a big loss. They were so creative and had such a great sense of whackiness for Gina and nothing was too over the top. It was not as fun after they left.

 

 

 

When they returned in 1991 why they did not rise to save the show?

I'm sure they tried but it wasn't up to them.

 

Patrick Mulcahey, Frank Salisbury, Lynda Myles, Courtney Simon: I think they was the soul of SB along with the Dobsons: do you ever met them?

Certainly I met them but it is discouraged for actors and writers to mingle because they do not want actors to try to influence writers in terms of storyline.

 

Last year, you've found Gina Gallego (Santana) on the set of Days. Would you like to share with us this little reunion?

It was such a sweet surprise. Having worked with her before gave us an instant sense of camaraderie. We easily slid into our roles as partners in crime.

 

Today, in 2012, what do you do?

 I'm back as Heather on GH.

 

This interview is designed primarily 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?

I have visited Italy many times but it's never enough. You can't absorb that much - incredible art and amazing food no matter how many trips you make. From the culinary side of things, what the Italians create from nature is indescribable -- it beckons one to return.

 

 

 

Where are they now: AVA LAZAR

Ava Lazar was born in Düsseldorf, but she grew up in the United States. In 1984, the Dobsons chose her to play one of the main characters of SB: Santana Andrade. Initially, Santana was at the center of one of the main SB intrigue: the exhausting search of her son Brandon, given up for adoption years earlier. In my opinion the problem of Santana was that the character was totally involved in the search for Brandon. In any case, after only four months after the start of the show, Santana left the city (December 5, 1984), and when she returned (April 26, 1985), Margaret Michaels played her. In 1987 she revealed that she left the role because “the pressure was too strong. The schedules were too constraining and my role too caricatural. To work for Santa Barbara, it is like condemning oneself not to do anything else. One day, it is necessary to have the courage to say to yourself : that is enough !”. A curiosity: Santana was originally blonde. Then maybe the producers thought that a Mexican character should have black hairs and because the SB cast teemed with blonde actresses, after a handful of episodes Santana became inexplicably brunette. How you prefer her: blonde or brunette?

After SB, she also played as guest star in several series of the 80s: two episodes of Riptide in 1985 and 1986. She also appears on The A-Team (1985) and The Fall Guy in 1986. It opens the series Beauty and the Beast in 1987, with a call-girl character disfigured. Her acting career continued until 2000 with Mic and the Claw, an independent film on a hard rock musician, inspired to Alice Cooper.

Since then Ava Lazar added Interior Design to her repertoire when she embarked on a career as Director of Sales and Marketing for Kay Lang and Associates, a high-end hospitality Design firm in 2005. Later Ava joined one of LA’s top staging and design firms working in sales with Meridith Baer and Associates before joining Interior Illusions to become Staging Management Director. I could conclude by saying that Santana inspired Ava…at least professionally. And now I address my usual call to Ava Lazar: I would be honored to interview you about your experience on SB, but I do not know where to find you. If you happen to read this article by mistake, I would be delighted if you appear to me as the Virgin Mary or Santa Barbara.

Where are they now: KIMBERLY McARTHUR

When Robin Wright announced her intention to leave the show (1988) to launch out in other cinematographic adventure, the production of Santa Barbara organized at once a big session of auditions to find the new Kelly Capwell as soon as possible. More than two hundred candidates presented themselves. Among them, a 24 years old girl whose charm compensated the thinness of a curriculum vitae on which appeared only very short appearances in TV movies and some advertisings. Her name: Kimberly McArthur. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its January 1982 issue. Two weeks after the departure of Robin Wright, she made, in June 1988, her entering at the Capwells. "Me who however am not superstitious, I could not prevent me from noting that my beginnings in the show took place the 13 of the month !"

But she was right to be superstitious: in fact her adventure on SB lasted less than one year and, after only 8 months her contract was not renewed, giving the place up to Carrington Garland. Since, Hollywood lost her trace. Her career ended in 1990 with “The Bakery”, a failed series pilot about three time periods in the history of a Southern California Police station located 'temporarily' in a converted bakery. I have not heard from Kimberly since 1990. I hope she is well and maybe one day to interview her.

Where are they now: JED ALLAN

Jed Allan was the fifth and final interpreter of CC Capwell. The first actor hired to play the role of C.C. Capwell was Lloyd Bochner, but he suffered a heart attack which prevented him from starring in the series. Instead, the producers cast Peter Mark Richman, who played the role from July 30 to September 12, 1984, after which he was fired by the producers who didn't think he was right for the role. Paul Burke was cast next.He played C.C. from September 13 to October 18, 1984. The fourth actor hired to play the role was Charles Bateman. Bateman played the role from October 22, 1984 to January 7, 1986, when he was replaced with Jed Allan, who stepped into the role on January 8, 1986 and played it until the end of the show on January 15, 1993. Jed Allan was without doubt the best choice on the part of production: he was younger than his predecessors, authoritarian, but also protective of his family. After his time on Santa Barbara, Allan had a recurring role on Beverly Hills, 90210 playing the role of Rush Sanders. In 2003 he starred in an episode of the tv series CSI. In 2004, he started playing the role of Edward Quartermaine on General Hospital. This was in some ways unusual casting, as the actor who played Edward's son Alan, Stuart Damon, is a month older than Allan himself. In 2006 the producers decided to recast Jed’s character.

After several years of silence, the actor is back on screen in 2011 to play Harold Johnson on the indie soap THE BAY. Ironically, Harold’s son is played by Lane Davies (Mason on SB). A beautiful reunion after so many years. Jed Allan is now 77 years old, he was married to Toby Brown from 1958 until her death in 2001. They share three sons, Mitch (who played a young CC in a SB episode), Dean, and Rick. Allan lives in La Quinta with his girlfriend, author Judy Steinberg.

Where are they now: ROBIN WRIGHT

I begin the first round of this new section with Robin Wright. She debuted in television thanks to Santa Barbara: the then newly-eighteen-year and practically without any acting experience Wright was immediately noticed by Bridget and Jerome Dobson, the creators of Santa Barbara, who were so impressed by her spontaneity to the point of giving her the role as the heroine of the show, Kelly Capwell precisely. Thanks to SB Robin Wright gained a worldwide fame that allowed her to play the role of Princess Buttercup on the movie The Princess Bride (1987), by Rob Reiner. The director was in fact a fan of SB, and when he saw Robin Wright at the casting, he did not need to audition her too long. Robin Wright left Santa Barbara in 1988, after four years of honorable service. For the producers it was not easy to find a worthy substitute and only with the arrival of Carrington Garland, Kelly's character shines forth again.

Since then, Robin Wright began her film career, starring on movies like State of Grace (1990), Toys (1992), Forrest Gump (1993), Message in a Bottle (1999), Unbreakable (2000), The Pledge (2001), White Oleander (2002), A Home at the end of the world (2004), Beowulf (2007), State of Play (2009), Moneyball (2011) and The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo (2011) . On the set of State of Grace, Robin Wright met Sean Penn, fresh from his divorce from Madonna. The two became engaged in 1990 and had two children together. They were married in 1996 and then divorced in 2010. Today Robin Wright is single, or maybe not: she cares so much about her privacy and so she does not like to ride the gossip. Her career proceeds quickly; we'll see her soon in two films (The Congress by Ari Folman and Two Mothers along with Naomi Watts) and a TV series (House of Cards with Kevin Spacey, produced by David Fincher - 2013 on Netflix). The actress has often expressed her reluctance to the use of the social networks. Just recently she has created her own official page on FB, but rather to promote the humanitarian project Raise Hope for Congo. So she is not often present on FB, but if you want to contact her, you can try to do it through her ​​page.

DO YOU WANT TO GIVE AN HAPPY ENDING TO EDEN AND CRUZ? TODAY YOU CAN DO IT. FIND OUT HOW…

Before leaving for the holidays, I have a pleasure to ask you all. This will take less than a minute of your time. The site WE LOVE SOAPS will announce in the coming days the ranking of the 50 Greatest Soap Couples of all time. Each of us has his favorite SB couple; mine for example are Gina & Keith and Lionel & Augusta, but if we really want to see a SB couple in the first place of the rankings, I think that we should somehow vote for Eden & Cruz . This is without a doubt the Queen-Couple of SB. And then I think we must make our voices heard: copy this E&C pic or go to google and choose your favorite pic of them, then go to this link and post the pic on the bulletin board of the WE LOVE SOAPS facebook page. We can put Eden and Cruz at the first place. But we must be united. If Eden and Cruz win, we can finally give them the happy ending that they did not have on the show. I think they deserve it. Please, make me happy. I ask for less than a minute of your time. Many of you have already done it. Look ... Thank you very much.

Justin Gocke A Hollywood Success At 13

from "Sun Sentinel" - October 4, 1991

It`s a hot Thursday afternoon. Waiting at New York City`s famed Rosie O`Grady`s Irish restaurant, a redheaded, pint-sized soap star is noticed, five minutes early. He walks up to the table, introduces himself, then sits down and orders a soda. His name is Justin Gocke, and if you don`t recognize him now, you will. Not only is he a soap star, but he`s going to be a movie star. And he has only just become a teen-ager.

Justin, at age 13, has gotten farther in his acting career than most actors go in a lifetime. Working steadily since age 7, Gocke is fast becoming one of the biggest child actors in the industry. After all, it is not every day that a 13-year-old has an Emmy award sitting in his bedroom, or flies to Australia to film a feature movie for two months. But for Justin, it`s all in a day`s work.

Justin is best known for his role on Emmy-award winning soap opera Santa Barbara, where he portrays prodigal son Brandon Capwell, a role that garnered Gocke the Emmy in 1989.

``Santa Barbara has been a great experience for me,`` Justin says. ``It has given me a lot of acting experience, experience I plan to use in other things.``

The road to success started at an early age for Justin, who made his first TV appearance in the acclaimed ABC movie The Burning Bed with Farrah Fawcett.

``We were only going to try it for a while,`` Justin explains, referring to the time when he and his brothers and sister got involved in the entertainment industry. ``They didn`t really like it. I was the only one who enjoyed it.``

Soap operas and commercials, however, are taking a back seat to his next project. Justin and his mother traveled to Australia during the spring where Justin filmed the upcoming movie Moonride.

``We just got back from filming it,`` Justin says, proudly. ``My character goes to visit my grandfather, and while he`s there, his grandfather dies. He and his friends go to his wake, and then they accidentally resurrect him.``

Moonride, also starring Al Lewis of The Munsters, is to open this Christmas.

However, Justin isn`t leaving the soap world behind. He is still featured heavily on Santa Barbara, where his character is caught between his real mother and adoptive mother.

Lately, he has been dealing with the fact that his adoptive mother, Gina (Robin Mattson), robbed a sperm bank and impregnated herself with the sperm of her ex-husband. ``I can`t believe she would rob a sperm bank!`` Justin says, laughing.

``Brandon is a good guy. If I had to change him, though,`` the actor says with a mischievous smile, ``I`d make him into a little evil kid. Brandon`s getting bad. He`s been suspended from school a couple of times. I`d like to see him be not such a nice kid anymore.``

Success hasn`t changed the young actor much. Justin lives in a quiet suburb outside of Los Angeles with his parents, an older sister and brother. His other brother resides at West Point Military Academy in New York. Justin mainly enjoys hanging out with his friends, playing soccer and rollerblading. But more than anything, Justin likes just being a kid.

However, he cannot help the fact that due to the popularity of Santa Barbara, he`s recognized more often than not.

``I like it. My friends are really good about it, too. They really don`t treat me any differently, which I like. They`re supportive of me, which I think is pretty cool. Actually, when I`m out with my friends and someone recognizes me, they think it`s great.

``Mainly I just like to hang out with my friends, play soccer or go to the movies. For a while, I didn`t have any hobbies. Mainly it was just school and work.``

Justin hopes to continue his acting studies after high school.

``I`ll major in drama, but I`ll always have something to fall back on.`` That should not be so hard. Justin is an A and B student.

``My dream role is to play someone conniving, funny and sarcastic.`` With Justin`s booming career, that opportunity should be right around the corner.

Fan Oprah Winfrey Gives Marcy Walker A Break

"Chicago Tribune" - October 08, 1992

Marcy Walker, who played the glamorous Eden for six years on the NBC soap opera “Santa Barbara,” reels off her character`s litany of woes: “Let`s see, I was in six auto accidents; I was thrown off a cliff; I was raped, paralyzed, caught in a fire.”

“I was a spy. I went back in time. My husband had a computer chip planted in his head. I played my presumed-dead brother . . . and shot my mother in the head.”

“It was magic,” Walker says of these histrionics, truly unrivaled in daytime annals.

These magic moments, combined with Walker`s incredible on-screen chemistry with “SB” co-star A Martinez (the newest cast member on “L.A. Law”), provided the soap with its highest ratings and landed Walker a daytime Emmy. But with a changing of the guard in the writing and producing team and the grab-bag of bizarre behavior pretty much tapped out, Walker left the cushy existence of afternoon stardom a year ago.

She arrived as a virtual unknown in the world of prime-time casting. Still, last year Walker won the lead in Stephen J. Cannell`s CBS series

“Palace Guard,” and this Sunday will star in the made-for-TV-movie

“Overexposed,” which airs at 8 p.m. on ABC-Ch. 7.

“I`ve been battling being (unknown) since I`ve been out of daytime,”

Walker says: “I`m proud of the work I did on ‘Santa Barbara,’ yet if I could shed that skin, it would be easier.

“What I have are polar emotions. Producers and casting directors are not always aware that a lot of people who watch me in daytime would follow me over to nighttime and watch me there.”

The first of four movies produced for ABC by Oprah Winfrey`s Harpo Productions, “Overexposed” was filmed in Chicago last spring.

Walker won the role just days before shooting was to begin, after Mare Winningham dropped out for personal reasons. Winfrey, an executive known to keep up with the soap scene and a longtime fan of Walker`s, encouraged the actress to try out for the part.

“It made my day to have somebody so respected and so powerful say,” I want her,” Walker says from her home in Studio City, Calif. “The director didn`t even know who I was. ABC said, `Why not do Susan Lucci (‘All My Children’)? We have a deal with her.”

Walker flew to Chicago, auditioned, and four days later began shooting the angst-filled, true-life domestic drama in which she plays a housewife conned into an affair with her husband`s buddy, who, after being spurned, distributes videos of their lovemaking on the front lawns of all the neighbors.

“I`ve never played such a victim,” says Walker. “She`s emotionally whiplashed. At the end of it all, there`s no relief for her.”

 

Daytime Jolt Earthquake Pays Off For Soap: 'Santa Barbara' Wins Emmy

from "The Enquirer" - June 30, 1988

“Santa Barbara,” the NBC soap opera that only four years ago introduced an earthquake into its story line to shake up the ratings, yesterday won an Emmy for best daytime drama series.

The award was the biggest surprise in yesterday’s 15th annual Daytime Emmy Awards, broadcast live from the Waldorf-Astoria in New York despite the ongoing writer’s strike.

CBS was the big winner, taking seven of the 17 awards presented. ABC and NBC each won three; syndicated shows, two; and PBS one.

Justin Deas of “Santa Barbara” captured the award for Best Supporting Actor. And to think, the hour-long soap, seen here weekdays at 9 a.m. on Channel 3, was in such dire need of attention in 1984 that NBC decided to put a little life into the show by ordering an earthquake to destroy most of the cast.

At the time, none of the “Santa Barbara” characters “tested” very well, and none of the characters was particularly popular with viewers. The earthquake turned out to be a nice, noisy way of drawing attention to the soap opera - a strategy whose aftershocks are just now being enjoyed by the producers.

For the ninth straight year, Susan Lucci of “All My Children” did not pick up an Emmy as Best Actress in a daytime drama. Instead, the award went to Helen Gallagher of “Ryan’s Hope”.

Other winners included David Canary of “All My Children” as Best Lead Actor and Ellen Wheeler from the same soap as Best Supporting Actress. “All My Children,” created by Bryn Mawr’s Agnes Nixon, also won an award for best writing.

In a deeply affecting moment, Wheeler spoke about her character’s experience with AIDS. “I am reminded that if we work together, we can accomplish something” she said. “We can entertain people and teach them something at the same time”.

“

Sesame Street

” once again received the award for Best Children’s Show and for Best Writing on a Children’s Show. In accepting the prizes, Sonia Manzano (Maria) and Emilio Delgado (Luis) announced that next year, on “

Sesame Street

” 20th season, Luis and Maria will have a baby.

And you thought sex was on soap operas only.

Daytime soaps, children's programming, talk shows and game shows were nominated by members of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Here is a list of the winners:

DRAMA SERIES: "Santa Barbara," NBC.

LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES: Helen Gallagher, "Ryan's Hope," ABC.

LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES: David Canary, "All My Children," ABC.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES: Ellen Wheeler, "All My Children," ABC.

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES: Justin Deas, "Santa Barbara," NBC.

INGENUE, DRAMA SERIES: Julianne Moore, "As the World Turns," CBS.

YOUNGER LEADING MAN, DRAMA SERIES: Billy Warlock, "Days of Our Lives," NBC.

DRAMA SERIES DIRECTING TEAM: "The Young and the Restless," Rudolph L. Behar, Frank Pacelli, Heather Hill, Randy Robbins, Betty Rothenberg, CBS.

DRAMA SERIES WRITING TEAM: "All My Children," Agnes Nixon, Clarice Blackburn, Lorraine Broderick, Susan Kirshenbaum, Kathleen Klein, ABC.

NANCY GRAHN ACCEPTS THE EMMY...WITH AN OLD RESERVATION!

The Daytime Emmys showered "General Hospital" with five trophies, including best drama. The ABC soap also won for lead actor (Anthony Geary) , supporting actress (Nancy Lee Grahn), supporting actor (Jonathan Jackson)  and directing team. Here the winners:

Drama series: "General Hospital."

Lead actress in a drama series: Heather Tom, "The Bold and the Beautiful."

Lead actor in a drama series: Anthony Geary, "General Hospital."

Supporting actress in a drama series: Nancy Lee Grahn, "General Hospital."

Supporting actor in a drama series: Jonathan Jackson, "General Hospital."

Younger actor in a drama series: Chandler Massey, "Days of Our Lives."

Younger actress in a drama series: Christel Hhalil, "The Young and the Restless."

Drama series directing team: "General Hospital."

Drama series writing team: "Days Of Our Lives."

But…there is no respecting drama without drama:

In fact, Nancy Grahn was not present at the ceremony and Finola Hughes, who announced the category, accepted the award on her behalf. This year everything has gone well, but last year Nancy Grahn twitted:

Let me start by saying, it is very hard to get me to lose my sense of humor. Sunday night, I had none until after it was all over and I finally saw my friend Michelle Stafford and said, "What the F#*K was that?” That is the summation of my experience from the moment I put my expensively adorned feet on that foot long red carpet, until the Tylenol PM kicked in and I woke up the next morning.

"What the F#*k was that?" can be interpreted any way you choose and that will be up to you, let your imagination take flight. To say any more would be unproductive and quite frankly, self-serving. However, to not say anything at all would fool no one, due to the fact that I am ridiculously transparent and most of you can read my mind anyway.

I will, however, share this one thing with you. Lexi Ainsworth's performance in her submission reel was incomparable. I've been acting for a long time and we all wish we had an Emmy reel that spot on. It would have, in my opinion, been unbeatable in any category.

I was so sure that Lexi would win, that I urged her to prepare her speech so she would say exactly what she wanted because she would remember the moment forever. I assured her she would win and because she looks up to me, she unfortunately believed me. I love this child and not only witnessed her performance, I viewed every single reel in her category. Because of what I believe any trained actor could only see as a slam dunk, I unknowingly set up my TV baby to get unjustifiably crushed.

Because of her class, intelligence and beautiful heart, Lexi handled her loss with maturity and grace. I on the other hand did not. I got up and left the room. I was misbehaved, pissed off, and anything but graceful. I got outraged for Lexi who should've been, but had more maturity and clearly more dignity in the moment than I did.

My Achilles heel is my kids, on TV or not, and I don't handle it well when they are not treated fairly, especially if I created the expectation that they would be. Why did I ever say anything to her besides you should win and I hope you do? Why would I have faith in a judging system that could go so awry?

The judging system has had to be continually adjusted for the Daytime Emmy's to ensure the voting process is equitable. In my opinion, a blue Ribbon panel is the only way to prevent what appears to me to be results that undermine the integrity of what an Emmy should mean. We must do better.

And now for the good news; I am genuinely excited about what Garin Wolf , Ron Carlivati and Jill Phelps are bringing to the new and better GH. They have such an investment in all of you as an audience. Please start watching and keep watching. We have no plans to go anywhere. Just sit back, and let us entertain you. You are loved and appreciated.

Nancy Lee

Dear Ms. Grahn, I admire your courage and your intellectual honesty and at the same time I am excited about the recognition you received! It is a bit also my fault if you've won, I had predicted this.

Congratulations and thanks for your critical voice.

Pier

“RAISING HOPE” paid tribute to “SANTA BARBARA"

One of my favorite TV series (Raising Hope) has paid tribute to my absolute favorite series of all time (Santa Barbara).

Raising Hope is a television comedy program first aired on September 21, 2010, on Fox.

This is the plot: a 23-year-old single man (Lucas Neff) must raise his infant daughter, conceived from a one-night stand, with the help of his flawed family (Martha Plimpton as Virginia Chance, Garret Dillahunt as Burt Chance, Cloris Leachman as Maw Maw) after they find out the baby’s mother (who has killed multiple boyfriends) was sentenced to death and electrocuted when the baby was only six months old.

Raising Hope has received positive reviews from critics. The show’s first season received an average score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic, meaning it received “generally favorable reviews.”

Tribute which I talk about occurred during the second season of the series, episode 11 titled “Mrs. Smartypants”. Enjoy it!

Robin Wright Loses `Sure Thing,` But Ends Up `Princess`

Chicago Tribune - October 23, 1987

Three years ago, director Rob Reiner was auditioning young actresses to costar in “The Sure Thing.” Among them was Robin Wright - beautiful, vulnerable, regal and young.

“That was the problem. I was too young,” she says. “I didn`t know anything about auditioning for a movie. I didn`t know how to act on an audition. I was supposed to be playing a confident woman, and I was scared stiff.”

She didn`t get the part. (The film was a modest success, but today hardly anyone remembers the name of the female lead - Daphne Zuniga.)

Fast-forward two years.

Reiner is looking for someone “beautiful, vulnerable, regal and young” to play the luscious Princess Buttercup in his long-planned movie version of William Goldman`s whimsical “The Princess Bride.” He auditions more than 500 young women. But as he likes say, “the moment Robin walked into my office, I knew she was my Buttercup.”

Wright, of course, didn`t think she had a chance. “I kept on remembering my audition for `The Sure Thing,`”  she says. “I knew there were 500 other girls dying to play the part. I had heard that Rob wanted someone who looked like Julie Christie in `Doctor Zhivago.` I didn`t quite think I fit the bill.”

Nevertheless, she captivated Reiner. And, in a personal appearance, she captivated audiences at the Toronto Film Festival, where “The Princess Bride” was one of the most popular films.

“The hardest part was getting over the fact that I was working with such people,” she says. “Mandy Patinkin won a Tony for `Evita.` Wallace Shawn starred in `My Dinner With Andre` and plays in all the Woody Allen movies. And here I am, best known for my work in `Santa Barbara,` where all I do is try hard not to make my character seem like a drip.

“But Rob was so reassuring. He kept telling me to just play myself, only use an English accent. I would have liked to have had a few laughs with my role, but he said never to be funny. He wanted the rest of the cast to be funny, but not me. Just be mellow, he kept telling me. Be mellow.”

Wright was born in Dallas, but hardly remembers the city.

“We moved when I was 5,” she says. “I honestly have no idea what Dallas was like. My mother worked for Mary Kay Cosmetics, and we moved around a lot, mostly in the South at first. It wasn`t a bad life. We got a new pink Cadillac every few years, so why complain about moving around? We stayed the longest in Santa Monica (Calif.)-about seven years.”

Her parents divorced when she was a small child. To play the title role in “The Princess Bride,” she studied the voice of her English stepfather, Andy Carmichael.

She started modeling when she was 14 after an agent saw her skating and was impressed by her poise.

“I never went to college, although now I would love to go to night school,” she says. “But I thoroughly hated modeling. It`s such a chauvinistic world. Women are treated like commodities. They sell their looks. All a model is ever told is to put her clothes on and shut up. I did it for the money-and to see the world.”

Does acting in “Santa Barbara” prove more emotionally rewarding than modeling?

“Oh, yes! In `Santa Barbara` at least you get to converse with human beings. And they actually ask my opinion about what goes into the show. Besides, if you do a soap, you can do anything in the world. Working on a soap is so hard and so fast.”

“Santa Barbara” is not Wright`s first television stint. Three years ago she played a supporting role in the short-lived, Texas-flavored series “The Yellow Rose,” which starred Sam Elliott and Cybill Shepherd.

Shepherd was then on the rebound from an unsuccessful movie career, but apparently was not humbled by the experience.

“She stayed away from the supporting cast,” Wright says, grimacing slightly.

Wright is engaged to actor Dane Witherspoon, whom she describes as “a fine `80s man.”

“We have no immediate plans to get married,” she says. “Neither he nor I wants to pin a label on our relationship.”