August 2007 News Archive

Lesli Kay ventured away from the world of daytime drama earlier this summer when she starred in the independent movie, Shadow People.

It helped that the role was written especially for her - and that her husband, Keith Coulouris, wrote, directed, and co-starred in the movie.

As Soap Opera Digest reports, the film centers around a couple with a secretive past whose relationship is on the rocks. They rent a guest house from a wealthy pair and things take some surprising twists along the way.

"It's a very risquè movie; it's not a family film," Kay said of the flick that opened in June. "Most people loved it. That makes me feel good."

It's true: the film bowed to a robust turnout at its Los Angeles premiere.

"It was phenomenal — around 250 people. Alley Mills (Pam, The Bold and the Beautiful) and [her husband] Orson Bean came," Kay said. "We had a lot of good people there to give good feedback — big actors who could be jaded. We're thrilled. Keith is thrilled. He had total creative control on this."

The movie actually came about during a seemingly down period for Kay and her husband. She had been let go from General Hospital and was pregnant, unable to work.

"Keith said, 'I've got to write us out of this hole,'" Lesli explained. "Between the kitchen and the living room was a little nook, and we stuck a little desk, a computer and a headset in there for him, and he wrote it. Then I got The Bold and the Beautiful, but I'd already committed to doing this. There was no one else. The role was written for me and you're not going to get anyone to play this type of role for no money. I was cheap.

"I was given something my husband knew I could do. If anyone else was casting this movie, they'd cast Angelina Jolie or whoever. Because it was a low-budget, indie movie, I was able to do it.

Of course, the role did not come without pressure.

"I had a 6-month-old baby, I had just started at The Bold and the Beautiful and was heavy into that storyline. [The show] was supposed to be three months and should have been over before we started shooting, but it wasn't. We were hot into the next part of the story, and thank God they were willing to work it out. I said, 'I'll get divorced if you don't let me do this movie!'

I shot the movie six days a week and my one day off, I shot four or five episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful. It was nuts. When that month started, I said, 'I'm going to take a deep breath and go.' Luckily the [film] location was near home. I was running back and forth at lunchtime and then came home and learned lines for the movie and The Bold and the Beautiful."

The upcoming Ricky Paull Goldin NYC Harbor Cruise may be your best chance of the year to mingle with countless soap opera stars.

It takes place on Sunday, October 7 at 11 a.m. The ship, dubbed The Spirit of the Hudson, will be leaving from Pier 61, Chelsea Piers (23rd St & the Hudson River, New York City). The advanced ticket price is $100.

Here are details about the event:

A jazz band will play music as you hang with your favorite daytime stars, take photos of the skyline, and get an up close view of the Statue of Liberty. A brunch buffet will be served. Guiding Light photos and merchandise will be available and there will be the usual memorabilia auction, as well as a few exclusive door prizes and raffles.

Actors tentatively scheduled to sail with Ricky include:

• John Driscoll
• Bonnie Dennison
• Kurt McKinney
• Arielle Renwart
• Marcy Rylan
• Lawrence Saint-Victor
• Michelle Ray Smith
• Caitlin Van Zandt
• Murray Bartlett
• EJ Bonilla
• Gina Tognoni
• Jessica Leccia
• Brian Gaskill

Here's a cool, upcoming event: Fans can bowl with stars Jerry verDorn and Elizabeth Keifer, along with various cast members of All My Children, As The World Turns and One Life To Live.

When: Sunday, October 7, 2007
3:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Where: Chelsea Piers Lanes
Between Pier 59 & 60
23rd St & the Hudson River
New York, NY 10011

Earlier this week, we analyzed the rash of sick children on All My Children.

But as Soap Opera Digest reports, things aren't much brighter on The Young and the Restless. Here's rundown of recent births on that soap:

William Foster Abbott, born 1993
Jill (Jess Walton, pictured) was anxious to have another child, but her husband, John, got a vasectomy against her wishes. When it turned out she was already pregnant, he requested that she abort the baby, but she refused and their marriage suffered. Once Billy was born, things went from bad to worse between the two; Jill had an affair with Jed, and a bitter custody battle ensued. John then had a stroke. After that, he and Billy moved to New York. Eventually, John and Jill became friendly again and Billy returned to Genoa City as a teen.

Noah Newman, born 1997
Newlywed Sharon (Sharon Case)discovered she was pregnant and considered getting an abortion when husband Nick (unaware that she was expecting) stated he wasn't ready to become a pop. Once he found out, however, he prevented her from going through with it and they anticipated becoming parents. Sharon and her unborn child's life were endangered when she slipped and fell during a blizzard. Sharon needed surgery and Noah was born prematurely, but each survived.

Summer Newman, born 2006
Phyllis got pregnant with Nick's child while he was cheating on Sharon. Throughout the pregnancy, Phyllis, who'd already lost a child, was concerned that her baby wouldn't make it. Her fears were realized when she went into labor while caught with Jack (Peter Bergman) in an elevator during a blackout. Fortunately, Jack safely delivered the baby girl.

Fenmore Baldwin, born 2006
Lauren and Michael (Christian LeBlanc) were thrilled when she became pregnant, but Lauren went into labor early and became very ill. Both mother and son survived, but Sheila returned to town looking exactly like Phyllis (due to plastic surgery). Sheila kidnapped Phyllis, Fenmore, and Phyllis and Nick's daughter, Summer, but Lauren finally put an end to the reign of her nemesis when she shot and killed Sheila.

Leven Rambin dresses similar to High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens. This has already been established.

Not as well-known, however? The following facts about this All My Children actress:

• Kristen Alderson (Starr, One Life to Live) is one of her closest pals.
• Her name means "life" in Dutch.
• She has hosted several Walk Now events for Cure Autism Now, a charity raising money for autism.
• Older sister Mary is the designer of Moe bags.
• Her childhood nickname was Nin.

Meanwhile, what do co-stars say about Rambin?

"One of my first days on the show, she just knocked on my dressing room door and marched right in. I know she would be a good comrade right off the bat; she was the most welcoming and definitely the most gregarious."—Bobby Steggert (ex-Sam, All My Children), Soap Opera Digest, 8/23/05

"She's doing a really good job, she truly is."— Walt Willey

"I love when I get to dress up and feel pretty and sexy. In fact, I'm wearing Vera Wang tonight. What's funny is I held up the dress and Leven, who is definitely one of the fashionistas at AMC, eyed it and said, 'Vera Wang.'"— Chrishell Stause 

Beth Chamberlin loves her fans.

And to prove it, the Guiding Light star will hold a fan luncheon on Friday, October 5 at Becco Restaurant, located at 355 West 46th Street in New York City.

You can join Beth and friends from 12:00-4:00 for an afternoon of food and conversation. Many wonderful items will also be available for auction, with all proceeds benefiting charity.

For more information, email bethchamberlinofc@yahoo.com

Wedding bells are ringing for Lawrence Saint-Victor of Guiding Light. The man who plays Remy is set to marry his fiancée, Shay Flake, on Saturday at a golf resort in Garrison, New York.

"The place kind of decorates itself. It's got that old kind of flavor with tons of personality so you don't have to do that much to it," Saint-Victor said. "It's a [morning to afternoon] wedding so the sunlight is out. It's going to be nice and bright."

Among the 140 guests expected to attend are co-stars Yvonna Wright and John Driscoll.

"Everything's down to the wire!" the actor said. The newlyweds will celebrate their week-long honeymoon in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. "I can't wait," he added.

It's been a hectic week, and it's not over yet. The Soap Dispenser staff has done its thing and recapped all of the soap opera action from yesterday in its official episode guides. Click on your favorite shows to see what you missed, or to relive the drama...

• The Bold and the Beautiful
• General Hospital
• Days of Our Lives
• One Life to Live
• All My Children
• As the World Turns
• Guiding Light
• The Young and the Restless

Visit The Soap Dispenser each day for comprehensive recaps of the previous day's drama, as well as all the soap opera news, spoilers and rumors!

Finola Hughes enjoyed her short story arc with Rick Springfield, Jason Thompson (Patrick) and her good friend Kimberly McCullough.

Springfield is a relatively new General Hospital co-star for this actress, but she has nothing but great things to say about the actor/rock star to KOMO-TV in Seattle.

“He’s adorable. OMG, I love him, he’s the best… he’s really chill, he’s totally chill,” she said. “He’s just really charismatic, and … anything goes, really easy to work with. But then when he gets on stage, just step back, stand back and watch, ‘cause he goes nuts.”

Bryan Dattilo loves his job.

But if he's being honest, the soap opera star is a tad envious of Jennifer Love Hewitt. Specifically, her starring role on the hit television series Ghost Whisperer.

"It's my dream to be on or star in a ghost-based show," Dattilo said to Soap Opera Digest. "The paranormal and supernatural have always intrigued me. I've had so many experiences to prove that there is life after death. I'd love to do a reality haunting show where I go through old buildings and try to connect with the spirits. They do that a lot on Ghost Whisperer."

Dattilo's interest in the paranormal goes back to his childhood.

"I grew up in haunted houses. Every house we lived in was haunted and had spiritual activity in it," said the Days of Our Lives star, noting that his mother, Peggy, embraced it. "My mom used to have seances, past-life regression sessions and hypnosis sessions with her psychic friends. So that's always been around me. To see my mom's astral-projections flying around the house was normal. To see things flying off the wall was normal. To see objects coming off desks, floating in the air and dropping. So was feeling cold spots throughout the house."

So... would Dattilo set foot inside that most famous of haunted houses, The Amityville Horror?

"Yes, I would. I'm not really scared of any of that, now," he said. "I used to be petrified of it when I was growing up. To me, it's just people who have passed on. The more fear you give a spirit, the more you enable it to manifest and come through. They feed off the energy you're giving off. If you try to connect as a person to another person who's passed on, the fear element goes out the window."

As crazy as it may sound to some, Bryan firmly believes there's a message behind spirits attempting to contact people on earth, "whether they're trying to latch onto a physical place, whether they're trying to tell you something, whether they're trying to just be heard, whether they're trying to progress their soul, move on and enter the Light," he added.

Dattilo has vivid childhood memories of his mother's keys going missing and her dealing with it without blinking an eye.

"My mom would announce to the room, ‘I am in a rush. I have no time for this spiritual activity. Can you please just give me my keys back?'" he said. "Then she'd go look in the kitchen and the keys would be sitting on the counter, where she'd already looked for them 500 times."