January 2008 News Archive (Page 10)

A pair of soap opera stars are doing special engagements at Stanford’s Comedy Club at The Legends in Kansas City over next two months.

Jason Thompson (Patrick Drake of General Hospital) is scheduled for February 9; and Walt Willey (pictured, Jackson Montgomery of All My Children) March 29.

Neither is doing comedy, despite the fact that Willey has some experience in that area. The actors will talk about their careers, do a question-and-answer session and then a meet-and-greet with fans.

Craig Glazer, owner of Stanford’s, said he’s been told everyone is guaranteed to meet the stars.

Admission is limited to the size of the club and tickets are on sale now ($40 to $60 for Thompson, $35 to $45 for Willey). Both sessions start at 4 p.m.

Call 913-400-7500 for more information.

Terri Colombino (pictured) and Michael Park will be performing at Blend Bar next month. Also set to perform?

Joya Bruno Lead Singer from (Expose) and Artie Colombino (Terri's real life hubby) and his band.

The event starring these two As the World Turns stars will benefit Autism Marble Jam Kids and takes place on Saturday, February 23rd at Bend in Ridgewood, NJ. Tickets are $125.

For information, call 201 251-4343 or go to Blendbar.com

Christian LeBlanc (pictured, The Young and the Restless) and Ricky Paull Goldin (Guiding Light) will be among the celebrities riding in the Orpheus parade in New Oreleans, scheduled to roll along the day before Mardi Gras, February 4.

Each year, celebrities lead Orpheus, a glitzy parade founded in 1993 by singer Harry Connick Jr.

Slated to perform either during or after this year's parade are American Idol finalist and country music star Josh Gracin, Salt-N-Pepa and a host of Louisiana artists, including teenage fiddler Amanda Shaw, New Orleans' Rebirth Brass Band and the Bucktown Allstars.

Darnell Williams is back on All My Children! Get to know the soap opera star a bit more with these fascinating fact about him...

• As a boy, Lost in Space inspired him to act.

• His R&B hit "Pure Satisfaction" reached number-67 on the Billboard chart.

• Was a regular dancer on Soul Train from 1974-75

• Twice appeared with Debbi Morgan on the cover of Soap Opera Digest

• Recently co-directed Manhattanites, a film with a soap-heavy cast; Aiden Turner recommended him for the gig.

Attention, fans of The Young and the Restless: There's a new Newman on the way!

The series has tapped Chris Engen (best known for his work on Felicity and Saints and Sinners) to play Victor Newman Jr., the son of Victor and his former wife Hope.

The younger Newman grew up in Kansas after his parents divorced and has been recently missing in action.

Engen's first air date will be February 12.

Marina Alburger is putting a face on the writers' strike.

As a writer for The Young and the Restless Alburger, 24, told UCLA's Daily Bruin that her financial situation is growing dire now that the strike has moved into its third month. A UCLA graduate in communication studies, she was hired by The Young and the Restless in 2006 as a story coordinator and production associate.

She was later promoted to scriptwriter in May 2007.

"It is starting to become crunch time for me financially," Alburger said. "I have begun searching for alternative means of work."

Alburger didn't have much to say when describing her reaction to former The Young and the Restless co-executive producer Josh Griffith -  and former The Bold and the Beautiful writer Maria Arena Bell - going financial core, or "fi-core" in order to write the show during the strike.

Guild members who have chosen to go fi-core still pay dues to the Guild, but are no longer members with voting privileges. They're permitted to work during the strike. Might Alburger go that route?

"I have to do what I have to do and I have to stand for my guild," she sad. "It's tough to know that the show is going on without us but we do know there is going to be a day after the strike and we do plan to return to get the show back on track."

InTurn - the reality show in which actors compete for a 13-week gig on As the World Turns - is coming back for a third season.

Here's the advice that InTurn 2 winner Ryan Serhant, currently appearing as Evan Walsh IV, has for the next nine, courtesy of Soap Opera Digest:

Soap Opera Digest: What do you think should happen in InTurn 3?
Ryan Serhant: Personally, I think InTurn kind of does it the wrong way. I'd like to see it be a contest for a specific character. I think it would be a lot more interesting for viewers, since they're always bringing on new characters, like Sofie, Cole, Chris, Casey ... I'm not singling anyone else, I'm just saying that if within the next year they knew they were bringing on a new character or some sort of recast, that InTurn could be a competition for that.

InTurn has nine completely different actors. To single anyone else is pretty biased. It makes me kind of uncomfortable. To say that I was the best is complete bull.

Digest: Do you keep in touch with anyone?
Serhant: Lauretta Vaughn, definitely, because she's there all the time. The others, not so much, because no one else lives in the city.

As the reshuffling continues on All My Children, Brent Weber is the latest victim.

The actor has been let go from the series. We wish him the best.

There have been rumors that Jason Gerhardt would be identified as the Text Message Killer on General Hospital - but it looks like his character will meet an even worse fate.

The actor is leaving the show and here's how it will go down:

Coop is found hanging by Maxie. Yikes. Reportedly, the DNA file with the results from the fingernail scraping is missing and Coop will be suspected. Next thing we know, he's hanging by a noose!

Did Jerry to it to protect his real identity? Did Coop kill himself? Did the TMK do it? Tune in to General Hospital in the near future and find out!

John Aniston is coming back to Salem in February.

The character of Victor Kiriakis will hopefully get involved in a grudge match with Stefano, but we're unsure how long he'll remain back on Days of Our Lives.

Aniston is also signed up to star in the romantic comedy The Gold & The Beautiful, co-starring Kate Linder from The Young and The Restless.