March 2008 News Archive (Page 9)

Dominic Fumusa recently chatted with CBS.com about his new character on As the World Turns. Just what is this Gray Gerald guy up to?

CBS.com: Tell me a little about Gray.
Dominic Fumusa: Well, he comes to town as a mystery man. No one really knows what he's doing. He shows up to a poker game with Henry. Gray's a man of means and engages in high stakes poker with Henry. Over the course of the evening Gray wins a large amount of money from Henry.

Henry claims that he doesn't have the money, but he does offer up the diner and there starts the whole, what people are calling, the "Indecent Proposal" when I say I'll forgive the bet, but instead of the diner, I take your girlfriend for a night.

CBS.com: What are Gray's intentions?
Dominic Fumusa: The funny thing is, is that it's not clear what Gray's intentions are but what is clear is that he doesn't seem to be the nicest guy but you, as the viewer, aren't sure why you don't like him. As the name implies Gray is very gray.

Read the full interview with Fumusa now.

Tamara Braun can handle controversy.

The current Days of Our Lives star faced a ton of i when she was chosen to recast role of Carly Benson Quartermaine Corinthos in 2001. Since then, however, the actress has carved out a wide fan base for herself.

Though viewers initially balked at the recasting of a role originated by critically acclaimed actress Sarah Brown, they soon grew to love and embrace Braun's multilayered take on the wily Carly.

Braun got involved in acting during high school in Illinois and went on to study at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London for a summer session. She moved to Los Angeles in 1995 and eventually landed guest-starring roles on such prime-time shows as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 7th Heaven.

After portraying Carly on General Hospital for four years, it was announced in Januay 2008 that Braun would join Days of Our Lives as the character of Ava.

To the chagrin of many As the World Turns fans, it's been confirmed that Jennifer Landon, Jesse Soffer will be exiting the series this spring.

We now have brief, inside information regarding how their characters - Gwen and Will - will be written out...

Their exit will be related to the custody issues surrounding Hallie, which popped up again this week as Gwen returned the baby to birth-mother Sofie.

Both Will and Gwen have had their ups and downs in Oakdale since they came on the scene; and it appears as though the drama with Hallie and Sofie will be the last straw for each.

Will this type of explanation for the elimination of two key cast members satisfy you? Share your thought now in our forum.

Now that Martha Byrne is officially leaving As the World Turns, the actress has a response to the show's side of her departure, which went as follows:

"We have made Martha an incredibly generous offer in hopes that she would remain a valuable member of the As the World Turns cast."

Byrne doesn't see it the same way. She recently told Soap Opera Digest:

"Last year, understanding the impending fiscal constraints the show faced, I willingly signed a one-year contract with a substantial pay reduction. With six weeks remaining on that contract, the show began negotiations on a new one. I made it known I was willing to sign a multi-year contract and was committed to stay with the show...

"I then learned the show, that same afternoon, put out a breakdown for my immediate replacement. That was the end of any further negotiations for me. Unfortunately, what I thought to be a reasonable and workable request, the show determined [to be] unworkable."

Welcome back to The Soap Dispenser. It's a new week of daytime drama, and we have it all covered in our official Monday, March 10 soap opera recaps...

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

Thank you for visiting The Soap Dispenser for soap opera news and spoilers from The Bold and the Beautiful to All My Children, Days of Our Lives and all the rest. Thanks for making The Soap Dispenser the #1 soap opera site online!

For the record, any David Fumero photo is likely to cause serious drooling on keyboards across the nation.

But take the shirt off this One Life to Live actor and we're afraid to even wonder about how many hours at work will be wasted staring at this picture. Oh well. Don't blame us if you get yelled at by your boss...

Enjoy David Fumero shirtless, ladies. Then, let us know: Who is your favorite soap opera hunk?

It's the news that's rocking the soap opera world:

Within a week, Ricky Paull Goldin left Guiding Light and agreed to join the cast of All My Children. Below, we've posted the actor (long!) letter to his face, courtesy of Golden's MySpace account:

Hello my faithful friends and extended family,
This is a time of great change, it feels like everything is changing, but only for the better. Last Thursday was my final episode of Guiding Light, my final scene as Gus, saying goodbye to Harley forever.

Lunchtime at CBS felt like the last supper. All of our crew, production staff, cast, and security all gathered together in the rehearsal hall to break bread and say goodbye. It is hard to believe that I won't be walking back into the Guiding Light studio or my old dressing room again, but life goes on….

I was and have been a fan of ABC Daytime Television for a very long time, they really seem to do an amazing job, and I'm thrilled at the opportunity to become a part of the ABC family. I've actually been watching all of their shows. This will be the first time that I will be re-creating a character as opposed to creating him from scratch, but I'm excited by that challenge.

I have never seen any of Jake's previous portrayers and he hasn't been on the canvas for over half a decade, so in actuality, the only thing that I will be working with that I'm not used to…is his onscreen history created by others before me. It'll be my job to erase all those memories and "de"construct him in my own image. If that was hard to follow, what I'm saying is…he won't be like any Jake Martin you've known before.

But I can't and I don't want to do it without YOU. I don't want to go to Pine Valley by myself. I want to take you all with me. It'll be like a road trip, it'll be like us all jumping on a bus together or a ship, I just want us all to take the journey together. So I'm going to ask that you search within yourself, and start watching All My Children, so you can learn the history.

Continue Reading...

As any follower of All My Children knows by now, the series recently lured back actors Darnell Williams and Debbi Morgan after almost 20 years.

Brian Frons, ABC’s daytime TV senior vice president, says the actors, who played daytime’s first African-American supercouple, add diversity to Pine Valley’s almost all-white population.

“We’ll have a core black family on the show and I think that’s really important,” Frons said.

Research does state that minorities are loyal viewers to daytime dramas, once they get into the habit of viewing them. However, minority viewers also seek out characters with whom they can identify.

Frons says SoapNet is an important part of the future of daytime serials. Its current business model as the sole home of same-day episodes of daytime dramas isn’t profitable enough and will likely evolve.

“As for ABC’s soaps, I think you’ll see them on the Web and on phones in the next 10 years,” he said. “I think you’ll be watching your soap on your computer during lunch or some sort of portable device.”

All My Children stars Amanda Baker, Bobbie Eakes, Chrishell Stause and Melissa Claire Egan attended the 23rd Annual Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation Gala at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on March 6, 2008.

This week on As the World Turns, Jack, Carly, Brad, Katie and Henry converge in Chicago. The adventure culminates in Henry's being freed and Jack getting shot.

"Brad and Katie go to this warehouse looking for Henry," Austin Peck, who plays Brad, told The New York Daily News. "Jack and Carly are there looking for Kit, so they all work together."

Kit is wanted back in Oakdale, where Parker is on trial for murder.

"Kit is the key to keeping Parker from being sent to prison for killing Sam. [Parker] fired one shot that hit Sam, but Kit fired the second shot that killed him," said Peck.

As for Henry?

"Gray wants Vienna, so he tried to get Henry out of the picture by kidnapping him. As it happens, Kit and Henry are both in the same warehouse in Chicago. Kit, for some reason, has [the ventriloquist's dummy] Cowboy Jack with her. She tries to kill Carly and Jack by dropping Cowboy Jack on them."

She can't throw her voice, much less the doll. An escape attempt ensues.

Read the rest of this ATWT preview now.