HOSPITAL, CITYTV /ABC — Welcome Back, Friday Cliffhanger!
• Kelly Monaco is still dancing her little heart out each week on DANCING WITH THE STARS — and she has made the semi-finals! Her dance partner Val Chmerkovskiy will be bringing his fine ass to GH for an upcoming appearance. Let’s hope Nancy Lee Grahn doesn’t make him Alexis’s sex slave. No airdate has been announced as of press time.
• DAYTIME CONFIDENTIAL is reporting that Erik Valdez is out as Trey. The actor made his debut in June. While he’s a good actor, I was no fan so I’m happy to see him go. Ciao.
• Director Sonia Blangiardo will be directing off-Broadway hilarious comedy, MY BIG GAY ITALIAN WEDDING in New York City on Dec. 1. Tickets are still available. Here's the website if anyone's interested: https://www.biggayitalianwedding.com/index.html Blangiardo also worked on the production staffs of ALL MY CHILDREN, AS THE WORLD TURNS and ONE LIFE TO LIVE.
• GH is on fire but don’t call the fire department. Head writer Ron Carlivati spoke to SOAP OPERA DIGEST after the jaw-dropping reveal that “Duke” is really Faison and that the real Duke is still alive. Welcome back, Friday Cliffhanger!
The Emmy winner explained the story, saying, “My thought even before you saw Ian [Buchanan] with Kimberly McCullough [the first time] was that it had to be Faison that was behind the whole thing and that's who took Robin. I think it's the one that makes the most sense, but because it's the one who makes the most sense, I think the audience was right there with us and they figured that it was Faison. So Frank [Valentini, executive producer] and I talked about, ‘What can we do in that reveal that will be a little different and not make it so obvious?’ And then we came up with the idea of showing Ian, knowing that he was about to be free [after leaving] DAYS OF OUR LIVES [as Ian]. So, then it just became the trick of, at what point are we going to go for it and reveal it? And I felt it couldn't go on so long because I knew people were angry at the way Duke was behaving and I felt that relatively quickly, we had to reward them with this reveal that it was in fact Faison and not Duke. It's a story you won't have to wait for months and months to see unfold. It just goes like gangbusters [from now].” I’d say. Let’s hope Anna is allergic to latex.
ONE LIFE TO LIVE — The Stork Report!
• Two stars who should definitely reproduce finally did: Austin Peck and Katie Conn welcomed their first child together, daughter Keira Grace Peck! Congrats!
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, GLOBAL/CBS — Restless Toronto!
• It’s raining Y&R stars in Toronto all of December! And a DAYS diva. In addition to Kate Linder’s tea in mid-December, Tracey Bregman will visit the T-Dot one more time on Dec. 2 to promote her jewelry line on THE SHOPPING CHANNEL. Bregman’s peers, Daniel Goddard and Kristian Alfonso hit town once more on Dec. 8 to promote their respective TSC products, too!
• As I predicted, breakout star Marco Dapper will continue on as Carmine despite the fact that his leading lady, Marcy Rylan, was let go. Josh Griffith tells DIGEST, “We’ve got a very interesting story for him.” Let’s pray it involves a lot of shirtless exposition.
The big question is: why did Y&R let a Newman/Abbot leave the canvas? All Griffith would say is: “It’s never easy.” But the character may be back, he teases. Hopefully as Marcy Rylan.
• Fuck CBS! Foolishly, I played along and participated in CBS’s new personality quiz: Which Genoa City Man Is Your Best Match. Guess who I got? Victor “You Got That?” Newman! Yep. Whoever was the architect of this quiz should be banished to live with Donald Trump. When does Victor Newman prefer to cook for his partner during a bad day? CBS needs a new quiz: Which character best represents your inner diva?
• A top-level source promises to UNCENSORED that humour and levity will be infused into the show very soon. The series, while vastly improved, has been too dark and depressing but that will change. Whew.
• It’s over for Jeff Branson… for now. Sources confirm to UNCENSORED that the Emmy winner was let go last month.
Cover Story
HOMELESS SOAP STAR
ONE LIFE superstar Kassie DePaiva visits GH again — but she’s longing for a permanent residence in Soap Town, USA
“Those who wish to sing always find a song."
~ Plato
Even Hurricane Sandy couldn’t stop Kassie DePaiva, 51, from returning to GH as Blair Cramer Manning. The devastating storm did delay the beautiful star’s arrival in Los Angeles for about a week, but thanks to the magic prowess of executive producer Frank Valentini, Blair will still impact Port Charles as only she can.
This time around fans can expect TV GUIDE CANADA’s Sexiest Woman Alive winner and Kentucky native to interact with Robin Christopher, Florencia Lozano, Laura Wright, Kristen Alderson and, of course, her eternal leading man, Roger Howarth.
UNCENSORED spoke with one of our favourite actresses to see how she’s coping with the death of ONE LIFE TO LIVE, adjusting to seeing Llanview continue in Port Charles without Blair being a permanent resident, and why she would love to join a CBS soap opera.
You’ve worked steadily throughout your entire career…
Since I was born! I took four years off between GUIDING LIGHT and ONE LIFE TO LIVE to audition in Los Angeles.
What’s it like not working full time after two decades? Have you had to “confront” yourself with all this free time?
Not so much confront myself as much as confronting time. Well, I guess you are right about confronting myself… It’s a lot to adjust to because I am so used to working a lot, working hard and working at a fast pace. I don’t have anything to sink my teeth into now so I have had to reevaluate a lot. But for not working this past year, I feel like I have been really busy doing a lot of other things. If I could go back in time and keep playing Blair, I would have continued to do that, absolutely.
Did you think you’d get the role of Blair on ONE LIFE since the original actress, Mia Korf, was Asian?
No. But I got it and continued to play Blair until ABC killed ONE LIFE.
A lot of your soap peers left their roles for the bright lights of Hollywood but you stayed in Llanview through thick and thin. In hindsight, you must be happy that you worked steadily for almost 20 years and got to enjoy Blair for as much as she was available for you. I think a lot of soap defectors thought daytime would always be there to return to if they didn’t strike it rich or big in other mediums. I’ve always admired you for that.
Absolutely. After leaving GL, I realized I missed the pace of daytime. Some people are not made for the pace in his genre. Soaps served my complete make-up. I like thinking on my feet, being able to multitask, the quick pace, and that your ego gets stroked just enough but you can still live a relatively normal life.
Yes, [soap photographer] Steven Bergman isn’t hiding in your garbage bin waiting to snap a picture of you! Soap stars have the right amount of celebrity.
I think so. I mean, it’s fun. We also get to lift the spirits of our audience through various fan or charity events. You know that your existence on a soap has literally changed people’s lives. To me, that’s meaningful.
Did you picture yourself as a soap star?
I didn’t picture myself as anything, believe it or not. I worked really hard. I guess I was at the right place at the right time. I never set out to make three CDs or sing on the Grand Ole Opry or be a soap opera star for 19 years. It all kind of just happened. I’ve been very lucky. I was able to sink my teeth into a role that happened to be very popular but it could’ve been very popular without me playing it.
Well, it wasn’t when Mia was playing Blair!
I don’t take credit for the role — that’s up to the writers and the fans for loving it. She’s a delicious character.
You’re one of the stalwarts of the industry. Have you figured out whey you resonate so profoundly in this industry? I mean, even I had my doubts you could take on Blair when ABC first cast you but you immediately won me over.
I think it’s all the people I’ve worked with
. The character defined Todd. I think that’s why it’s hard for a lot of ONE LIFE fans to watch GH without Blair there. Also, Blair defines Starr, Addie, Dorian, etc. And when you factor in the men in her life, she was always fun to watch; because this was a broken woman, who made the worst choices anyone could possibly make, but you fought for her —because you loved her. Though Blair never apologized for her womanhood, you felt for her when she cried when life didn’t work in her favour.
Blair’s beautiful and sexy looks didn’t hurt, either!
That’s Susan Gammie, ONE LIFE’s costume designer. She was the complete game changer for Blair, I believe. She took me on and adorned me with beautiful clothing that was really striking, which worked because Blair is a striking personality.
Man, I still miss my ONE LIFE. Even with a handful of ONE LIFE characters on GH, I still feel like ONE LIFE is dead.
I know. It sucks. It totally sucks.
Have you come to terms with the cancellation? I know I haven’t. I know Robin Strasser hasn’t. Susan Lucci said at the DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS that she still refuses to talk about ALL MY CHILDREN in the past tense.
Every day that goes by it becomes a little easier for me. It was really hard for me to join GH and