Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
One Big Happy Family: Chapman (top c.) was thrilled to reunite with (clockwise from l.) Elizabeth Hendrickson (Chloe), Tracey E. Bregman (Lauren), Christian J. LeBlanc (Michael) and Greg Rikaart (Kevin).
Judith Chapman was a continent away when Y&R requested her presence as Gloria at the Baldwin/Fisher clan’s Thanksgiving celebration. “I was at a camp in Africa after hours of a dusty, bumpy ride on safari to see fantastic things,” she explains. “I was watching elephants in the distance when my phone rang. I answered it and it was Greg from Casting. He said, ‘Hi, Judith, Josh [Griffith, executive producer/head writer] wants to know if you’d be willing to do the big Thanksgiving show,’ and I said, ‘I’m in Kenya right now and won’t be back for another week. Do I still have time?’ He said it wasn’t for a few more weeks, so I said, ‘Yes.’ ”
As the audience knows, Gloria got into some legal hot water in Singapore (“It’s so her,” Chapman chuckles) and Michael, her attorney son, has been there for weeks to sort it out. On Thanksgiving Day, the two arrive at Society for their family’s holiday meal. “Gloria is a little bedraggled, so no more glamour queen,” Chapman sighs. “Her loved ones are not happy to see her. The scenes are very funny. It was so wonderfully written and I actually went up to Josh, who was on set, and said, ‘I recognize your writing. Thank you very much because this is fun.’ It reminded me of the early days when he was on the show and he turned Gloria into high drama. I think the audience is really going to get a kick out of it and I couldn’t have been happier.”
Chapman was thrilled to be reunited with her co-stars, which included Greg Rikaart (who also appears as Leo DAYS) reprising Kevin. “Those people are my tribe,” she marvels. “It was so wonderful to see Greg, and Christian [J. LeBlanc, Michael] looks great. Of course, Tracey [E. Bregman, Lauren] is sexy as ever and Liz [Hendrickson, Chloe] is always gorgeous. It was just a wonderful reunion and it never seems to fail; the minute our little group is together again, we just don’t miss a beat and dive right in.”
The actress admits to a case of the jitters about watching the episode. “I usually don’t get nervous about seeing myself on television, but I do have a little butterfly in the tummy about seeing this show because it’s so different,” she says. “Everybody is dressed to the nines, except Gloria, but we all have such great chemistry and I think the fans will be really entertained.”
After Gloria’s latest escapade, Chapman says she has no clue what her character’s status is in Genoa City. “All I do know is Lauren is not happy with Glo because she took Michael away from Genoa City for so long,” Chapman points out. “She’ll be surprised if she still has a job. Actually, they never discussed it. I’m not sure if Gloria is still working for Lauren. She may have booted her mother-in-law out and given her office to someone else.”
There is one certainty: Chapman will be putting in an encore performance next month. “They called me a few days later and said, ‘Come back!’ ” she shares. “So I guess I’m being dragged out of the mothballs for the big holidays. We just shot some scenes last week, which are going to be beautiful — and that’s all I’m saying about it.”
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Devin Owens
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