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Tag: Soaps

  • Days of Our Lives cast reflect on 60th anniversary milestone

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    It’s a milestone few television shows ever reach. Hit soap opera Days of Our Lives has officially turned 60, and the beloved soap’s cast came together to celebrate with a special anniversary portrait that’s every bit as legendary as its six-decade run. The new image, released exclusively by People, brings together 42 actors who’ve shaped the show’s sweeping storylines of romance, heartbreak and resilience. As the cast marked the anniversary of the show’s 1965 debut, longtime stars reflected on what has made Days such an enduring part of TV history.

    “It’s completely unheard of to go 60 years, and yet here we are,” said Deidre Hall, 78, who has played the iconic Marlena Evans since 1976. “I think it’s due to a lot of people doing a lot of things right. Everybody is pulling in the same direction as hard as they can.”

    For Deidre, the secret lies in the teamwork behind the scenes. “The lighting guy, the sound guy, the makeup people… everybody is giving 110%. And that’s what you see on the screen,” she said. “My favorite part of Days is being part of a true ensemble where everybody is doing the best possible job they can.”

    © Todd Williamson/Peacock via Gett
    Days of our Lives cast and crew

    Alison Sweeney, who first stepped into the role of Sami Brady in 1993, agreed that being part of such a legacy is “unbelievable,” saying she meets people “every day” who share stories about the show. ” The lessons I learned being a part of this cast and crew wherever I go… just how to treat people, how to be a professional, how to come to work on time, know your lines. It’s made me a better person,” she shared.

    Deidre Hall at the 52nd Daytime Emmy Awards held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium © Variety via Getty Images
    Deidre Hall at the 52nd Daytime Emmy Awards

    She also credits Days’ passionate fan base for keeping the show alive. “The relationship with the fans… I can’t stress it enough,” Alison added. “You can go online and see how the fans felt about the scenes, that it gives you such immediate feedback and then you have a chance to try again and do something different tomorrow.”

    Michael Leon as Pete Jannings, Lisa Trusel as Melissa Anderson, Suzanne Rogers as Maggie Horton, John Clarke as Mickey Horton in a still from Days of our Lives in 1985© NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via
    Days of our Lives in 1985

    For Susan Hayes, who joined the series in 1968 as Julie Williams, the show’s impact has been profoundly personal, saying her “whole life has turned out to be driven” by the show. “I met my husband through lucky casting on the show. Great marriage lasted 50 years. My mother became a professional writer because of Days of Our Lives. My closest friends, the people that I talked to and depend upon, have all been connected to this show,” the 82-year-old said.

    Tamara Braun (C) in a scene from Days of our Lives
    Tamara Braun in a scene from Days of our Lives

    After 60 years, the lessons still resonate. “Be prepared. Be patient. Stand up straight and do the best you can,” Susan added. “That works… no matter what you’re doing in life.”

    Days of Our Lives airs weekdays on Peacock and has been renewed for two more seasons – proof that even after 15,000 episodes, the drama is far from over.

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    Nicola Conville

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  • Jennifer Aniston makes emotional confession about parents’ bitter divorce in honest interview

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    Jennifer Aniston got candid about her turbulent childhood in a tell-all interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, sharing that her parents used her as a “pawn” in their nasty divorce. The 56-year-old is the only daughter of soap star John Aniston and sitcom actress Nancy Dow, with the pair marrying in 1965 and divorcing in 1980 when Jennifer was just nine years old. “Their divorce was not amicable in any way, shape, or form, and it was a time when there wasn’t a lot of awareness of how to behave for the sake of the kid,” she explained.

    “That was the least of [their] worries – it was more, how could they hurt each other? And I was just a pawn.” Despite the pain of her parents’ divorce, Jennifer shared that John and Nancy were “ridiculously funny people” and that she grew up “around a lot of laughter”. Her father was best known for starring as Victor Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives on and off for 37 years, and also appeared in shows like The West Wing, Gilmore Girls and Mad Men.

    Meanwhile, Nancy made her name with roles in The Beverly Hillbillies, The Wild Wild West and The Ice House. Jennifer previously revealed to Interview magazine that “growing up in a household that was destabilized and felt unsafe” allowed her to build resilience and learn how to deal with heartbreak. She remained close to her father until his death in November 2022, and even accepted his Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award that same year.

    “This is truly a special moment for me,” the Friends star said. “It’s an opportunity to not only pay tribute to a true icon in the daytime television world, but it’s also a chance to recognize the lifelong achievements of a great and well-respected actor, who also happens to be my dad.” Unfortunately, she shared a far more difficult relationship with her mother, and explained that the divorce had a lasting effect on Nancy.

    “She was a model, and she was all about presentation and what she looked like and what I looked like,” Jennifer told The Sunday Telegraph in 2018. “I did not come out the model child she’d hoped for, and it was something that really resonated with me: this little girl just wanting to be seen and wanting to be loved by a person who was too occupied with things that didn’t quite matter.”

    © Getty Images
    Jennifer’s parents John and Nancy were married from 1965 to 1980

    Nancy wrote about their tense relationship in her 1999 memoir, From Mother and Daughter to Friends, which prompted Jennifer to cut ties altogether. “I never thought my mom would not know my husband,” she told Diane Sawyer in a 2004 interview for ABC News, referring to Brad Pitt, whom she was married to from 2000 to 2005.

    Jennifer Aniston and John Aniston during "Picture Perfect" Premiere in New York City, New York in July 1997© Getty
    The blonde beauty was always close with her soap actor father

    Jennifer and Nancy reportedly reconciled following her divorce from Brad and remained in each other’s lives until Nancy’s passing in 2016. “I forgave my mom,” she told Allure in 2022. “It’s important. It’s toxic to have that resentment, that anger. I learned that by watching my mom never let go of it. I remember saying, ‘Thank you for showing me what never to be.’”

    Nancy dow© Getty Images
    The actress shared a turbulent relationship with her mother

    While Nancy never said “I do” again after her divorce from John, she was previously married to Jack Melick from 1956 to 1961, and shared a son, John T. Melick III, with him. Jennifer’s dad remarried after Nancy to Sherry Rooney in 1984. The couple welcomed one son, Alexander Aniston.

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    Faye James

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  • Is Maxie being killed off in General Hospital? Star Kirsten Storms speaks out

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    Moments after General Hospital fans saw Maxie Jones try Deception’s new Youth Truth serum, she stumbled on set and collapsed, leaving her family and friends in shock. We still don’t know the cause of the collapse – was it a heart condition or poison? – and as her friends, including Lulu, worry over whether Maxie will slip into a coma, the actress who plays Maxie has spoken out about her future on the ABC series.

    Kirsten Storms has played Maxie for 20 years now, after joining the series in 2005 (she had one hiatus between 2011 and 2012), but is now taking a temporary leave of absence to move to Nashville with her daughter. In a video posted on Instagram in early July, Kristen revealed that ABC has replaced her with another actress for the time being, confirming Maxie is not dying, and shared that she will return later in the year.

    “I’m very excited to be making Tennessee my home! I can’t wait to return to GH, once Harper and I are settled in our new town,” she captioned the post. “I plan on documenting as much of this new journey on my social media as I can. It’s always been a dream of mine to move to a place like this; it’s hard to believe it’s really happening.”

    In the video, Kirsten went on to share that it had been a lifelong dream to move to the south, and she was grateful to the show’s executive producer, Frank Valentini, for helping her to have the best of both worlds.

    “In March, I asked Frank Valentini, our amazing executive producer. I had a conversation with him [about] my reasons for wanting to move and my desire to not leave the show,” she explained, adding: “Now, when you approach a job like this, they can always be like, ‘Forget it. We’ll let you out of the contract if you’re going to leave the state.’ GH did not do that. Which was kind of amazing.”

    Kirsten has already filmed her final scenes and has already made the trip to Tennessee, but she added that it was “possible I will be back in December, maybe November”.

    © Disney
    Maxie is currently in hospital after collapsing

    “I really want to thank GH, the ABC executives, the writers, for agreeing to let me take this time, and I know Frank and the producers there know my reasons, and I am so grateful that they understand and are supportive,” she concluded. Addressing rumors that she was leaving the soap, Kirsten insisted this “is just me, very long-winded explaining that I am taking a break and moving to Tennessee”.

    Actress Kirsten Storms, daughter Harper Rose and husband Brandon Brash in 2014© Getty Images
    Kirsten with her daughter Harper Rose and ex-husband Brandon Barash in 2014

    Kirsten welcomed her daughter Harper in early January 2014 with her then-husband, Brandon Barash, who also appeared in General Hospital. They got married in June 2013, but on April 8 2016, it was revealed that they had filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

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    Rebecca Lewis

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