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Fans will never forget Kathryn Leigh Scott's run as four different characters on cult-horror soap opera Dark Shadows during the show's run from 1966-1971 (Maggie Evans, Josette du Pres, Lady Kitty Hampshire and Rachel Drummond). The beloved actress will be appearing in the upcoming Tim Burton/Johnny Depp movie version of the cult soap as well. Aside from her acting career, and years as a Playboy Bunny, she's also written a number of nonfiction books and had huge success with her publishing company, Pomegranate Press.

Earlier this week, she released "Dark Passages," a new fiction novel telling the coming of age story of a young actress and Playboy Bunny in 1960s New York, who happens to be a real vampire starring in the popular show Dark Passages.

We Love Soaps TV recently spoke with Ms. Scott about her career, the new book and much more.

We Love Soaps TV: In looking at your career,...

In Part 1 of our interview with Julia Barr, the Emmy-winning actress shared memories of moving to New York City, landing roles on Ryan's Hope and All My Children, and her 30-year portrayal of Brooke English. In Part 2 below, Barr talks about leaving All My Children, returning in 2010, and tells us what she thinks of the show's move to the web.

We Love Soaps TV: By the time you left the show, there had been changes to the writing staff multiple times. No one thought these shows would last first decades when they first started. Is it possible to keep a soap true to itself for that many years?

Julia Barr: If you see nine seasons of Friends, they kept their writing pretty good. But I think it's difficult for a lot of shows.  It's difficult because you have to have a central vision that's very strong that you can...

Emmy Award-winning actress Julia Barr grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she caught the acting bug at age 8 in a local youth theater group. She appeared in a production of "Peter Pan" when she was 13 and continued acting while attending high school and college, as a theater major on a regional campus of Purdue University.

In June 1976 she landed the role of All My Children's Brooke English, where she stayed for 30 years playing one of Pine Valley's most beloved characters (and Erica Kane's biggest rival). In 2010, she appeared on the show's 40th Anniversary special later returning for a three month run. In September, she will return to AMC once again as the show comes to a close on ABC.

In this exclusive new two-part interview with We Love Soaps TV, Barr reflects on her career, shares thoughts on her historic All My Children run, discusses the show's move to the web,...

Soap fans know legendary actress Joan Van Ark best for her iconic role as Valene Ewing on Knots Landing, which she played for over a decade. She also has an extensive theater background, including a Tony nomination, and has appeared in a number of other television shows and films. In 2011 she joined the world of indie web series with a hilarious and spot on appearance in Pretty. In this exclusive new two-part interview, find out more about the beloved actress, her thoughts on a storied career and much more.

In Part 1, Van Ark discussed her early career and Knots Landing. In Part 2 below, she shares more thoughts on her time on Knots, her stint on The Young And The Restless, and working on Indie Soap Award-winning Pretty.

We Love Soaps TV: The last season of Knots Landing was hard to take without Val. She was the heart of the show.

Soap fans know legendary actress Joan Van Ark best for her iconic role as Valene Ewing on Knots Landing, which she played for over a decade. She also has an extensive theater background, including a Tony nomination, and has appeared in a number of other television shows and films. In 2011 she joined the world of indie web series with a hilarious and spot on appearance in Pretty. In this exclusive new interview, find out more about the beloved actress, her thoughts on a storied career and much more.

We Love Soaps TV: You grew up in New York City, right?

Joan Van Ark: Yes! As an actress, the New York City part of me, and the more rural Boulder part of me, where we moved when I was seven, has served me and the characters I played well throughout my career.

We Love Soaps TV: Did you always want to be an actress?...

In Part 1 and Part 2 of our interview with writer Sheri Anderson, the Emmy Award winner revealed how the new trilogy of Days Of Our Lives novels came about, shared her thoughts on web series and how soap operas can be informative and still entertaining, and her last stint at Days.

In Part 3 below, Anderson shares her favorite stories, getting feedback from fans and more.

We Love Soaps TV: How did you get feedback when you wrote for Days. If someone didn't like something how did they let you know?

Sheri Anderson: They might have gotten phone calls at the studio, but we got fan mail. My mother used to go through all my fan mail and sometimes you would see repeats and you would think it was the same people writing back. But you would really be able to see how many positives and how many negatives. We had...

On Episode 2.71 of We Love Soaps TV, Roger Newcomb welcomes Tyler Ford, Signy Coleman and Julie Pinson of the upcoming drama web series River Ridge. Ford and Coleman are co-executive producers on the project, and Coleman and Pinson play sisters on the show.

Find out more about this exciting new series on our latest episode.

Related:

- River Ridge Official Website - RiverRidgeSeries.com

- River Ridge on Twitter

- River Ridge on Facebook

Roger Newcomb is a producer and writer in New York City. Aside from co-hosting We Love Soaps TV, he has written and produced a full-length indie film, Manhattanites, and two radio soap operas, Scripts & Scruples and Rockland County. He has also made acting appearances in indie web series Imaginary Bitches and Empire. He has consulted on numerous indie soaps and is currently an associate producer on The Bay and executive producer on the upcoming indie short May Mercy Lie.

Aussie actor, Jon Blake dies at 52 after long years in bed

He was once hailed Australia’s “next Mel Gibson” while at the peak of his career in the late 1980s. But an unfortunate road accident had left Jon Blake permanently incapacitated as he was described in ‘near-vegetative state” until his death Sunday. He was 52.

Blake appeared in a number of TV series including soap opera The Restless Years and Anzacs.

Tim Burton's Dark Shadows will not be in 3D‎

“I’m just starting, and it’s a weird tone and it’s a lot of actors and, you know, we’re not starting with the simple stuff; we’re sort of getting right in there. You like to kind of sneak up on it a little bit, but this one we just kind of slammed right into it. [asked if it will have a soap opera quality] Yes, I don’t know. I’m early into it...

On episode 2.68 of We Love Soaps TV, Soap Opera Weekly founder Mimi Torchin is interviewed at the Save the Soaps rally in New York City.

Related:

- We Love Soaps TV 2.67 Soaps Fans Rally at Lincoln Center

- Photos: Soap Fans Unite During Rally At ABC Upfront

Photo by Sue Coflin

Roger Newcomb is a producer and writer in New York City. Aside from co-hosting We Love Soaps TV, he has written and produced a full-length indie film, Manhattanites, and two radio soap operas, Scripts & Scruples and Rockland County. He has also made acting appearances in indie web series Imaginary Bitches and Empire. He has consulted on numerous indie soaps and is currently an associate producer on The Bay and executive producer on the upcoming indie short May Mercy Lie.

On episode 2.69 of We Love Soaps TV, soap stars Colleen Zenk and Ilene Kristen are interviewed at the Save the Soaps rally in New York City.

Related:

- We Love Soaps TV 2.67 Soaps Fans Rally at Lincoln Center

- We Love Soaps TV 2.68 Mimi Torchin

- Photos: Soap Fans Unite During Rally At ABC Upfront

Photo by Sue Coflin

Roger Newcomb is a producer and writer in New York City. Aside from co-hosting We Love Soaps TV, he has written and produced a full-length indie film, Manhattanites, and two radio soap operas, Scripts & Scruples and Rockland County. He has also made acting appearances in indie web series Imaginary Bitches and Empire. He has consulted on numerous indie soaps and is currently an associate producer on The Bay and executive producer on the upcoming indie short May Mercy Lie.

In Part 1 of our interview with writer Sheri Anderson, the Emmy Award winner revealed how the new trilogy of Days Of Our Lives novels came about, and shared her thoughts on web series and how soap operas can be informative and still entertaining.

In Part 2 below, Anderson discusses her last stint at Days, not cheating the audience, and making a living as a writer.

We Love Soaps TV: How much fun was it to write these novels without having to think about sets or actors?

Sheri Anderson: I developed an animated show at one point and it was the same thing where you'd say, "Wow, I can go anywhere!" I had some of The Powers That Be say after the first novel, "This would make a great movie. We should make this a movie." It has 600 foot yachts in the south of France, superstars, Maseratis and Aston Martins crashing.

On episode 2.67 of We Love Soaps TV, fans rally in support of daytime soap operas in front of Lincoln Center in New York City. Colleen Zenk, Ilene Kristen and Mimi Torchin are among the attendees along with over 50 soap fans who turned out on a cool, rainy day. SoapFansUnited.com organized the gathering.

You can watch the YouTube version below if you prefer.

Related:

- Photos: Soap Fans Unite During Rally At ABC Upfront

Roger Newcomb is a producer and writer in New York City. Aside from co-hosting We Love Soaps TV, he has written and produced a full-length indie film, Manhattanites, and two radio soap operas, Scripts & Scruples and Rockland County. He has also made acting appearances in indie web series Imaginary Bitches and Empire. He has consulted on numerous indie soaps and is currently an associate producer on The Bay and executive producer on the upcoming indie short May Mercy Lie.

"A Stirring from Salem," a recently released sequel to "A Secret in Salem," is the second book in a trilogy of Days Of Our Lives-inspired novels. Former Days Of Our Lives head writer Sheri Anderson authored the books and recently spoke with We Love Soaps TV about the inspiration behind the new stories. Working in every aspect of writing including scripts, editing, and long story, two-time Emmy-winner Anderson was responsible for over 3,000 hours of television, creating some of the most memorable and groundbreaking storylines on daytime television and helming or co-writing for popular series such as General Hospital, Santa Barbara and Falcon Crest, among others. In this new multi-part interview, find out more about writer many fans consider one of the best the genre has seen.

We Love Soaps TV: We Love Soaps has been focusing on a lot indie soaps the past few years including hosting the Indie Soap Awards.

In Parts One and Two and Three of our interview with Denise Alexander, the legendary actress spoke about her early career on radio and television, her early soap roles including Days Of Our Lives, her brilliant run on General Hospital, and her stint at Another World. In Part Four below, Alexander talks about meeting Pretty creator Steve Silverman, working on Pretty Season Two, and discusses the solid foundation her parents gave her which she credits with helping her have a lasting career as a working actress.

We Love Soaps TV: Let's talk about how your role on Pretty came about.

Denise Alexander: I met Steve [Silverman, creator of Pretty] because he worked on General Hospital. Do you want to know how Steve and I got together?

We Love Soaps TV: Of course!

Denise Alexander: This kid called me and he was like 24 years old or something and said, "I have a play...

According to the Internet Movie DataBase (IMDb.com): "The STARmeter rankings provide a snapshot of who's popular based on the searches of millions of IMDb users. Updated weekly, these rankings also graph the popularity of people over time and determine which events affect public awareness."  Here is a listing of some present and past soap stars and their current ranking, as well as some public figures.  Do you agree with the list? Is Lisa Rinna really more popular than President Obama? Weigh in below.   1. Darren Criss (Glee) 3. Leonardo DiCaprio (ex-santa Barbara)4. Johnny Depp (star of Dark Shadows movie)9. Dot Jones (Glee, Venice) 11. Jill Clayburgh (ex-sft)19. Brad Pitt (ex-aw)28. Amber Tamblyn (ex-gh)54. James Franco (ex-gh) 101. Parker Posey (ex-atwt)

119. Jessica Lowndes (90210) 121. Amanda Seyfried (ex-atwt)125. Demi Moore (ex-gh)134. Lyndsy Fonseca (ex Dh, ex-y&R)144. Courtney Thorne-Smith (ex-Melrose Place)157. Morgan Freeman (ex-aw)189. Josh Duhamel (ex-amc)200. Julianne Moore (ex-atwt)208. Paul Wesley (ex-gl)236. Lindsay Lohan...

In Parts One and Two of our interview with Denise Alexander, the legendary actress spoke about her early career on radio and television, hear early soap roles including Days Of Our Lives, and her brilliant run on General Hospital. She also revealed how her guest appearance on the web series Pretty came about. In Part Three below, Alexander talks about leaving Gh, joining Another World, and returning to Port Charles many years later.

We Love Soaps TV: In 1984 the character of Lesley was killed off General Hospital. Was it your choice to leave at that point?

Denise Alexander: I had been working a long time. I had a very strong contract and the network was cutting back on a lot of people and guarantees where you were going to get paid even if you didn't do the episodes. They were letting people go but they offered me a raise.

The Screen Actors Guild held "A Day of SAG Signatory Indie Features" on Saturday, November 6. My film, Manhattanites, was screened in front of an audience of SAG members with a Q&A afterward. Check out some photos from the event which feature Manhattanites writer/director/actor Gregori J. Martin and actor/producer Derrell Whitt (now of The Bay), along with We Love Soaps TV West Coast Reporter and Renegade Reporting's Stephen Seidel.

On Episode 2.12 of We Love Soaps TV, Roger Newcomb and Damon L. Jacobs travel to the 3rd Annual Day of Days event and speak with Days Of Our Lives actors Galen Gering (Rafe) and Chandler Massey (Will) about their roles on the soap, what's coming up and more.

If you are in the New York City area and would like to be in the audience during a taping of a future episode of We Love Soaps TV, email us at audience@welovesoaps.net and we will keep you posted on our upcoming schedule.

Check out these links related to this episode:

- We Love Soaps TV 2.10 Melissa Reeves & Ty Treadway 

- We Love Soaps TV 2.11 Peggy McCay

- Days Of Our Lives at NBC.com

- Days Of Our Lives on Twitter

Become a We Love Soaps TV Supporter!

Roger Newcomb is a producer and writer in New York City.

The search for the new lead of Starz's flagship drama series Spartacus: Blood And Sand, is entering its final stage, with the field narrowed down to three actors: Stephen Amell, Aiden Turner and Liam McIntyre.

Deadline.com is reporting the three are being flown to New Zealand for screen tests and to meet with the show's cast and crew, with a final decision on who would be the next Spartacus expected as early as this week.

Former All My Children star Turner won rave reviews for his role as obnoxious news anchor Kyle Carpenter in my film, Manhattanites, which was screened by SAG in Log Angeles over the weekend.

You may not immediately recognize the name "Derrell Whitt," but fans of Indie Soaps and the independent blockbuster Manhattanites know his face well. The remarkably talented actor, currently seen on The Bay, has been featured in numerous films and guest roles in series including Grey's Anatomy and General Hospital. Here he shares more about his role as Will on The Bay, and reveals what his original career path almost led to.

We Love Soaps TV: Tell us about your character in The Bay

Derrell Whitt: My character’s name is Will Campbell. I’m the son of Real Andrews’ character. He basically the good guy in a love triangle with Vivian and Pete Garrett.

We Love Soaps TV: He likes Vivian, she’s chasing after another guy.

Derrell Whitt: She’s chasing after some guy who is a dirtbag. She’s hung up on him, I’m trying to sway her my way.

In Part One of our interview with Denise Alexander, the legendary actress spoke about her early career on radio and television, her first three TV soaps including the breakthrough role of Susan Hunter Martin on Days Of Our Lives. She also revealed how her guest appearance on the web series Pretty came about. In Part Two below, Alexander talks about leaving Days and joining the cast of General Hospital as Lesley Webber, her years on that soap, and how it felt during the height of fame during the show's glory years.

We Love Soaps TV: I've read that you left Days Of Our Lives during a period of time when your contract had lapsed and General Hospital snapped you up.

Denise Alexander: It's a longer story than that, but that is absolutely true.

We Love Soaps TV: So you were a star on Days and Gh wasn't doing well...

Legendary actress Denise Alexander performed in over 2500 radio shows in New York starting at age 6, and was part of the transition from radio to television 60 years ago. In the 1950s she appeared in numerous primetime shows as a teenager, and in 1960 made her television soap debut on the West Coast in The Clear Horizon. Following a stint on Ben Jerrod she was cast in the breakthrough role of Susan Hunter Martin on Days Of Our Lives. In 1973 General Hospital was able to sign her to a contract as Lesley Webber, a role she's played on and off ever since. Earlier this year she was named on of the 50 Greatest Soap Actress of All-Time by our panel of critics. In 2010 she's part of another transition, from television to the internet, as she will be guest starring on the upcoming second season of the hilarious web series Pretty. In this exclusive multi-part...

Six-time Emmy winner Anthony Geary was voted the Greatest Soap Actor of All-Time by a panel of 15 past and present soap critics assembled by We Love Soaps TV. While soap fans will always think of him as the bad-boy-turned-sort-of-good-turned-especially-bad-lately Luke Spencer on General Hospital, Geary has made an impact in all mediums, from the theater to daytime to primetime episodics to movies. His latest musical, "Into The Woods," opens on Friday, October 22, where Geary will be playing the Narrator / Mysterious man. In this exclusive two-part new interview with We Love Soaps TV, Geary previews the new musical and reflects on a long and storied career spanning four decades.

We Love Soaps TV: So, congratulations on your new show ("Into The Woods").

Anthony Geary: Thank you.

We Love Soaps TV: When we did our countdown of the 50 Greatest Actors, we published some classic articles on you and there was one...

Earlier this month, We Love Soaps TV spoke with legendary actor Anthony Geary about his long and illustrious career in theater, television and film. Geary first burst onto the national scene in an episode of All In The Family where he guest-starred with Philip Carey. He appeared on a number of primetime shows in the 1970s and had roles on Bright Promise and The Young And The Restless before landing his most famous role to date - Luke Spencer on General Hospital. He is returning to his musical theater roots in a new show, "Into the Woods," that is running in Los Angeles through November 20. In our exclusive two-part interview, Geary talks about the musical as well as some of the highlights from his career.

Part 1 - Geary discusses his first professional break ("The Subject Was Roses"), his All In The Family classic episode, his early soap roles and landing...

In Part One of the We Love Soaps TV interview with Anthony Geary, the legendary actor and six-time Emmy winner discussed his first professional break, his All In The Family classic episode, his early soap roles and landed what was intended to be the short-term role of Luke Spencer on General Hospital. In the final part below, Geary shares his thoughts on his new play, "Into the Woods," which is opening tonight at Big Art Labs in Los Angeles. Geary also shares his thoughts on dealing with fame at the height of the Gh phenomenon in the early 1980s, how the character of Luke had helped him out, writing prose and the changing landscape of television and the web.

We Love Soaps TV: "Into the Woods" debuted on Broadway in 1987. It won several Tony awards.

Anthony Geary: Yes.

We Love Soaps TV: There have been many different versions of it.

Director: Nicole Holofcener Writer: Nicole Holofcener Starring: Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Sarah Steele, Ann Marie Guilbert, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Lois Smith A bitter and jaded old hag, if ever I’ve seen one, Andra (Ann Guilbert) is on the brink of turning 91 at the commencement of Please Give. Andra finds fault with everyone and everything. This is a woman who no longer finds any joy in life. She tells it like she sees it, no matter how brutal her opinions might be. Andra seems resentful that she has lived for so long, though she continues to hold out hope that her ailing body parts will eventually heal (a totally inconceivable notion) at which time she will become mobile and independent once more. No matter how kind and caring people are to Andra, she is consistently ungracious ("Don't do me any favors!" is a recurring sentiment). Part...

This week we have an extra special edition of Gays Of Our Lives, starting with an interview with the handsome and charming Forbes March, who last week debuted on As The World Turns as Professor Mason Jarvis. Might he be the one man who comes between daytime’s first (and still only) supercouple, Luke and Noah?

In Gool Theater, find out if March’s debut was enough to get As The World Turns out of the doldrums and whether Syed and Christian go past the point of no return on EastEnders.

Scoops And Spoilers has the dish on the final episode of Kings and Ravi’s horrifying experience on Hollyoaks while Gool Newsbeat brings news that will give you insight on the Roman/Axel affair on All That Matters.

Plus, you’ll learn how bisexual actor Ferry Doedens feels about his role on Dutch soap Good Times, Bad Times.

All of this and as always,...

Are the gays taking over daytime? It would seem so, as yet another daytime soap reveals its plans to tell a gay love story this summer. We’ve got the latest news and spoilers on the upcoming plot, including a clip of the intended lovebirds. Plus, we have an extra large helping of Gool Theater this week, including a hot and sexy episode of Forbidden Love, some explosive events on EastEnders, heart pounding moments on Coronation Street and our first visit to New Zealand soap Shortland Street.

We’ve also got spoilers on a goodbye to Fair City’s gay character and the dish on what cutie pie Noah Mayer is shooting this week on As The World Turns. Meanwhile, Gool Newsbeat looks at the controversy surrounding EastEnders’ gay Muslim storyline as well as the scoop on another U.K. sudser's returning gay character. And as usual, Snapshots and our Soap Stud Of The Week!

Forbes March will play Mason, gay cineaste (Pic: Getty)

Okay, so when did Oakdale become the must-visit hot gay destination? I blame that Cyndi Lauper and her gay-friendly pop music!

Our local soaps specialist Anthony Langford just tipped us off that As the World Turns has cast the actor who will arrive in a few months' time to play Mason, Noah's gay film adviser at Oakdale U.

To meet the actor and learn more, continue along below...

Forbes March has been cast to play Mason, Noah's film advisor who arrives on July 14th. The character is definitely gay but we hear that he will not be coming between Luke and Noah in any romantic way, so maybe he's just a mentor of some sort who introduces Young Maestro Mayer to Pasolini or something.

Forbes March and friend on One Life to Live

Anyway, March is a soaps vet (All My Children,...