Tune-In Alert: Soap Legends Invade The Oprah Winfrey Show

TUNE IN:

Wednesday, February 9  From the wedding of supercouple Luke and Laura — and Erica Kane and her numerous husbands — to the iconic Mrs. Chancellor, the "Oprah" show brings together some of daytime's biggest stars for a celebration of the legendary soap stars audiences love. Daytime icons Susan Lucci, Anthony Geary and Genie Francis, Darnell Williams and Debbi Morgan, Michael E. Knight and Jeanne Cooper join Oprah for the hour. Plus, for the first time, Susan Lucci is reunited with all eight of her “All My Children” husbands!

Some AMC Stars Might Not Make the Move to L.A.

In an interview on Regis and Kelly this morning, Susan Lucci stated that is not sure if she'll make the move to Los Angeles when AMC moves there this fall. "I love All My Children ... but I don't know what I'm going to do." She added that she will think on this decision on the vacation she is about to take.

Another actor on the fence about the move is Thorsten Kaye. He told the New York Daily News: "I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'm not the kind of dad who wants to be 3,000 miles away from my kids." Thorsten's wife, Susan Haskell, currently works on One Life to Live which will continue to be produced in New York.

Auction: Spend the Day With Susan Lucci!

Time is running out to bid on an All My Children experience generously donated by Susan Lucci to Rosie O’Donnell’s “Rosie’s Gala: Building Dreams for Kids” online auction.

The auction is currently live on charitybuzz.com and proceeds go toward Rosie’s For All Kids Foundation — a non-profit organization dedicated to support the intellectual, social and cultural development of disadvantaged children throughout the United States.

The donation includes: a day on the set of All My Children and lunch with Susan Lucci. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity, and any soap-opera fan would kill for this experience. Valid for 2 people, for one year, based on availability. The link to the detailed auction page is: https://auction01.charitybuzz.com/secure/viewItemDetail.do?auction_item_id=79400

So, please visit the site and bid if you can. This is for a wonderful cause!

Interview: Susan Lucci and Tony Donolavi

Soap fans were disappointed earlier this month when everyone’s favorite diva, Susan Lucci, was voted off “Dancing With the Stars.” I had the chance to catch up with Susan, and her dance partner, Tony Dovolani, during their stop in Orlando, Fla., for Super Soap Weekend at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Cindy Elavsky: How did the opportunity come about for you to be on “Dancing With the Stars”? It must have been such an honor to be asked, since everyone wants to be on the show.

Susan Lucci: I was thrilled to be asked to be on the show. To be perfectly candid, they had asked me before to be on the show — actually, twice before — and I didn’t think that I could handle working on “All My Children” and flying across country for “DWTS.” I didn’t think I could do it all. And then I saw Cameron (Mathison) handle it so beautifully, and it made me feel like I was a wimp. Plus, I felt like I had missed the opportunity of a lifetime. So, when they came to me this summer and asked me if I would be interested in doing it, I knew I had to do it.

CE: Who else on “AMC” do you think would be a good candidate to participate on “DWTS”?

SL: I think a number of people honestly would. The cast is fantastic. Whoever does, I would just tell him to know that your time to learn the dances is that much shorter (since “AMC” tapes in New York and “DWTS” is based in LA). You don’t get four days. You can’t dance all day and all night. For me, I felt like I would have liked to have had the option to dance more hours a day. Also, this year was the first year they decided to do a team dance, and score us on it. I was not on the same coast as everyone. And we did the cha-cha, which is a syncopated dance, and you need to be together to practice, and I was not on the same coast. Tony and I were in third place after the pasodoble, after our individual dance, but the scores from the team dance brought us down and that’s why we were voted off.

CE: Are you going to keep dancing after all of this?

SL: Oh, I definitely intend to keep on dancing.

Tony Dovolani: Even after the show is done, Susan and I will continue dancing, because I intend to continue teaching her. She deserves to learn ballroom dancing the right way. Where there is no pressure, and she can just learn the art form the way it is supposed to be. She’s the kind of person who ballroom dancing was made for. She embraces it with her entire body and her entire soul, and she should definitely learn every dance there is.

CE: What was your favorite dance to perform together?

TD: I’ve watched them all and by far it’s between the two of them: the pasodoble and the rumba. (To Susan) I thought your rumba was spectacular.

SL: Thank you. Looking back, I love the rumba too.

TD: You looked incredible — you danced, you moved your hips, you were very relaxed. You were completely embracing the dance. Everybody says that the mark of a good dancer is whether they can do a decent rumba. And you didn’t do a decent, you did a great rumba. Rumba exposes people’s flaws. You can always camouflage things, but if you are not as good a dancer, the rumba will expose that. Remember, it’s the kiss of death.

SL: Thank heavens I didn’t know that before we did the dance!

CE: What is something you would like to see Erica Kane do in the future, something she has never done or tried before?

SL: I think Erica Kane needs to learn how to ballroom dance. We’ve seen Tony as an injured handsome man on the show. We need to see him survive, get well after the tornado, and everyone is like, “Who was that man?” It could be like that wonderful movie, “Shall We Dance,” but in reverse. Erica has a very stressful life, we all know this, and it would be fun for her to learn to dance, with Tony teaching her. And Adam and Jack could get all jealous, and it could be a lot of story line there.

La Lucci to Put on Her Dancing Shoes

The new line-up of Dancing With the Stars contestants has been announced, and All My Children diva Susan Lucci is leading the pack of the latest hoofers.

Here is a complete list of DWTS contestants:
* AMC's Susan Lucci; pro partner Tony Dovolani
* Team USA's two-time Olympic gold medalist beach volleyball player, Misty May-Treanor; pro partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy
* Former 'N Syncer Lance Bass; pro partner Lacey Schwimmer
* Keeping Up With the Kardashians star and socialite/boutique owner Kim Kardashian; pro partner Mark Ballas
* Grammy winner Toni Braxton; pro partner Alec Mazo
* Retired NFL defensive lineman Warren Sapp; pro partner Kym Johnson
* Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito; pro partner Karina Smirnoff
* Rock Star host and actress Brooke Burke; pro partner Derek Hough
* Gold medalist sprinter for Team USA in the Athens and Sydney Olympics Maurice Greene; pro partner Cheryl Burke
* Hannah Montana co-star Cody Linley; pro partner Julianne Hough
* Ted McGinley (Hope & Faith, Sports Night, Married…With Children); pro partner Inna Brayer
* Oscar-winning actress Cloris Leachman; pro partner Corky Ballas
* Comedian Jeffrey Ross; pro partner Edyta Sliwinska

While I am super-excited to see how well Ms. Lucci moves, I am equally excited to hear that my favorite dancer, Maksim Chmerkovskiy is back. Woo hoo!

The new season begins with a three-night premiere, Sept. 22-24 on ABC. Check your local listings!

Susan Lucci Interview

Just as one would expect, Susan Lucci is super tiny in person, but the moment she begins to speak, her personality fills the room. I had the chance to catch up with Ms. Lucci at ABC’s Disney/MGM Super Soap Weekend in Orlando, Fla., last month. If you’ve never been or don’t know what it is, let me explain. It’s the mack-daddy of all meet-and-greets. All the hottest stars from the ABC soaps spend the weekend in sunny Central Florida for the main purpose of meeting, mingling with and entertaining their fans.

I guess I should say, their LEGIONS of fans. The numbers for any given day are in the tens of thousands, and they are all at MGM for one purpose — the chance to see their favorite soap star up close and in the flesh.

Susan has been a fixture at Super Soap Weekend since its inception 12 years ago. She’s seen it develop and grow into the fan-frenzy it has become today. So, how does this make the Diva of Daytime feel?

“I’m bowled over and so touched by the response. I am so grateful,” Susan says. With regard to the pandemonium surrounding the stars, Susan explains: “I couldn’t imagine it. During the Street Jam (celebration, which occurs each evening to close out the night), you look out from the stage onto the concourse and see 30 to 40 thousand people — isn’t that a giant stadium, like the Meadowlands or something? It’s truly incredible. It makes you breathless.”

Along with Susan’s immense appeal to her fans, her character, Erica Kane, has certainly made her mark on daytime television. What does Susan think leads to Erica’s lasting appeal?

“I’m sure that the fans have a better answer. I would love to hear what they have to say, because I really don’t know. Except that she is really unpredictable. And so there are things that she says that people want to say or do in their real life. Or they didn’t think of it until later, or didn’t have the nerve to try. Those kinds of things, I think, have been interesting to the audience.

“And her wardrobe’s pretty cute, too,” she adds with a laugh.

As “AMC” fans know, Erica Kane has been wreaking her own special kind of havoc in Pine Valley since 1970. She’s covered the gamut from kidnappings, pregnancies, multiple husbands, being scarred, finding a long-lost daughter, etc. Is their anything left for her that she hasn’t done already?

Susan replies: “Erica has done certainly a lot! I am sure that there are more fabulous things to do, and the writers will think of them. And I know Agnes Nixon (creator of ‘AMC’) is still very involved and hands-on — not in the daily production, but she’s certainly involved in the creativity. She created Erica Kane, so I am so happy that she’s there, and I’m sure her wheels are spinning.”

CONTEST! Win Tickets to the "Rachael Ray" Show!

The contest is finally here, folks. One lucky winner will receive two tickets to a taping of the "Rachael Ray" show. The show has a waiting list of almost two years, however, we have tickets to give away to our faithful readers. We hope you watched yesterday's episode of the "Rachael Ray" show, featuring Susan Lucci of All My Children. Here is the question:

While Susan is discussing being a grandmother, she says she wants her nickname to be "Grandie." What name does Rachael suggest that Susan's grandchildren call her by?

Please e-mail your answers to daytimedial@yahoo.com with your full name, address and daytime telephone number. DO NOT ANSWER IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THIS BLOG POST. All answers in the blog comments will be deleted, as it will give away the answer to people who might not have known the answer otherwise. Only one (1) entry per person. All duplicate entries will be deleted. All correct answers will be entered into a random drawing. All entries must be received by Sunday, July 29, 2007. The winner will be contacted via e-mail and will be announced in a future column.

GOOD LUCK!

REMINDER: Watch "Rachael Ray" and Win Tix to the Show!

On Tuesday, July 17, the Susan Lucci will be appearing on the “Rachael Ray” show (check your local listings for station and air times). The folks at “Rachael Ray” conducted a national search for the “Worst PJ’s in America” and asked Lucci to be their makeover expert.

Now, make sure you watch the show carefully, maybe even Tivo it, because you will have had to have seen this "Rachael Ray" episode to have a chance at winning the contest. On Wednesday, July 18, we will be posting a question about something that happened or something that someone said on the Susan Lucci episode of the "Rachael Ray" show. You will be able to e-mail your answers to an e-mail address that we will provide at that time. Only one entry allowed per person. All those who have given correct answers will be eligible to win 2 tickets to the "Rachael Ray" Show! Their names literally will be placed in a hat, and one winner will be drawn to win the tickets to the show. These tickets are highly coveted and have a 2-year waiting list. So please, don't enter the contest if you (or someone you know) won't be able to use the tickets.

Good Luck!

CONTEST! Win Tickets to Be in the Audience of the"Rachael Ray" Show!

Attention all Susan Lucci and Rachael Ray fans: In case you missed it the first time around, on Tuesday, July 17, the daytime diva will be appearing on the “Rachael Ray” show (check your local listings for station and air times). The folks at “Rachael Ray” conducted a national search for the “Worst PJ’s in America” and asked Lucci to be their makeover expert. Hundreds of women sent in videos of themselves pleading for help. Three women with the absolute worst sleepwear were selected. These women think they are coming to the show to talk about their awful pj’s with their husbands there to chime in. As a surprise, Lucci will give these women a sleepwear makeover. Who better to give tips than the woman who has spent many years on TV in skimpy nightwear?

Now, make sure you watch the show carefully, maybe even Tivo it, because you will have had to have seen this "Rachael Ray" episode to have a chance at winning the contest. On Wednesday, July 18, we will be posting a question about something that happened or something that someone said on the Susan Lucci episode of the "Rachael Ray" show. You will be able to e-mail your answers to an e-mail address that we will provide at that time. Only one entry allowed per person. All those who have given correct answers will be eligible to win 2 tickets to the "Rachael Ray" Show! Their names literally will be placed in a hat, and one winner will be drawn to win the tickets to the show. These tickets are highly coveted and have a 2-year waiting list. So please, don't enter the contest if you (or someone you know) won't be able to use the tickets.

GOOD LUCK!

Susan Lucci to the Rescue!

Let’s face it. Susan Lucci (Erica Kane, “All My Children”) is ridiculously gorgeous and has a figure the likes of which I haven’t been able to maintain since my turbo metabolism stalled out a decade ago. And to think this woman recently became a grandmother! So who better than the fabulous Erica Kane to give us advice for the bedroom? No, I’m not talking about that kind of advice, I’m talking about our jammies.

(Photo courtesy ABC Television)

No more holey t-shirts and faded sweatpants to greet The Sandman, this Valentine’s Day we shall strive to snap out of our fashion funk. Lucci appears on the “Rachael Ray” show Feb. 14th (check local listings) to give some lucky women a sleepwear makeover. Staff at the “Rachael Ray” show conducted a national search for “The Worst PJs in America,” and hundreds of women sent in videos of themselves wearing their not-so-finest. Three of the worst offenders were chosen, including one woman who wears an adult-size onesie to bed. What they didn’t know when they were invited to appear on the show was that Lucci would make a surprise appearance to take these ladies under her wing. The Queen of Soaps will also be promoting her own line of lingerie for “real women,” which debuts this February.

And Baby Makes 3!

"Passions" actress Liza Huber and husband Alex Hesterberg are delighted to announce the birth of their first child. Royce Alexander Hesterberg was born at 6 a.m. on December 23rd in Los Angeles. He was 7 lbs. 10 ounces and 19.5 inches long.

Of additional interest, the baby was born on the birthday of his maternal grandmother, "All My Children" icon Susan Lucci.

CONGRATS!