Days Celebrates 45 Years With a Bang

Be ready for a month of Days that you’ll never forget!

Interview YR: Eileen Davidson Shows Off Her Inner Diva

If you are a true “Young and the Restless” fan, then you know that Eileen Davidson (aka Ashley Abbott) has written a series of bestselling crime novels centered on the soap-opera world. If you didn’t know that, then you need to go out right now and buy yourself the books, because you are in for a treat. Eileen’s third book in the series, “Diva Las Vegas,” came out earlier this year, and it’s even better than its predecessors.

Daytime Dial: Your books are always so much fun to read. Are they as much fun for you to write as they are for me to read?

Eileen Davidson: Thank you! Yeah, they really are. I really have a good time. I started the fourth book just last week, and it’s just so much fun getting reacquainted with the characters. I crack myself up with these silly things I write.

DD: How do you find time to fit it all in – being a mother, a wife, an actress, an author, a spokesperson?

ED: It sounds overwhelming, but really it just isn’t. It all kind of works out. I go through phases where everything is really kind of crazy and then, like right now, I’m working only one day a week for like the past three weeks, so I have lots of time. When I am home, I write when my child is at school. When I’m working a lot, I bring my computer in with me and work between scenes.

It takes a village sometimes, but it’s not constantly crazy busy. My husband’s schedule is erratic as well. But we just go with the flow and make it work. But very rarely is everything happening at the same time.DD: I love the protagonist in your book series, Alex. She is so down-to-earth and personable. Do Alex and Eileen share some personality qualities?

ED: Oh sure, we do share some qualities. And also, beginning with the very first book, I established the voice of the character. I wrote the first couple of chapters, and I established the voice of who Alex is. I’ve written every first and second chapter for all four books, and then we (Eileen and Bob Randisi, her coauthor) go from there. Like right now, I’ve sent the first two chapters to Bob, he sent me two back, I reworked them yesterday, and then I wrote an additional two and will send that back to him. But I have to rework it because it’s my voice, so I have to make sure she sounds the same throughout the book.

DD: Do you base some of the books’ circumstances on things you’ve done or experienced?

ED: Yes, I do. I have gone to the Playboy Mansion a couple of times for the Halloween party and it was such a scene that I thought, “Oh my god, this would make a great way to open a book.” When I was at the Emmys about three years ago, I was like, “This would be a fantastic way to open a book.” Getting out of the limousine with everybody screaming at you and then suddenly a bigger star comes along, and the photographers leave you and run over there. Only in Hollywood would you go through these kinds of things, and yet it’s my life. But I’m also a mother and wife, and my life is fairly boring. I pick up dog poop and I make cupcakes, and yet I have that other side of my life that’s kind of out there. It’s fun for me to share it with people and to give them a little peek behind the curtain.

DD: Do you ever get worried that your co-workers at “The Young and the Restless” will read your books and wonder if one of the characters is based on them?

ED: Not really, because I’m not mean-spirited at all. But I might base a character on someone I know. For instance, in the fourth book, I decided to base a director character on somebody I work with at “YR.” But I talked to my husband about it, and it was much more interesting to go over the top with the director. So, it kind of starts as a real person, but then it goes off on a whole different tangent. Some of my characters are inspired by real people, but they’re not based on anybody per se.

DD: I love the relationship between Alex and her boyfriend, Jakes. How did you create that relationship and get it to translate so well to their characters?

ED: Gosh, that’s a really good question. They’re still new, as a couple, since she just ended the relationship with the other guy. I guess I don’t want them to be like crazy possessive of each other, but still possessive enough that they keep each other on their toes. Do you know what I mean?

Like, my husband and I have been married almost eight years and we trust each other and are not super-paranoid, because he travels a lot. But I still want him to be jealous to a certain degree. I don’t want him to pull a shotgun out or anything but I still want him to care if somebody else is looking at me or paying attention to me or where am I. You still want your significant other to be interested but just so it doesn’t go over the top. That’s what I want for Alex and Jakes. I want there to be a playfulness and yet a kind of push-pull between them.

DD: Who are some writers you admire and who influence your own writing?

ED: A while back, I was really into all the spirituality and stuff. I was reading tons of really heavy self-help books and spirituality books, and things like “The Power of Now” and all these really intense books, even Kabbalah. I was doing all sorts of research on different spiritualities for years. And then I was at this retreat and I had forgotten to bring a book, and I happened to pick up a Sue Grafton book. It was like, this is so much fun. I guess I needed a break from all of that heavy reading, and I went into the Sue Grafton world. I read all of her books, and for this genre, that would definitely be who inspired me.

DD: Can you give me any details about the fourth book you are working on?

ED: It’s called “Swinging in the Rain” and it’s going to involve the whole subculture of swinging couples. Strangely enough, I’ve heard so much about it in the past couple of years. It just fascinates me that people are so good at sharing, because I’m not. A lot of people are apparently good at it, because it’s very popular. The more I found out about it, the more fascinated I became. I realized this could be very interesting to use as a backdrop for my book.

Interview Outtakes

Jane Kaczmarek (ex-“Felicity,” ex-“Party of Five”) on how she told me how she and ex-husband Bradley Whitford are able to make it work since getting divorced in 2009: “Brad and I have a really wonderful relationship. The marriage couldn’t work anymore, but I think that we still have an incredible fondness and love for each other that we really want our kids to see as we become friends. We just think of it as a family that lives in two different houses.”

Eric Braeden (Victor, “The Young and the Restless”) on avoiding another catastrophe in New Orleans: “I know specifically that Germany sent the most modern sump pumps to New Orleans. That was never mentioned. No one ever heard about it. If you want to solve the problem in New Orleans, get engineers from Holland and Germany and they’ll fix it. I promise you, they’ll fix it. And they don’t build those jokey damns that they have. I mean, it’s laughable what they had there. They have, in Holland and Germany, lived with the violent North Sea for centuries. They know how to build damns. They really do. I have friends in Germany. They immediately offered help. The Army Corps of Engineers are doing something, but I don’t think they are very capable necessarily. Get the engineers from Holland and from Germany, where they have dealt with the violent North Sea for centuries. They know how to do it, trust me.

David Charvet (ex-“Melrose Place”) on why he didn’t attend Comedy Central’s roast of David Hasselhoff: “I was invited to it, but I didn’t go. I love David and really respect him. I know these roasts can get pretty mean, and I just didn’t want to do that to him.”

Patricia Wettig (ex-“thirtysomething”) on going back to school to get her MFA in playwriting: “Honestly, I think I was getting a little bored, creatively. As an actress you always have to wait for somebody to come to you. You have to be given a script or you have to have something to do. And I felt like I had a lot of stuff that I wanted to express myself. I just recently did a play that I wrote up at New York State and Film. And it was such a successful reading and I was so excited. So I’ve been having a really good time writing lately. The truth is I’ve always written. The first paycheck I ever got as an actress, I bought a typewriter. So it was always there.”

Y&R: Such a Tease!

• After Phyllis’ (Michelle Stafford, pictured) article on Diane hits the stands, no one is safe from Diane’ s wrath.

• When Victoria ups the ante in the lawsuit against Victor, will Victor settle or decide to fight dirty?

• Meggie starts on the final phase of her plan to become the next Mrs. Victor Newman.

• Sharon has a surprising offer for Nick and Noah.

• Chloe jumps to the wrong conclusion when she sees Kevin in an intimate situation with an unlikely companion.

B&B: Such a Tease!

· Inappropriate behavior leads to a physical altercation between long-time rivals.

· A deceptive woman reverts back to her former ways when she schemes to advance herself in her career.

· A jilted lover finds comfort at the bottom of a bottle and in the arms of another woman.

· An overbearing father taunts his son about the extreme differences between them.

· Someone gains a new outlook on their existence after a life-changing experience.

Days: Such a Tease!

NEXT WEEK:

Nicole admits to Maggie that Victor is determined to win her love.

Gabi realizes that Will is the reason Arianna ran out of the pub.

Daniel believes that Chloe’s goodness will heal things with Melanie.

EJ vows to make Arianna’s dying wish come true.

Hope tells Bo (Peter Reckell, pictured) that she suspects April’s death is a cover up.

Thursday – Kate joins forces with Victor to keep Vivian locked away.

Friday – Nathan proposes to Stephanie.

Interview Outtakes

Most of the time when I am conducting an interview with a soap star, I have more interview material than space for printing the interview. Here are some blurbs from stars that did not make it to the print version of the interview, but were too good not to publish.

Julie Marie Berman (Lulu Spencer, “General Hospital”) on whether Dante’s feelings for her would change if he knew she had had an abortion years ago: “I think she feels like she wants to be honest about everything that’s gone on in her life, whether it’s necessary for him to know is anyone’s opinion. But in Lulu’s case, I think she wants to be completely honest with who she is and what she’s been through. This is something that is still a big thing that goes on in her head, and I don’t think she can live her life without being reminded of this. Because it has shaped who she is today, I think she wants to be honest with Dante about that episode. With that, I think she is worried that he might not look at her the same way. Even if he can accept it, I think she’s just worried that it’ll change what they have right now. Obviously if he were not to accept her for that, I think it would heartbreaking, but at the end of the day, she’ll be with someone who can accept her for the choices that she’s made in life and who she is today.”

Justin Bruening (ex-Jamie Martin, “All My Children”) on getting recognized by fans: “Sometimes you get into a little routine with something, and I remember there was a situation on ‘All My Children’ once, I was signing autographs and stuff, and you start getting used to people stopping you on the street. The second someone stops you and they’re like, ‘Hey, you’re Justin, right?’ and you’re ready to sign an autograph. That happened to me once, and it was actually someone that I went to high school with who just wanted to say hi.” 

Marnie Schulenburg (ex-Allison Stewart on “As the World Turns”) on comparing getting her start on soaps to “acting boot camp”: “It’s an incredible; it’s like a school. You learn so much. If you are lucky enough to have that opportunity, then you are truly a blessed actor. This has certain limitations, because it is very specific in its delivery and in its style. So, if you are someone who wants change or wants something different to grow from, you can either do both (‘ATWT’ and NY theater) like I was lucky enough to do. I had the freedom to do other acting stuff while I was there, but you are not always able to do that. But I loved it. I loved it for the people and for what I learned from it, but I think I’m ready to try some other venue now.”

Ken Corday (Executive Producer, “Days of Our Lives”) on how the “Days”/“Friends” tie-in came about: “It happened when Jeff Zucker was the West Coast chief programmer —it came out of his fertile mind. Brandon Tartikoff, who had trained Jeff, was always a staunch believer in the talent pool of daytime television. He said, ‘You know, Ken, from your talent pool of 30 or some odd actors that we see every day, there are usually one or two who catch our eye that we want to break out.’ Alison Sweeney is the current example. It was NBC publicity that came to us and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if Drake’ — the ‘Friends’ character of Drake Ramore, who was modeled after Drake Hogestyn — ‘was the name of the character on the “Friends” version of “Days” who would be played by Joey?’ We call it cross-pollenization. It’s wonderful. It lets the primetime viewer know that NBC has respect for ‘Days of Our Lives,’ and it lets ‘Days of Our Lives’ viewers know that their favorites on primetime are watching the show.”

Y&R: Such a Tease!

* A natural disaster hits Genoa City.

* When Abby (Marcy Rylan, pictured) catches Tucker with Diane, will he be able to explain his way out it?

* Will Meggie and Deacon’s plan get in the way of Nikki walking down the aisle?

* Nina has a passionate plea for Ronan.

* Phyllis sets out to destroy Diane.

B&B: Such a Tease!

· Taylor (Hunter Tylo, pictured) and Pam gently break the news of Stephanie’s grave illness to the rest of the Forrester family.

· Whip and Aggie help Oliver develop a plan to get Hope back.

· Stephanie voices her great appreciation of Brooke, despite their checkered history.

· Aggie and Amber fight over Nick.

· While Taylor and Brooke visit a recovering Stephanie, Dayzee tells her story to Hope and Liam.

Interview: Catching Up With Jane Kaczmarek

Before her breakout role in “Malcolm in the Middle,” Jane Kaczmarek was a featured performer in a plethora of television shows, including “Raising the Bar,” “Party of Five” and “Felicity.” In the Lifetime original movie “Reviving Ophelia,” Jane switches back to drama to play the mother of a teenage girl who’s trying to escape an abusive relationship with her boyfriend. The movie, which airs tonight at 9/8c (check your listings for encore performances), is based on Mary Pipher’s seminal book for teen girls, “Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls.”

Celebrity Extra: As a mom, this whole subject matter must have really struck a chord with you. What were your thoughts about the script?

Jane Kaczmarek: You know, it really did. I have three children: two daughters and a son. My oldest and youngest are daughters, and my oldest is 12, so she’s kind of on the cusp of this. And I’ve always called her my little nun because she is so modest. She practices the piano and does ballet and is a very diligent kid. And it never dawned on me that something like this could happen to her. And I think what I found interesting about this script and the casting of the girl who played Rebecca, who is my daughter in the movie — she comes across as such a clean-cut, beautiful, innocent kid. You don’t think that she’s the one who’s going to get involved in this. It’s the cousin who seems kind of naughty, and you think she would be the one that would end up in the situation like this. So that was the real eye-opener for me. You know, as a mother it was a real cautionary tale about really keeping your eyes open about everything that’s going on in your kid’s life.

CE: I am not a mom, but this would be the kind of stuff that would scare the crap out of me.

JK: And I thought that Nick Thurston, who plays the boyfriend who beats her, he was so charmingly eerie. He was so sincere and so earnest. And he really loved her. You could see why she would stay with this guy. She’s just caught in this lie of protecting him, and everything is just swirling out of control.

CE: What was it about Marie or the movie itself that made you really want to be a part of this?

JK: Well, I think because it was just an unexpected look at this really, really big problem. You know, I live in Pasadena. I live in a very comfortable, leafy suburb of Los Angeles where the kids for the most part are good and the parents for the most part are hyper-responsible. And what surprised me was it was happening to a family like that.

I also like (director) Bobby Roth. He had directed an episode of a TV show that I did, and I liked the way he told the story with the camera. I thought it was a very fresh and interesting and unexpected way of working. I hadn’t worked in a year. This has been a really tumultuous year for me. My husband and I got divorced, and I hadn’t worked since “Raising the Bar” ended in the summer of 2009. So this came along, and I thought I was ready to step back into the world of “Jane the Actress.” My manager sent me flowers in Toronto and said, “Instead of ‘Reviving Ophelia,’ I think this should be called ‘Reviving Jane.’” And I had a wonderful, wonderful time working with Lifetime and with Bobby Roth, and all of the actors. It was a really, really satisfying experience.