Comments on: Have the 80s Become a Soap Opera?

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:32:46 +0000

Betty White and Password are an institution! I mean, that’s how she met her husband.

By: Mark Blankenship

Mark Blankenship — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:27:20 +0000

Very interesting! And you know, good for all of them. Unless you’re one of about thirty actors, getting work is never easy.

I admire Betty White for never retiring. She was on celebrity Password this season, too. Don’t let ‘em slow you down, Rose.

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:59:17 +0000

Also, Eric Braeden popped up on How I Met Your Mother as Robin’s dad last month.

By: Joe Reid

Joe Reid — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:59:02 +0000

Yeah, Kel echoes my general feeling on daytime actors: the lure of a steady paycheck can be hard to pass up. I think there have been instances of stunt-casting ratings grabs (Roseanne and Elizabeth Taylor on GH spring to mind), but in terms of the actors we’ve been discussing here, I think it’s work when work is needed.

Really, what’s the difference between Michael Gross on Y&R and Meredith Baxter and her Lifetime movies? Corbin Bernsen on “GH” and Harry Hamlin on “Dancing with the Stars”? Technically, they’re all “slumming it” when compared to their career peaks in the ’80s. But also: they’re not getting hired anywhere else.

And besides, I think Michael Gross ran out of “Law & Order” series to guest on.

By: ferretrick

ferretrick — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:56:07 +0000

Corbin Bernsen is the son of Jeanne Cooper, who has played Katherine Chancellor on the Young and the Restless since 1973.

I think its just professionals booking jobs. Betty White was also on Boston Legal last week, Ugly Betty last season, etc. Her career is hardly dead. Eric Braeden, who has played Victor Newman for decades, also has an extensive list of credits on IMDB. So did the late, great, Anna Lee, who played Lilah Quartermaine on GH for decades, but was also one of the nuns who tampers with the car in Sound of Music. Bad reality TV is the cesspool for celebrities who’s careers are dead, not soaps.

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:49:53 +0000

Jeanne Cooper (HBIC Katherine Chancellor) is his mother.

I think a lot of actors can find that soaps are a pretty steady paycheck. Even if they only work 1 or 2 days a week. That’s my own opinion, though. Ted Shackleford is a regular. And they also had Danny Trejo in a recurring part this year. (Though he’s mostly film, I think)

It could just be a case of the best actor for the role and if they’re willing to do daytime, why not take advantage of it.

By: Mark Blankenship

Mark Blankenship — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:37:59 +0000

Thanks for the tips, Joe and Kel. Do you think it’s particularly significant that actors like these are doing soaps, or is it just a case of professionals booking jobs?

Also Kel… why would Corbin Bernsen on Y&R be a case of nepotism? Is he related to a producer or something?

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:26:24 +0000

He’s been on for awhile. He’s actually not bad as a character, but I know he’s temporary. I didn’t see it as stunt casting because, you know, it’s Michael Gross.

Corbin Bernsen was on Y&R, too, but that was probably nepotism-related.

By: Tara

Tara — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:48:07 +0000

I was about to post, “If only you knew someone who had intimate knowledge of this world,” and…there he is! Hello!

By: Joe Reid

Joe Reid — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:25:25 +0000

Mary Gross (Troop Beverly Hills) was just on “General Hosiptal” (though her character just died yesterday.

And Corbin Bernsen was on GH a year or two ago.