An actor from AMC recently told me that Frons is obsessed with one actress who had the left the show because she lived in Los Angeles. “He paid her a million dollars to return for a year,” the source said. “Now he’s moving the whole show out there hoping she’ll come back.” A rumor is also rampant that Frons wants to cancel ONE LIFE TO LIVE, his best-written, acted and directed soap.
As for Braeden, he started playing mysterious tycoon Victor Newman when Gerald Ford was president. The show’s been No. 1 ever since then.
Like most veteran soap actors, Braeden’s devoted his life to the show. It’s a double-edged sword. Soap actors get typecast, and work 18-hour days, so it’s not so easy to find other work. The shows become comfortable for them, but at the same time, the shows need them. The networks or production companies owe more to Braeden and the handful of remaining stars (Susan Lucci, Erika Slezak, etc.) than the actors do to them.
Soap actors rarely complain in public or even have publicists. One actor told me: “It’s an insular world. If you say anything bad, you could get fired. So no one speaks up.” The result is that they get little respect. They live in an alternate celebrity universe even though they probably have higher fan recognition than most indie movie actors.
Frankly, if I were an actor on one of the remaining shows, I’d contact my union rep, get a publicist, and start talking. Soon it may be too late.
Source: Showbiz 411
DAYTIME SOAP OPERAS
