COUPLE: Roger Thorpe & Holly NorrisSHOW: GUIDING LIGHT
RANK: 6
PLAYED BY:
Roger: Michael Zaslow, Joel Fabiani, Dennis Parlato
Holly: Lynn Deerfield, Maureen Garrett
YEARS: 1971-1980; 1989-1998
STORY:
Much to her mother's chagrin, Holly went to work for her father, Stanley Norris. Stanley wanted to keep Holly busy and out of his hair and asked his employee, Roger, to date her. Roger saw this as an opportunity to move up the corporate ladder. Holly began dating Peter Wexler, but couldn't fight her intense attraction to Roger and eventually lost her virginity to him. Roger was smitten with Janet Mason and Holly was jealous. Seeing Roger leaving Janet's apartment one night, Holly ran off and was hit by a car and became paralyzed. At Cedar's Hospital, she met Dr. Ed Bauer who treated her and the two of them began a relationship. During a trip to Las Vegas, Ed got drunk and married Holly. Roger Thorpe returned to town and Holly was still fascinated by him. The two began a torrid affair and Holly became pregnant.
Holly tried to pass baby Chrissy (later Blake) off as Ed's but eventually the truth came out. Ed divorced Holly. Roger was married to Peggy at that point so Holly was left alone. Holly went out of town for a while but returned to Springfield and began working as a reporter for the Journal. She dated Peter Chapman but ultimately lost him, and married a now-divorced Roger for Chrissy's sake. Roger began having an affair with Hillary Bauer. Holly knew he was cheating but wasn't sure who the woman was, and turned to Ed for comfort. Roger raped Holly and she had him arrested. Ed's new wife, Rita, admitted Roger had raped her as well. When she saw Ed and Roger fighting in Roger's office, Holly grabbed the gun Roger kept there and tried to make them stop. When Roger came towards Holly she flashed back to the rape and shot him three times. Roger "died" and Holly went to jail. Roger turned up alive but had become incredibly dangerous and unstable, trying to kidnap Chrissy. When Roger learned Holly and Chrissy were hiding out in Santo Domingo he went after them. He ended up taking Holly hostage but fell off a cliff and "died" again. Roger turned up alive again in 1989 and was exposed at Blake's (a grown up Chrissy) wedding to Phillip Spaulding. Over the next several years Roger and Holly would date and marry others (Alexandra Spaulding, Fletcher Reade, etc.) but their complicated feelings for each other were always in their hearts. They became lovers again and Roger even proposed but she turned him down because of his manipulative ways. Roger left town and, years later, Holly learned from a man named Sebastian Hulce that Roger had died.
IMPACT:
Roger and Holly probably had the most complex relationship in soap opera history. The dynamic changed over the years but it was always complicated. And no matter how awful things would get, fans continued to be fascinated.
Zaslow was nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards for his work as Roger, winning once. Garrett was nominated three times and, unbelievably, never won. They received eight Soap Opera Digest Awards combine with Zaslow winning and Editor's Choice honor in 1999. Each were named to the We Love Soaps 50 Greatest Actors and Actresses lists in 2010.
"Roger Thorpe: The Scandal Years" was released on VHS in 1994 featuring many Roger and Holly highlights.
Lynn Deerfield, the original Holly, passed away last year at age 61.
From Patrick Erwin (A THOUSAND OTHER WORLDS): Probably the most complicated relationship in all of daytime, with two of the most complex characters ever to grace soap screens. Roger and Holly were never star-crossed lovers in the traditional sense, but their scenes, especially the tentative reconciliation they had in the early 1990s, were beautiful to watch. Roger’s flaws always made his good intentions fall flat, while Holly’s complicated feelings about Roger made matters even messier.
CLASSIC CLIPS:
- Roger rapes Holly; Later, Holly shoots Roger (1979)
- Roger "dies" in Santo Domingo (1980)
- Michael Zaslow classic clips
- Maureen Garrett classic clips
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