By Michael Poirier
Guest Contributor, We Love Soaps Insider
Randy Mantooth first came to national prominence as paramedic John Gage on the classic NBC series Emergency!, becoming one of television’s most recognizable leading men. Throughout his career, he made memorable appearances on series including Murder, She Wrote, McCloud, Charlie’s Angels, Dallas, and many others.
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| Beloved actor Randy Mantooth reflected on his years starring as Alex Masters on Loving and The City, sharing memories of the cast he considered family. |
For daytime television fans, however, Mantooth will always be remembered as Alex Masters on Loving. Introduced in 1988 as the long-lost heir to the prominent Alden family, Alex was eventually revealed to be an imposter. What could have been a short-lived storyline instead evolved into one of the show’s most popular characters, thanks to Mantooth’s warmth, charisma, and effortless chemistry with the cast.
After leaving Loving in 1990 and making a brief stop at General Hospital, Mantooth returned to Agnes Nixon’s soap in 1993. He remained through the series finale and continued playing Alex when Loving was reinvented as The City. Following that show’s cancellation, he joined As the World Turns as Hal Munson, succeeding Ben Hendrickson, and later made his final daytime appearance on One Life to Live.
Following Randy Mantooth’s passing on July 9, tributes have poured in from friends, former castmates, and fans celebrating a career that spanned more than five decades. While millions first knew him as paramedic John Gage on Emergency!, daytime audiences embraced him as Alex Masters on Loving and The City, and he became one of the genre’s most beloved leading men.
I had the privilege of speaking with Mantooth years ago about his soap opera days, and the conversation revealed exactly the kind of man so many remembered—thoughtful, gracious, funny, and deeply appreciative of the daytime community. His affection for the genre and the people who made it was unmistakable. The interview below is being published for the first time.
The daytime television world has lost one of its most memorable leading men. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends, and the countless fans who loved his work.
How would you describe your overall experience on Loving?
I’m really amazed, first off, that people remember the show. But I have to tell you, I loved doing that show. I loved Loving, and I loved doing The City. You know, I did those shows for about the same amount of time that I did Emergency!
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| Lisa Peluso starred as Ava opposite Randolph Mantooth’s Alex on Loving. |
Ava was Alex’s most memorable romance. You worked opposite both Roya Megnot and Lisa Peluso. What was it like working with them?
Roya was the Ava I auditioned with for the role of Alex Masters. She was a firebrand! She was only about five feet tall, maybe five-one, but she packed a wallop into that little body. She had so much energy, and you really had to stay on your toes to keep up with her in front of the camera.
I also became very close with Lisa Peluso, who was the second Ava. She played my wife longer than my real wife did!” he laughed. “I just loved Lisa. We worked so well together. She’s beautiful, incredibly smart, and very talented. I still miss talking with her every day. She lives in New Jersey now, and I’m out here in California, so we don’t get to talk often, but every now and then we’ll catch up on the phone.
You shared wonderful chemistry with Christine Tudor, who played Gwyneth. What made working with her so special?
Oh, Christine Tudor—what a professional! I loved being around Christine. She was always full of fun and had such a sassy personality.
We’d get the scripts, and I’d constantly rewrite my dialogue because sometimes the way soaps were written just drove me crazy. I’d think, ‘I would never say that.’ Most of us changed our lines here and there.
But not Christine.
She would read every single line exactly as it appeared on the page and absolutely nail it every time. We’d all look at her and wonder, ‘How do you do that?’ My hat was always off to her. She was incredibly impressive.
Wesley Addy and Augusta Dabney played your parents—and later your allies. What was it like working with such accomplished actors?
I loved both of them. Wesley had such an incredible résumé before he ever came to Loving. He’d worked with Paul Newman and so many legendary actors, and then I got to trade scenes with him. He played my father—or my quasi-father, since Alex turned out to be an imposter! Only on a soap can you get away with something like that.
And Augusta... I just adored her. She lived up in Dobbs Ferry, and I remember visiting her beautiful home. She was such a delightful woman. When she passed away, it was heartbreaking for all of us. The same was true when Wesley died. I really loved working with both of them.
What are your thoughts on Loving‘s controversial serial killer storyline?
Honestly, I thought they were going to kill me!
I didn’t really like the way they handled it because many of those actors had been on the show much longer than I had. Their characters were just unceremoniously killed off, and that didn’t sit well with me.
I even thought, ‘If they’re going to kill me off, that’s okay, because I don’t really want to do the show without these people anymore.’ But they kept me around—and made it worth my while to stay.
Did you enjoy making the transition to The City?
At first I thought, ‘Okay, let’s see what The City is all about.’ And honestly, I ended up liking it.
There were only a handful of us who transferred over from Loving. There were lots of new faces, but when you’re working with people every day, you quickly get to know them.
How different was the transition behind the scenes?
It was pretty drastic. Everything was different—the shooting style, the sets, the locations, even the roaming cameras.
But we’re actors. That’s what we’re paid to do. Whether it’s difficult or not, you adapt and you do the work.
A few years before speaking with Randy, I interviewed Lisa LoCicero, who played Jocelyn and became Alex’s final great love on The City. Her memories of working with Randy perfectly capture the joy he brought to the set and to the people around him.
Read what she had to say on We Love Soaps Insider.
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