PORT CHARLES

Q:            There’s an ongoing argument between my mother and me.   I keep telling her that Julie Devlin was the GH killer, who murdered her own father as well, and she keeps insisting I’m wrong, and that Julie was innocent.   We even made a bet that if I am wrong I will take her out to dinner.  I know this storyline goes back a couple of years, but PLEASE settle this once and for all.  Thanks.   Pattie B.

A:        Well, Pattie, it looks as though  you and mom better go “dutch," and here are the reasons why:               Back in 1997, when Julie Morris-Devlin came to Port Charles as a new intern at GH, she didn’t reveal her true identity because she wanted to be judged on her own merits, not as the privileged daughter of wealthy surgeon, Bennett Devlin.             Unfortunately, her identity became known when her father accepted a position at GH.  After her father’s arrival, Julie was ready to kill him when she found out that he had once had an affair with her fellow intern, Eve Lambert.   Then Julie’s mother came to town and sparks flew when she also learned of the affair.

            During this time, Greg Cooper was turned down for the internship program, he went crazy and began terrorizing the other interns.  After killing a doctor and injuring Audrey Hardy, he was captured.  While he was being transferred from one facility to another, there was an accident and he was taken back to GH’s Emergency Room, where he continued his reign of terror.

            He fled the hospital and soon kidnapped Julie and held her hostage in the basement of his family’s vacant home.  After several days and the threat of having her face rearranged by plastic surgery, Julie was rescued and everyone thought that would be the end of Greg Cooper.

            When Joe, Karen, and Jake began working on a project developing a compound that would stimulate cell growth, Bennett found out and blasted them for doing unauthorized animal testing in the hospital.  When he later found out that they had given him false data, he took them off the project and locked them out of the lab.

            In order to get the interns'  research data away from Bennett, Eve broke into the lab, but was caught and faced disciplinary action.  She asked Scott Baldwin to act as her attorney and have the charges dropped. They managed to find a witness, Allison, who told them that she had also had an affair with Bennett.  Julie was shocked because she remembered Allison as the ex-girlfriend of her late brother, Buddy.  Because of this, Julie confronted her father, which ended in a terrible argument.

            Soon after, Bennett was found murdered in the lab.  No one liked him and many people had good reason to want him dead.  Kevin Collins worried because this murder was identical to the murder of a character based on Bennett, in Kevin’s new book, “General Homicide."

            It wasn’t long before a nurse was found murdered, which also mirrored a murder in Kevin’s book.  Kevin was concerned that there was a copycat murderer on the loose.

            When preparations were being made for the annual Nurses Ball, Lucy discovered Jake Marshak’s body hanging from the rafters.  Soon after, another doctor was found, poisoned.  Kevin tried luring the killer out in the open by going on the radio.  Sure enough, the killer called him, but used a voice activator.  Detective Garcia was able to trace the call to the Scanlon’s home.  When he got there he found Julie alone, with a voice activator in her possession.  He arrested her and took her to PCPD.

            At Julie’s trial, Lee Baldwin was able to get her acquitted of all charges, but the search for the real killer continued.

            When Kevin’s father, Victor, went to Jasmine Island to meet with a prospective buyer, he was shocked to discover Julie at the door holding a gun.  Frank Scanlon found out where she had gone and went there, thinking she might be in danger.  Before long, Julie had taken both Victor and Frank hostage.  Frank could hardly believe that Julie was the killer.

            Kevin and Eve found out that Julie was responsible for the murders at GH.  They went to Jasmine Island and also ended up being held hostage, but by both Julie and Greg Cooper.

            Cooper made the allegation that he was a child Victor had fathered with his mistress, but Victor flatly denied it.  Cooper also claimed that he and Julie were siblings and they intended to get revenge on the Collins men for what they had done to his mother.  There ensued a confrontation, and Julie ended up shooting Cooper.  Julie was arrested a second time, and by then had become quite unstable.

            While she was incarcerated, Frank paid Julie a visit and she told him she was pregnant.  He told Julie he would help her, but not by breaking her out of jail.

            Julie talked to Dr. Gail Baldwin and convinced her that she needed an examination.  She was sent to GH, where she was reunited with Cooper, who had survived the gunshot at Jasmine Island.  They got away from the hospital and together, they kidnapped Kevin and Eve and held them hostage.  When Scotty and Lucy realized what had happened to them, Cooper made a deal with Lucy over the phone by telling her that he would let Eve go in exchange for her.  When Lucy attempted to help Kevin and Eve by sneaking into where they were being kept, she only became another of Cooper’s hostages.

            Cooper and Julie were eventually apprehended and Julie was sent back to jail.  She was then declared incompetent to stand trial and was sent to Ferncliff Psychiatric Facility.  While there, Julie told Chris Ramsey she was pregnant and demanded that he smuggle her baby out after it was born.

            Julie managed to escape again and Chris ended up delivering the baby, whom she named Christina.  Then he called the authorities and told them where to find Julie, but no one knew about the baby, except Chris.  Through a series of events, Lucy ended up with the baby and Scott made plans for an adoption.

            Returning Julie back to Ferncliff, there was an accident and she wound up missing.  She managed to find her way to Christina and held her for a few minutes, until Lucy found them both and asked her to hand her back.  Julie told Lucy that she had found the baby outside in the cold and had just tried to protect her. 

            Julie related the story about the accident and how she was going to get help.  Karen, who was there with Lucy and Scott, brought her in to get warm and helped to clean her up.  When Julie learned that Scott and Lucy were making plans to be  married, she congratulated them.  Lucy now felt as though she was indebted to Julie.

            Kevin went to see Cooper, who was once again locked up.  He tried playing mind games with Cooper to get him to tell the truth about Julie being innocent of the murders at GH.

            At the trial, when the judge pressed him for an answer, Cooper replied that he didn’t kill anyone, that Julie did it all.  When Julie took the stand, she told the jury that Cooper brainwashed her, and even after she was free of him, he still had control over her thoughts and actions.  Scott, who was defending her, brought out her brother’s death by suicide, and how it had affected her life.

            In his closing argument, Scott told the jury that Julie was no longer a threat to herself or others.  After the closing argument was made, the jury requested to review Cooper’s testimony.

            Finally, the verdict came back – Not Guilty.  Julie was acquitted of all charges and soon released from Ferncliff.

            So you see….even though Julie physically murdered all those innocent people, she was acquitted because Cooper brainwashed her, which made her not responsible for her actions.

Q:        Can you find any information for me about the actor who plays Kevin’s father, Victor?  I know I’ve seen him before in another soap, but I just can’t remember which one?    Lottie Barnes, Jax, FL

A:            Nicholas Pryor has played in the role of Victor Collins since June 1997, but he has an extensive list of other credits, as well. 

He has appeared in several TV miniseries, made for TV movies, theatrical films, including, Executive Decision; Hoffa; Pacific Heights; Splendor in the Grass;  Airplane, and Damien Omen II; and weekly series such as Party of Five, Beverly Hills, 90210, and The Bronx Zoo. 

            His work in daytime soaps also proves his limitless talent over the years:

            Young Dr. Malone            1959 -- Ernest Cooper #3                   

Another World          1964 -- Tom Baxter

The Nurses            1965 -- Ken  

All My Children        1971 -- Lincoln “Linc” Tyler  

The Edge of Night   71-72 -- Joel Gentry

            Love Is a Many Splendored Thing  1976 -- Paul Bradley             

Q:        I just saw a preview for a new primetime show about a school with the word "public" in the title.  One of the teachers they showed looks like Debbie Morgan, who used to be on PC.  Is it her?  Can you tell me more about her career?  Didn't she used to be on AMC too?  Eve,  Eureka CA

A:        Yes, Debbi is in the cast of the new fall TV series “Boston Public," on Fox Network.

Her list of soap credits is as follows:

From 1982-90 Debbi played Dr Angie Baxter Hubbard on “All My Children."

In 1983, she played the role of Carrie Mansfield in the pilot episode of “Loving," and after it became a series, she played Dr. Angie Baxter Hubbard Harrison from 1993-95.  She also played the same character on “The City."

             Debbi received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1989 and  an additional Emmy nomination in 1986 as Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Angie Hubbard on AMC.         

Her career in acting began in high schools in New York's South Bronx when she landed the role of Puck in a musical version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

         She became involved in workshops run by the Negro Ensemble Company and  the New Federal Theatre, which led to a Broadway role in Ron Milner's "What the Wine Sellers Buy."  She toured with the national company for a year, and since then has also appeared off-Broadway in "Does the Tiger Wear a Necktie?",  and in Los Angeles productions of "My Sister, My Sister" and "Once in a Wifetime."

            She has appeared as Alex Haley's aunt, Elizabeth Harvey, in "Roots: The Next Generation."  She also received critical acclaim for her roles in the television  movies, "The Jesse Owens Story" and "Guilty of Innocence: The Lenell Jeter Story."

 If that weren’t enough to fill a resume’, she also guest-starred in numerous primetime television series such as "The Cosby Show," "A Different World," "Herman's Head" and "Roc."

ALL MY CHILDREN

Q:        I am new to AMC, and I understand that Adam once hid Stuart in a closet or basement or something?  Darcy, NH

A:        Since you are new to AMC, you should know that Adam has no limits when it comes to deceit, manipulation, and lies, and the fans love him still.

            When Adam first came to Pine Valley in 1984, he brought his identical twin brother, Stuart, with him.  Adam kept his brother up in the west wing of his mansion and did not reveal to anyone that he was there.

            That same year, Adam became obsessed with Erica Kane.  Erica had just had her autobiography, “Raising Kane”, published, and ghost written by Mike Roy.  Mike and Erica fell in love and became engaged.

            When Erica’s book was turned into a movie, Adam became the producer.  Erica had her sights set on playing herself in the film, but her screen test came out so bad that Adam had to hire another actress to play the role.

            Adam wanted Erica to himself, and he knew the only way to do that was to get rid of Mike.  Through his many connections he arranged to have Mike sent to Tibet.  With Mike finally out of the picture Adam was free to romance Erica and the two became husband and wife. 

            Soon after Erica moved into the Chandler mansion, she began hearing strange noises coming from another part of the house.  She had no idea that Adam had a twin brother, or that he was living in the west wing. 

            Stuart Chandler was identical to Adam in appearance, but that was where the similarity ended.  Stuart had all the qualities Adam lacked.  He was honest, with a gentle nature, and had a heart full of compassion.  There was a natural innocence about him that Adam would never have.  Many people thought of Stuart as being simple-minded, until they got to know him better.

            Adam’s housekeeper took advantage of Stuart’s innocence by telling him that Adam’s new wife, Erica, was an evil woman, and had to be stopped.

            Stuart trusted her as she led him to believe that he had to protect his brother from Erica, so he did his best to terrorize her whenever he had the opportunity.

            Eventually the truth came out and Erica and Stuart became quite close.  She realized that Stuart could never hurt anyone.

Q:        Can you please tell me what year AMC first aired?  Had Susan Lucci appeared in anything else at that time, or did AMC make her career?   Amcfan1

A:        All My Children made it’s debut on January 5, 1970, while  Susan Lucci was a student at New York's Marymount College.  Prior to AMC she had not appeared in any anything else. 

Since the beginning of her 30 year career as Erica Kane, Susan has appeared in fifteen made for TV movies and one episode of “The Fall Guy” in 1981.

I believe it would be safe to say that AMC has made her career.

Susan won the 1999 Emmy Award for Best Actress, in addition to  countless other honors – such as a 1992 People’s Choice Award;  the 1993 Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Lead Actress;  the 1994 Crystal Apple Award;  the 1985 People

magazine poll as Best Soap Actress; the 1988 Soap Opera Digest Editor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Daytime Television;  the 1989 Canadian TV Guide People’s Choice Award for Best Soap Opera Actress, and the Italian-American

Welfare League’s "Woman of the Year".

Q:        I know that Marcy Walker has been on other soaps.  Can you please tell me which ones and what characters she has played?  Shelly, TX A:        Marcy began playing Liza Colby in 1982.  Before her return to AMC in ’95, she  also starred in “Santa Barbara” as Eden Capwell Castillo, a role which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award for Best Actress.   She also played Tangie Hill on “The Guiding Light”.             When not starring in the soaps, Marcy has had starring roles in several movies for television, including “The Return of Desperado”, “Bar Girls”, “Midnight Child”, and “Terror in the Shadows”, with Genie Francis of General Hospital and Leigh McClosky of OLTL, GH and Dallas.

ONE LIFE TO LIVE

Q:        I don’t recall, how did the Davidson’s and Rappaport’s get different last names when they are from the same family?  Amanda, NJ

A:        Sam’s father’s name was Samuel Davidson, and his mother was Jane Rappaport.  He was born a Davidson, but had his last name legally changed to Rappaport after a falling out with his father.  Sam, Sr was involved with the mob, which resulted in the "death" of Sam's beloved sister, Mazey (who later reappeared as Grace Monroe, having not been killed, but kidnapped).  Sam broke all ties with both the Davidsons and their name.

            Sam’s brother, Ben was legally adopted by Sam and Jane, but as we now know, he is actually a Buchanan, although he considers the Rappaports to be his real family. 

Q:        I have been watching OLTL for about a year.  I know that Skye Davidson is Adam Chandler’s daughter from All My Children.  I see that Skye has been causing a lot of problems since she came to Llanview, but how was she when she was living in Pine Valley?  Has she always been like this?   Rita Shaw, LA

A:        Rita, why don’t you grab yourself a cup of coffee, sit back and get comfortable, while I tell you a little about Skye Chandler Davidson.             Skye first came to Pine Valley as a singer in 1986, and wasted no time causing problems for most everyone she met.             When she came between Tad Martin and his new wife, Hillary, it was revealed that she was Adam Chandler’s long lost daughter.  From the beginning, Skye and her father could not get along.  Stuart was able to intervene and convinced them that family was important, so they took steps toward a reconciliation.

            Adam asked his daughter to come and live with him at the Chandler Estate, and she accepted.  Meanwhile, Tad rejected her in a very cruel manner and this angered Adam, so he agreed to help Skye win him back.

            Skye arranged it so that Tad would go to a  mountain lodge to meet Hillary.  Skye arrived before Hillary and did her best to seduce Tad.  Just as Hillary walked in she found the two of them together in bed.   Needless to say, Tad and Hillary’s marriage fell apart and Tad left town.

            In 1987, Stuart Chandler met Cindy Parker and her son, Scott.  Stuart and Cindy grew closer as time passed.  Cindy went to the hospital, where Dr, Angie Hubbard diagnosed her with AIDS.  Stuart vowed to stand by her, as she had become the love of his life.  Not everyone in Pine Valley was as supportive and understanding as Stuart. 

Cindy was harassed and almost killed in a fire that was set by a vigilante group.   Skye, who was now married to Tom Cudahy, ran into the burning building and rescued Cindy.  Skye was taken to the hospital, where she fell into a coma from inhaling noxious smoke.  While she was there, Tom found out that she had been one of the members of the AIDS-fearing vigilante group, and had been the one who planned the fire.  At the last minute she had second thoughts, but it had been too late.

            With Skye in a coma, Tom found comfort in the company of Barbara Montgomery.  They fell in love and were married.  Soon after, Skye emerged from her coma.  She discovered what Tom had been up to, and kidnapped Barbara at gunpoint.  Before she could do any more harm, she gave herself up to the police and was taken to jail.  While she was incarcerated, she slipped into a catatonic state and was transferred to Oak Haven Sanitarium.

            Cindy and Stuart were finally married, but sadly, in February of 1989, she lost her battle with AIDS and died.

            In 1996, Skye had left Oak Haven and married Dr Jonathan Kinder.  When she discovered he was involved in felonious drug experiments, she stole some of his files and hid them.  Kinder found out what she had done and knew that she had information that could ruin him.  In order to hide her identity, he now referred to her as Toni so no one would know who she really was.  Then he drugged her and kept her imprisoned in a near comatose state.

            Janet Green learned that he was keeping his wife in his attic, but he caught her and locked her away with Skye.  In time, both Janet and Skye managed to escape, and teamed up with Erica, to expose him.  Erica had an ax of her own to grind with him, as he was the one who got her hooked on pain pills.  Dimitri found Janet and Erica in the attic, and after a dangerous confrontation with Kinder, he was able to get them out.

            With the help of his lover, Marion Colby, Kinder fled to the Caribbean.  Together, Erica, Skye and Janet tracked him down and managed to get him aboard their private jet.  They tied him up and delivered him to the Pine Valley police.

            It wasn’t long after that, that Skye was up to her old tricks again.

            Maria and Edmund Marick were hoping to adopt a baby from Joe Martin’s pregnant and unmarried granddaughter, Kelsey.  When the baby was born, she talked them into allowing her to move into Wildwind, so she could nurse the baby.  Kelsey was actually in love with Edmund and found this to be the only way she could be close to him.

            Later on, after the adoption became final, Kelsey demanded they return the baby, whom they named Sam, back to her.  Maria was heartbroken and tried to run away with little Sam, but Edmund stopped her.  Maria became furious with him and turned to his brother, Dimitri, who was then separated from Erica. 

            They found themselves alone in the hunting lodge, and they each were miserable and lonely thinking of their loved ones.  They started out consoling one another, but ended up making love.  What Maria and Dimitri were unaware of was Skye watching them from the outside.

            Skye became obsessed with Edmund.  When Maria told him she was pregnant with his child, which she honestly believed, Skye decided to use the devastating information she had to break them up.

            Maria and Dimitri went to the hospital lab for a paternity test, to make sure that the baby was Edmund’s.  Soon after, Skye seduced the lab technician, who then allowed her to see the test results, which proved that Edmund was the father of Maria’s baby.  Wanting more than ever to get him away from Maria, Skye changed the results.

            Maria, ridden with guilt, finally confessed to Edmund that she and Dimitri had slept together that one night.  When she tried to explain how it happened and why, he stormed out in a rage, but eventually accepted what she had done, and returned to her.

            Meanwhile, Tanner, an old friend of Mateo’s, came to Pine Valley and created his own kind of trouble.  Somehow he found out about Skye changing the paternity test results and he blackmailed her into helping him do his dirty work.

            When Maria died in a plane crash, Dimitri, thinking he was baby Mattie’s father, had custody papers served on Edmund.  The battle was soon over when the judge granted Dimitri sole custody of Mattie.  When he later learned that the baby’s blood was O negative, he realized that he couldn’t be her father.  After that he also learned that Skye had changed the results.  He confronted her and got her to admit what she had done.  He placed his hands around her neck and warned her that if she ever told Edmund the truth, he (Dimitri) would kill her.

            Erica, wanting to see the baby back with Edmund, enlisted Gillian Andrassy to help her.  Then she discovered that he was the biological father.  Armed with this news, Jack Montgomery went with Erica to Edmund and explained to him that he really was Mattie’s father after all.

            Soon after, when Skye was alone with Edmund, she confessed that she had changed the results of the test.  Then she went to Dimitri and told him that Edmund now knew the truth.

            Refusing to give Mattie up, Dimitri took his wife, Gloria, and Mattie and fled to Hungary.  He told her it was to be their long awaited honeymoon.

            When Edmund and Tad found out where they had gone, they went after them and Tad challenged Dimitri on Hungarian TV.  He demanded that Dimitri tell the truth to the press.

            Meanwhile, Edmund showed Gloria the court papers requesting a second blood test. Knowing the baby wasn’t Dimitri’s, they said goodbye to Mattie and she was returned to Edmund.

            Skye left town after creating complete havoc.  After being out of sight for almost a year, she ended up in Las Vegas married to Ben Davidson.

            Ben eventually had the marriage annulled, but Asa Buchanan brought Skye to Llanview to begin what he hoped would be the destruction of the Rappaport-Davidson family. 

(The only way Skye could become more destructive, would be to pair her with Lindsay)

Q:        I know you probably don’t need anyone else to ask you about Roger Howarth, who plays Todd, but I really want to know this, so PLEASE…can you tell me if he has ever acted in other soaps?  Thank you so much.  Jennifer,  Seattle WA

A:        Just because I have dreams of researching information about him, doesn’t necessarily mean I’m finished with the guy, after all, he’s my favorite too!   

Roger has appeared in two other soaps besides OLTL.   He played the role of Kent Winslow in 1992, and in the role of Jory on “The Guiding Light”, also in ’92.

In case you didn’t know this, Roger made numerous appearances in the TV series “Prey," as Randall Lynch in 1998, and one episode of “Diagnosis Murder” in 1996, whose credits listed him as “Very Bad Radio Host."

GENERAL HOSPITAL

Q:        Why is Kelly’s called Kelly’s??  Justin,  Carmichael CA

A:        Back in the early 80’s, the diner  was owned by Rose Kelly, whose late husband, Paddy, had been killed by the mob.  In 1984, Rose became engaged to Jake Meyer.  The only obstacle in the way of their upcoming marriage was the fact that Rose was Catholic and Jake was Jewish.  His rabbi refused to officiate at the ceremony unless Rose converted to Judaism, and her priest refused also, unless they agreed to raise their children as Catholics.  When Jake would not give in, Rose returned his ring and left town to work with her stepson, Joe Kelly.

            After Rose left Port Charles, Luke and Bobbie’s surrogate aunt, Ruby Anderson took over Kelly’s.  Ruby was an ex-madam who had left her old life for a more respectable career, first at GH and then as owner of the diner.   Ruby died in January of 1998, and that’s when Luke talked Tammy into taking over management of the diner.  Although there have been several owners, the name has never been changed and it is still known as Kelly’s Diner  today.

Q:        I read somewhere that Rachel Ames, who plays Audrey Hardy, has been changed from a “contract” character to a “recurring” character.  What exactly does that mean?  Jess Haile, AZ

A:        A contract character is an actor or actress who is obligated to a certain number of performances, usually at least thirteen weeks, and is almost always seen at the beginning of the show in the opening montage.  A recurring character works for a shorter length of time, and can request the option to work outside the show.

In the case of Ms. Ames, she was at one time one of the regular contracted performers on GH, but was recently recategorized to "recurring character".  This reduces the obligations between Ms Ames and ABC, but still allows her to work on the show on an intermittent basis.  It is unknown whether Ms Ames or ABC initiated this action.

Much thanks to Katrina for the following information:

An actor may or may not be offered a contract by the network, depending on how the viability of the character is viewed.  If they feel that a character is going to not be on the canvas for very long, then they will be brought on as a recurring role.  If some longevity is expected, the actor may be offered a contract.

            Being on contract usually brings with it a degree of job security, as well as other benefits.  Shell Kepler, who plays Amy, must have worked out an incredibly sweet deal in the past to stay on contract as long as she has and to appear as little as she does.

            Some actors choose not to contract into the show to allow more freedom to explore other options or take time off when they want.  That is a kind of double edged sword for both parties because although the actor has freedom and the network is not obligated to indulge them quite as much, there is the knowledge that either party could walk at any time.  Both Ron Hale (Mike) and Constance Towers (Helena) choose to work in this fashion.

"Recurring" characters are usually not contracted and tend to have limited air time, although there are no hard and fast rules about how much air time they are given.

            FYI:  The contracted performers are the only ones who are shown in the opening montage and it is only changed every 13 weeks because it's extremely expensive and difficult to do so.  That limits the montage to changing 4 times a year rather than each time an actor leaves or is signed on.

Q:        During what month in 1999 did Juan find the poem that Emily wrote which later became the song "Heart and Soul"?  I want to know when, during 1999 did Juan find the poem.  Thanks a lot.  DreamGazer9 A:            Actually, it wasn’t during 1999, it was Tuesday, May 9, 2000, to be exact.  After climbing up a tree next to Emily’s room, Juan knocked on the window and she let him in.  While they were sitting on the bed, he grabbed the notebook in which she wrote down all her personal thoughts.  She begged him to give it back, but he refused.  He read a poem that she had written and told her it was beautiful.  He asked Emily if he could keep it and told her he would carry it with him always.  Soon after, he took the lyrics from the poem, added music and “Heart and Soul” was created.

See you in two weeks!