December of 2008.
A major jolt reverberated through the soap world at the announcement of the news: DEIDRE HALL AND DRAKE HOGESTYN FIRED. All the veteran actors in the business were nervous. If these two longterm vets (John and Marlena) from Days of Our Lives weren't safe, then who was? The news story was on CNN. The website Daytime Confidential predicted the end of the soap opera after such a major cut. For DAYS fans, the news just got worse. Stephen Nichols and Mary Beth Evans, the beloved Steve and Kayla, were next on the chopping block, written off without even so much as a decent love scene or goodbye.
For me, personally, the next blow was the hardest. Thaao Penghlis, the Emmy-nominated actor who played Tony and Andre Dimera, was let go along with his co-star, Leann Hunley (Anna Dimera). Thaao was one of my first crushes at a very impressionable age -- a crush that stuck. The kind of crush that inspired fan fiction and homemade music videos. Admittedly, it hasn't been easy to be a fan of this actor as he has been asked back and fired repeatedly over the years. After this last recent firing, he wrote a phrase in his guestbook that stuck with me. "When one door closes, another one opens."
This has recently proven to be the case for Thaao as well as his fired veteran castmates. I believe Thaao is on the verge of a new chapter in his career, having just performed in sold-out houses of Class at Cape May Stage along with the development of a new television reality show about his travels. Deidre Hall constantly posts about her political functions and day-to-day activies, seeming to relish the time to herself that she had been deprived of for decades. Leann Hunley was asked back to Days of Our Lives, getting more screen time than she had than before (even if her storyline, in my opinion, was not all it could have been). Drake Hogestyn may possibly land his own talk show about health and weight loss. Mary Beth Evans pursued her dream of owning her own pie company and is now the lead in the upcoming webseries, The Bay, riding the wave of the future where soap opera is concerned. Stephen Nichols moved on to the number one rated network soap opera, The Young and the Restless, truly getting a good last laugh.
Recently, for reasons I will not disclose here, I was pushed forcefully through one door with it being slammed shut behind me -- with no warning, no attempt at understanding, no forgiveness...but plenty of fallacies, accusations and hostility. So here is my new door. I can only hope that it will lead to my own new journey.
It was the saddest time for me when it came to this. All my faves were fired for no reason and I grieved so deeply. I loved Thaao as Tony/Andre so much. I have grown to love the actor away from his act and I am so very proud of him as the smash he is in Class the play.
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