While I’ve watched the last two episodes of One Life to Live, I’m not yet ready to write about them. Instead I’ve decided to write about the January 13, 2012 episode of The View that was a tribute to OLTL.
The special View episode was co-hosted by Erika Slezak (Viki). She sat with the ladies Whoopi, Joy, Sherri, and Elizabeth. Erika spoke about how she tried out for the role of Mary before auditioning for Viki. Erika did not recall the history, beyond the character being a nurse. Mary Kennicott fell in love with Jeff Martin. The performers who were their most famous portrayers (Susan Blanchard and Charles Frank) did too though neither were the originals in the roles. Mary ended up being killed during a home invasion. Early in the episode, they also spoke to Agnes Nixon (the show’s creator) who was in the audience. She was sitting next to Ron Carlivati, the program’s last head writer.
Robin Strasser (Dorian) was the first performer to come out after Erika. Like Erika, she was wearing red, and was in a Dorian outfit including a fur. Robin said it was an appropriate time to wear Dorian clothing one last time. A clip was shown of one of their catfights, when they were locked in a room together and Viki fought Dorian for the key, which then got dropped into a hole and not accessible to either of them. They talked about how much they enjoy working together and how important the characters are to each other. There was also mention of Nathan Fillion, who played Joe. While Joe was Viki’s son, Dorian bedded him; Dorian was a cougar before the term existed. Then they introduced Jerry verDorn (who started playing Clint in 2005). He bent down to kiss the hands of both Robin and Erika who were seated, and he mentioned how he felt lucky and blessed to have worked with them. Erika referenced the positive feedback she got about JvD before he started on OLTL from not only colleagues, but also strangers in the industry. They both admitted that what they were told about Jerry was accurate. Both the late Phil Carey who played Asa and Clint Ritchie who originated the part of Clint were mentioned in this segment.
The next segment had Robert S. Woods (Bo) and Hillary B. Smith (Nora) talking about Bo and Nora. Sherri was extremely elated to see Bob and it was evident she was a fan of him. There were clips shown from Bo and Nora’s first wedding and information was shared that Little Richard had to leave before they finished taping so someone else stood there while they were saying “I do.” Erika mentioned how Bob auditioned with her, and she wanted him to be cast on OLTL. She was pregnant when he tried out, so she was stuck behind a desk. They also talked about Phil Carey, and the rubber chicken that Bob used to harass Phil and Hillary. As a present, Bob gave Hillary the chicken and later in the show Whoopi was still holding on to it.
Kassie DePaiva (Blair) and her husband Jimmy (Max) also were on the program. They talked about how Blair and Max had a war of the roses kind of relationship. There were references to how they met at OLTL, but hated each other at first, but fell in love. (There was no mention of how they were married to others, thankfully.) Erika asked Kassie about Todd (Roger Howarth) and Blair. There was no discussion about the move to General Hospital for Blair, Todd, John and Starr, though it was mentioned early on in a show bumper. Andrea Evans (Tina) came out, and they showed the “I take thee Cord” clip. I’d have preferred to hear more from Andrea as she was on less than three minutes.
The last guest was Judith Light who played Karen Wolek in the late 70s-early 80s. Of all the OLTL alumni, who made it big, she also has one of the most famous clips in the history of the program. Karen admitted to being a prostitute in court, and a part of that clip was aired. Before working on a soap opera or a sitcom, she said she would do neither, which is obviously not the case. Judith talked about how she met her husband on OLTL, and he convinced her to leave. There was also talk about her current NYC play.
The show ended with the hosts of The View, the actors who attended, plus Agnes and Ron saying goodbye at the end. All the people who got free tickets to the special episode got a copy of the OLTL SOD/SOW and the final cast photo that was on sale on abc.com.
So that’s my summary of The One Life to Live tribute on The View. It made me smile, though I wish it had been longer. What I appreciated is that everyone that was invited had story or had known Erika for years, so there was a level of comfort between her and the cast members.
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