REVISED/UPDATED: In the middle of this revised/updated post, you will find the July 8, 2008 Soap Opera Weekly conclusion of the two-part interview actress Beth Ehlers gave in revealing how her exit from CBS's Guiding Light and her joining ABC's All My Children came about.…
For anyone interested, the July 1, 2008 issues of Soap Opera Weekly and Soap Opera Digest include interviews with five-time Emmy-nominated actress Beth Ehlers, who has just left her 21-year Harley Cooper character on Guiding Light to join the cast of All My Children as new character Taylor McBride. Ehlers talks frankly about her decision to exit the CBS soap, that another soap from the same network really wanted her, and what ultimately compelled her to go with another soap from rival network ABC. (P.S. I frequent "Snark Weighs In" blog, and sent a copy of the articles, which I had to type out, to Snark. I don't know whether he'll present any of it on his blog. Below is for all GoldDerbyites who are interested.)
CAROLYN’S CORNER "Soap Opera Weekly," July 1, 2008
"Chatting with Beth Ehlers, who just quit ‘Guiding Light’ (ex-Harley) to join ‘All My Children.’"
Carolyn: CBS made it very clear they wanted to keep you, so what made you jump to ABC? Beth: You know how they work: First, they give you a [lowball] offer and it always hurts your feelings. I passed. After that, I think they were so shocked that I passed that we all became grownups. Everybody spoke very seriously to one another about what I wanted and what they needed: "Guiding Light" was wonderful and CBS was wonderful.
Carolyn: But in the end you jumped to ABC. Why? Beth: I love my Ricky [Paull Goldin, ex-Gus, now Jake on "AMC"]. I know it sounds strange, but when Ricky told me he was leaving, I didn’t really care where Harley was going anymore. I thought, "What would she do if Gus died? She would leave town." It was like I was walking the hall grieving the death of this person. So following Ricky was one reason.
Carolyn: What else? Beth: The interest that ABC expressed in having us work together again, and capitalizing on that popularity. ABC has such focus on its shows—they own all their shows. And Brian [Frons, ABC Daytime honcho] is very passionate. When you speak to him, you can’t help but feel his belief in his shows. I liked that about the network. They are committed. They’re putting money into their shows. They believe in them. That sold me.
Carolyn: Do you feel like you had unfinished business with Harley? Beth: Not without Ricky there. My friends over there are still my friends, regardless of whether I work there or not. But in terms of finishing story for Harley, I feel done with her. I played her for 20 years, and I feel blessed because I do think she was one of the great characters, one of the great heroines, in daytime. She was so complicated and funny and strong. She taught me a lot about myself, too. But when Ricky left, I felt at an impasse. And I felt this desire to leave.
Carolyn: We heard you also had an offer from "The Young and the Restless." Beth: Yes. It was a great character, and they were wonderful. I loved meeting them. "Y&R" is a terrific show. I just didn’t want to move to California. My kids are not potted plants. I can’t keep moving them, you know?
Carolyn: Tell me about your "AMC" character, Taylor McBride. She was an Army lieutenant in the Iraq War? Beth: Yes. I know very little else about her. I actually spoke to Brian yesterday. He said, "What do you want to know?" ’cause he’s great that way. I asked all the basic questions. "What’s my name? How old am I? Where do I live? Have I ever been married? Do I have children (laughs)? What’s my sign? What’s my favorite color?" I need to know who this girl is, because I’m not going to be talking the first time you see me.
Carolyn: Are you injured? Beth: No, nothing like that. I don’t want to elaborate. I just don’t have to speak.
Carolyn: Okay. Did you know Grant Aleksander (ex-Phillip, "GL") used to be on "AMC" (as Alec McIntyre)? Beth: He played with Kelly [Ripa], right?
Carolyn: Yes. Wouldn’t it be funny if he came back? Beth: I would love that. Whenever anybody asks me, "If you could bring back anybody to ‘Guiding Light’ who would it be?" I’ve always said Grant. That was a huge loss for that show. None of us knows what really happened there, but he certainly got screwed in some way. And he was our big leading man! He was our Victor Newman, our Adam Chandler. I don’t think we ever recovered from that.
Carolyn: Have you heard the rumor that "GL" might recast Harley with Cady McClain (ex-Dixie, "AMC"; ex-Rosanna, "ATWT")? Beth: Actually, I sort of suggested that. I don’t know Cady, but she was the first name that came into my head when I thought about who they could recast me with.
Carolyn: Harley never would have left her kids to go on the run with Rafe, so they’ve go to address it. Beth: Yeah, and it can’t be somebody that doesn’t have any daytime experience. Cady’s a terrific actress, so it’s not like I’m sitting here going, "That hag!" She’d be great.
NEXT WEEK: What happened when Beth went back to "GL" to clean out her dressing room—and why "AMC" changed their minds about her being Liza Colby.
CAROLYN’S CORNER "Soap Opera Weekly," July 8, 2008
"Part two of out chat with Beth Ehlers, who just quit `Guiding Light' (ex-Harley) to join `All My Children.'"
Carolyn: Weren’t you originally going to play Liza Colby when you joined "All My Children"? Beth: Yes. I signed the contract based on that. Then they said, "By the way, would you mind not being Liza Colby? (Laughs.) I said, "No, that’s fine." It would have been great because everybody knows her, but then I’d also be limited by all her history. I want to make my own character.
Carolyn: Do you know why they changed their minds? Beth: As I understand it, it was two things. Brian [Frons, ABC Daytime honcho] felt Liza didn’t play to my strengths. I have to assume he means that Harley thing: that heart, that realness, that strength. He wants more a blue-collar girl coming on the show, because they already have all those beautiful, wealthy, "Sex and the City" girls. He wants somebody more rough.
Carolyn: What’s the other reason? Beth: I think Chuck [Pratt, new head writer] wanted to create a new character.
Carolyn: Do you know many of the "AMC" actors? Beth: Yes. I worked with Thorsten [Kaye, Zach] at your last Blondies benefit. He was so sweet that night. "How can we work together? Can we do a crossover?" And Rebecca [Budig, Greenlee] I’ve known since she was a little girl on "GL" [as Michelle Bauer]. I always ran into Alicia [Minshew, Kendall] at the Emmys, and she’s lovely and friendly. And Darnell [Williams, Jesse] was on "GL" [as bad-guy Griggs]. I’ve been to "AMC" a couple times to visit Ricky [Paull Goldin, Jake; ex-Gus, "GL"], and they’re all so nice! They’re excited that we’re there. I haven’t felt any problems from anybody.
Carolyn: Speaking of problems, I heard you had some when you exited "GL"? Beth: Well…they had one of the interns call me and tell me that I needed to remove my stuff from my dressing room. I was disappointed that one of the producers didn’t call me. I mean, I was there 20 years and…
Carolyn: …you handled your exit with so much class! You didn’t say a word during your entire negotiations? Beth: Well, yes. So I went in on a Sunday with my kids [Henry, 9; Will, 7] and we brought suitcases so I could load up. But they wouldn’t allow me in the building. They had revoked my credentials.
Carolyn: They called you to come get your stuff and then they wouldn’t let you in? Beth: Yes, I said to the guard," I"m going to start crying." He said, "Don’t cry. I want to show you something." And then he turned his computer around and said, "Look—they have you listed as ‘requires escort.’" I just felt so sad, I mean, someone had to take my credentials. It’s not like the guys in the security office know I didn’t sign my contract, and we’re like, "Ooooh, now she can’t come in." Somebody had to make a conscious decision to say, "Make sure she can’t get in the building."
Carolyn: What did you do? Beth: It was really hard because I was with my kids. They said, "What’s going on?" I said, "I can’t get in the building. We’ll have to come back tomorrow." So we left. We were walking down the street and they were being really quiet. Finally Hank said, "Mommy, I think the reason that they took away your ID is because they’re mad that you’re not staying."
Carolyn: He’s a smartie. How old is he? Beth: He’s 9. I was upset but then, truly, I got over it.
Carolyn: Do you have credentials to go to "AMC" yet? Beth: Not yet! I have to get them, because I have wardrobe fittings. I said, "I"m not standing outside the building again while somebody comes down and gets me. You have to get me an ID."
Carolyn: I don’t think you’ll have the same problem at ABC. You’re the new girl, too, so it will like, "Right this way, Miss Ehlers. Let me get you some tea in a gold cup." Beth: Wouldn’t that be nice (laughs)? You know, I think the changes that are happening at "Guiding Light" are going to be happening at "All My Children," too. I just think they are going to be handled differently. I ran into [an "AMC" actress] on her way to a location shoot and she was like, "We’re doing four episodes today. Can you believe that?" And I just laughed, "That’s all?!"
LATE-BREAKING NEWS "Soap Opera Digest," July 1, 2008
"Beth Ehlers on Leaving ‘GL,’ Joining ‘AMC’"
"I think it started for me a year ago, around the Emmys," reflects Beth Ehlers (Harley) of when she first considered leaving "Guiding Light." "People came up to me and said jokingly, ‘Hey! If you ever want to jump ship, you can come to my show.’ That was the first time I actually thought, ‘Hmmm … what would that be like, to play somebody else, to go to another show?’ I am to going to be 40 this year and I was 19 when I started on [‘GL’]. So, you start to think that maybe it’s time for something to end and for something new to begin."
Plus, the departure of Ricky Paull Goldin (Jake, "AMC"; ex-Gus) hit her hard. "Ricky leaving was just devastating," she nods. "It was just such a loss for me. I wanted Harley to fall back in love with Gus. I was looking forward to it, so when he left, it really was like a death because it happened very abruptly. I knew he was negotiating, but when he called me to say, ‘Baby, I passed,’ it was like I was gut-punched. I just couldn’t imagine being there without him anymore."
Shortly after Goldin left, Ehlers took time off. "My contract was up at the end of April," she explains. "I had started saying around Christmas holiday that I wanted to take the month of July off. I was starting to get burnt. Moving into the city with my children, starting a whole new life at the same time that everything at [‘GL’] changed with the way we worked, my home life and my professional life were both in complete upheaval. Then, I got very sick and I said, ‘I’m not waiting until July. When my contract is up in April, I am taking the month of May off.’ So, that month off was a completely personal decision. That didn’t have anything to do with, ‘Oh, let me figure out where I’m going’ because at that point, I backburnered the idea of leaving. And then, they came to me negotiate and in the course of that, I was approached by other shows, and it all kind of took on a life of its own." One of those being "Y&R," which made her consider a move to L.A. "They were so lovely to me and the part was really good. Plus, it’s [‘Y&R’]—how do you not consider saying yes to that?"
Ultimately, Ehlers realized that she couldn’t move her children yet again and decided to stay in New York—and go to "AMC." "It was talking to [ABC Daytime honcho] Brian Frons and his passion about his shows and about [‘AMC’] in particular, made me realize at the end of the day, that’s where I wanted to be."
Leaving "GL" behind was a big decision, but not a tough one. "In all truth, it wasn’t that hard for me. I feel a loyalty to my friends there and to my crew, but I wasn’t happy there anymore. What I kept getting back to was I wasn’t done with Harley and Gus, and I wasn't done with Ricky and Beth, and ABC wanted to capitalize on that popularity. That was a selling point for me." But she did leave Springfield with a bittersweet taste in her mouth. "It did hurt me that after I made the decision to go to [‘AMC’], I was contacted, not by one of my producers of 20 years, but by an intern of the show and told I needed to clean out my dressing room. But I guess their feelings were hurt, too."
Who Ehlers was going to play wasn’t set in stone when she signed. "We initially toyed with the idea of me coming back to play Liza Colby," she confirms. "She had a history with Jake. She could be in love with Tad. She was married to David Canary [Adam]. But there was also a negative side to that because then you’re trapped by her history." Instead, the actress will be playing Taylor McBride, a soldier who served in Iraq. "I absolutely love her name," Ehlers smiles. "She has a purpose for coming to town, but I’m not sure I am allowed to say what that is. But she’s waiting to get called again for another tour, and, of course, she will be sidetracked."
Ehlers will first air on August 5.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: DS0816,
However, I still think that there is tons that can be done with the Harley character (hexk a good chunk of the GL cast), yet, there is nobody there who is capable of executing worthwhile things.
Thnxs for posting the interviews DS0816. These are great reads and I love Beth & Ricky's friendship and I wish her the best on AMC and I wish the coupling of Jake & Taylor will match Gus & Harley.
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Posts: 2247 | Location: New York/California | Registered: September 30, 2006
Great info. I would have loved for "Liza" to return and I think Ehlers could've done a great job with that great charcater. However, "Taylor McBride" sounds interesting and I look forward to seeing her create this person.
Posts: 5009 | Location: Illinois | Registered: June 30, 2006
Beth Ehlers better be very careful not to trash GL. Right now I think she's walking a fine line. GL made her a star. For 20 years she's only been associated with a one show for which she received five Emmy nominations and other prestige.
GL is struggling. Everyone knows it. No need to kick it while it's down. All daytime shows are feeling the pinch.
Originally posted by bibbylicious: Beth Ehlers better be very careful not to trash GL. Right now I think she's walking a fine line. GL made her a star. For 20 years she's only been associated with a one show for which she received five Emmy nominations and other prestige.
GL is struggling. Everyone knows it. No need to kick it while it's down. All daytime shows are feeling the pinch.
No need for any worrying. Erika Slezak said far more about the state of One Life to Live last year, Spring 2007. And what happened, thereafter, was for the better. To say that Beth Ehlers oughta be careful—when she didn't trash Guiding Light—is inappropriate.
Originally posted by bibbylicious: Beth Ehlers better be very careful not to trash GL. Right now I think she's walking a fine line. GL made her a star. For 20 years she's only been associated with a one show for which she received five Emmy nominations and other prestige.
GL is struggling. Everyone knows it. No need to kick it while it's down. All daytime shows are feeling the pinch.
No need for any worrying. Erika Slezak said far more about the state of One Life to Live last year, Spring 2007. And what happened, thereafter, was for the better. To say that Beth Ehlers oughta be careful—when she didn't trash Guiding Light—is inappropriate.
Erika Slezak and Beth Ehlers aren't comparable in terms of their worth to their shows. Beth was not the star of GL, Kim Zimmer was and always will be. That's a more accurate comparison.
I don't think it's inappropriate to say Beth Ehlers should be careful not to trash GL. No one likes an ingrate. Things didn't work out. Fine. CBS lowballed her. Fine. Move on which is what she did. To trash the show (which she hasn't directly, but certainly walking a fine line) would be unprofessional. That's a fact. Success is not guaranteed at AMC. She should try and remember that.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: bibbylicious,
Originally posted by bibbylicious: Beth Ehlers better be very careful not to trash GL. Right now I think she's walking a fine line. GL made her a star. For 20 years she's only been associated with a one show for which she received five Emmy nominations and other prestige.
GL is struggling. Everyone knows it. No need to kick it while it's down. All daytime shows are feeling the pinch.
No need for any worrying. Erika Slezak said far more about the state of One Life to Live last year, Spring 2007. And what happened, thereafter, was for the better. To say that Beth Ehlers oughta be careful—when she didn't trash Guiding Light—is inappropriate.
Erika Slezak and Beth Ehlers aren't comparable in terms of their worth to their shows. Beth was not the star of GL, Kim Zimmer was and always will be. That's a more accurate comparison.
I don't think it's inappropriate to say Beth Ehlers should be careful not to trash GL. No one likes an ingrate. Things didn't work out. Fine. CBS lowballed her. Fine. Move on which is what she did. To trash the show (which she hasn't directly, but certainly walking a fine line) would be unprofessional. That's a fact. Success is not guaranteed at AMC. She should try and remember that.
Kim Zimmer left once before, in 1990, and Guiding Light got along without her. The 1991-1993 period was smashing. So I'd go ahead and put Erika Slezak in the same class as Susan Lucci in terms of tying star and soap together. As for Ehlers' lack of worth, I saw what the years between her 1993 departure and 1997 return looked like. Can't say that I agree with your attempt to devalue Ehlers's worth. But I won't devalue Zimmer's neither (it was Jill Farren Phelps, I believe, who was exec-producing at the time GL was not so eagerly going after Zimmer, after Santa Barbara folded in 1993, to return. It took, like, two years for GL to welcome her back).
I do not agree with your conclusion that Beth Ehlers trashed Guiding Light—nor would I say she was ungrateful. When she says, "Everybody spoke very seriously to one another about what I wanted and what they needed: Guiding Light was wonderful and CBS was wonderful" it doesn't sound like she's ripping them a you-know-what. Ehlers was being honest about some hurt on both sides—especially in her remarks about the intern, and not one of the soap's producers (for 20 years), giving her the call to clean out her dressing room.
Keep in mind, in this year of soaps seeing important casting departures (some firings, some leaving of their own accord), that Martha Byrne is another fine example. A year younger in age than Ehlers, Byrne put in similar amount of time at As the World Turns, and summed up her own experience—via an online interview with TV Guide Soaps columnist Michael Logan—about how her departure from ATWT had played out as well. Byrne was on the receiving end of some screws being put to her (as was her costar, Scott Bryce). For Ehlers to speak up means that she is willing to be assertive and explain, honestly, what was going on. So that's why I disagree with you, bibbylicious, about you essentially stating that she should shut up and put up.
Regaring the "move on," statement, it sounds like Ehlers has. But explaining why she was ready to leave GL is relevant. (The part, I admit, that I don't like is that Ehlers and leading man Ricky Paull Goldin seem to have, as the actress admits, "a strange relationship"—then again, theirs is not a first nor last.) I don't see anyone coming off as villain or saint. I wish her the best at All My Children.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: DS0816,
I don't understand the logic of hiring two people from the lowest rated show (which is on another network) to work on your show. Do AMC fans give two hoots about Goldin and Ehlers? The Angie/Jesse storyline worked because AMC viewed care about their characters. I would assume that AMC watchers would have more interest in seeing Julia Barr return.
Originally posted by Crystal: I don't understand the logic of hiring two people from the lowest rated show (which is on another network) to work on your show. Do AMC fans give two hoots about Goldin and Ehlers? The Angie/Jesse storyline worked because AMC viewed care about their characters. I would assume that AMC watchers would have more interest in seeing Julia Barr return.
Oh, I don't try to figure out too much about the daytime soaps these days. For one, Guiding Light shoots now in Peapack, N.J., and yet that, from what I've read and heard, hasn't successfully trimmed the soap's production budget (location shooting costs plenty).
I don't blame Ehlers for leaving, but I think the praise for Frons is a little undeserved, considering what AMC and OLTL have become under his tutelage.
Originally posted by Crystal: I don't understand the logic of hiring two people from the lowest rated show (which is on another network) to work on your show. Do AMC fans give two hoots about Goldin and Ehlers? The Angie/Jesse storyline worked because AMC viewed care about their characters. I would assume that AMC watchers would have more interest in seeing Julia Barr return.
Oh, I don't try to figure out too much about the daytime soaps these days. For one, Guiding Light shoots now in Peapack, N.J., and yet that, from what I've read and heard, hasn't successfully trimmed the soap's production budget (location shooting costs plenty).
well i can speak only for myself but i am very excited about Goldin being on AMC. he was to me always the best part of GL on the rare ocassion i did watch it.
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OLTL For The Emmy in 2009!
Posts: 16704 | Location: Rhode Island, USA | Registered: July 28, 2002
Ehlers never brought her contract or professional business to the press unlike her other GL co-stars. She was a team player who took her cuts and got on with it. Twenty years is a lifetime to give and she gave plenty. For me, she was the ONLY star of GL and always will be.
