IT'S GETTING HOT IN HERE!

Hey, everyone! It’s about seven in the morning on Wednesday and I couldn’t think of anything better to do than to bang out another BLOG entry (I know my life is lame, but don’t laugh at me). In particular, I wanted to talk about a rather good day I had at work this past Friday (May 6th) along with an adventure I’m going on this weekend. I know that this entry will shock most of you considering that I just posted an entry last week and you all are SO accustomed to reading them on a monthly basis, but I’m getting better you have to admit!

Last week was a somewhat heavy week for me. I had three days of shooting involving some interesting conversations with Lizzie, along with some crazy business decisions (no I won’t tell so don’t ask, LOL). Of all these days though, Friday was by far the best day for me as well as the scariest thus far…I had to Strip Down! Yes, the day has finally come when Henry Cooper Bradshaw reveals himself (not the Full Monty mind you). When I read the script for the first time I was like “alright, I can do this…oh no, what’s mom going to think?” I have yet to tell her; thankfully she doesn’t read these entries. Anyways, I spent the few days that I had before Friday’s shooting in the gym trying to tone up any problem areas so I didn’t look too scrawny on tape. I think it was actually more of a mental thing to make me feel better than anything else. I mean c’mon, how much improvement can be done in like three days, LOL!

So I got to the set that day and had my lines down with ease, but the butterflies were just not subsiding, in fact they were getting faster and multiplying like crazy. Everyone there at the studio that day was getting a kick out of watching me pace up and down the hallways, making little jokes here and there. OH, and to top it off, when I went down to the make-up room to get done up, they had to cover me in body tanning paint so I didn’t look so white…that’s a real morale booster. Obviously, New York had a long winter and I didn’t make enough trips down south or to the local tanning joint to put some color on myself. After that little set-back, it was time to head up to set and get the show on the road….now fast forward (can’t give too much away). Yadda yadda yadda -I’m in a suit- blah blah blah -I’m out of the suit - and scene! As soon as Crystal and I were done, we literally walked off set only to be met by Ellen Wheeler (our Executive Producer), Jan Conklin (producer) and Brian Mertez (the director of this episode) who just simply said, “Unbelievably Cute”.

I guess everything turned out better than we all expected. I mean, I have to say that at least on my behalf, the acting felt smooth, natural, and oh, so riddled with sensuality, LOL! Crystal has this sexiness about her that when she turns it on, can melt even the coldest heart. It’s unbelievable. It’s a shame that we don’t get to play that more often. Perhaps after this show airs, which will be the beginning of June sometime, viewers just might be calling on us to show a little bit more. Let me just say that having all three of them giving both Crystal and I these simple compliments made my day, and more importantly helped me believe that the story that we (Crystal and I) are telling really is working. I think that it is important for any Executive of any show to make it a point to mention that their performers are doing a good job, especially in daytime soaps where time is money and everyone just wants to get through the day. Most of the time this (feedback) doesn’t happen so sometimes actors leave the building thinking that the work they did was complete crap when, on the contrary, it was quite good and the film saw a different story. Ellen is a very good Executive and her coming out of the booth to spend five minutes with Crystal and me spoke volumes about her character as a person, not just the “boss,” I came in to work that day nervous and uncomfortable and left feeling great about the performance I gave. What an awesome feeling! Now let’s see if I can just figure out and duplicate what the hell I did.

Moving on to the adventure this weekend, a good friend of mine is graduating from college and unbeknownst to them, I will be in attendance at the ceremony. They asked me months ago, and I told them that I would be there, but as it got closer to the date, I realized that I might be able to have some fun with this….I know, it’s shrewd and manipulative and screwing with their emotions but that is the kind of fun friendship we have, LOL. I really do hope that they will not read this Blog entry until this weekend or at all, otherwise the joke will be on me, but if this all works out, then what a surprise it will be! Their mother knows that I am coming to town and will be the one to pick me up from the airport, so now I just have to figure out what (timing wise) will be the best way to surprise them. The friend is a female, so if you have any suggestions of things to do or bring that might be appropriate for a college graduation, please let me know.

One last thing before I go, Procter and Gamble Productions has started a new promotional campaign push for both ATWT and GL. This push involves steamy posters here in the NYC area of various favorites from the two shows, and theatrical trailers at selected movie theatres in the Detroit and St. Louis involving your favorite couples and duo’s. So be on the look out while you are traveling through or back to these areas. You never know when you’ll turn the corner and find us staring back at you.

“I have to say I think you are the sweetest and the most funniest. I got to meet you in Marco on the sunday cruise. I also need to say Thank you for the dance. Yes I am still on cloud 9 as Julie said. Our pics turn out so good. By the way My dad said it was the best birthday present ever,he really enjoyed himself. Thank you so much for the great time. Hope to see you next year!” -Heather

All the best to you all and keep the comments coming!

CINCO DE MAYO

Although the title of this particular entry is called “Cinco De Mayo” it will have nothing to do with the holiday other than it just being the actual date. It’s been about a month or so since my last post and I guess I waited so long because there wasn’t exactly a great deal to discuss until the past three weeks. So I decided to wait for all the excitement to pass and then include it all in one journal entry. You’ll not only read about this past weekend’s trip down to “Marco Island” in Florida, but also the Ricky Paull Goldin and Michael Park Cabaret show that was an absolute smash hit!

I’m not sure if many of you know, but Guiding Light has experienced a few losses in the recent weeks and months. One of those losses was Stephen Martines (Tony Santos) whose character was last seen falling from a cliff in an emotional struggle between Tony, Michelle and Danny. Stephen parted ways with Guiding Light to pursue other avenues of work in the entertainment industry and all of us at the “Light” wish him well, “BEST WISHES, STEPHEN”!

The other loss we experienced, which was a bit more surprising and emotional, was that of a Mr. Bill Runyon. In April of this year, Bill lost his battle with Lymphoma (Cancer). Now I never knew Bill personally due to the fact that he worked at the studio and left before I got there, but his effect on everyone at the “Light” was a lasting one. Bill was the Assistant to the Executive Producer. Bill was a young guy, only in his thirties, who had a promising career ahead but he also knew how to let loose. Following his passing, there was an assortment of pictures that were posted all over the studio and main office in his memory depicting him in various poses with many other GL employees, all having lots of laughs. Now, unfortunately for Mr. Runyon, while he was undergoing treatments, bills were accumulating which he was in no shape to handle or deal with physically or financially. Getting wind of this, Bill’s friends and family jumped into action to give aid in hopes of raising money to lighten this burden. The “Ricky Paull Goldin and Michael Park Cabaret” was thus born. This was an event for fans of both Guiding Light and As The World Turns to come to and enjoy, with half of the proceeds going to Bill and the other half going to The Ron Marsico Family Fund (a family friend of Michael Park’s). It was a great event with lots of laughs and good music and an incredible turnout of fans for both shows. There were guest appearances by Ron Raines (Alan Spaulding), Kim Zimmer (Reva Shayne-Lewis), Mandy Bruno (Marina Cooper), and of course Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan) who sang an interesting rendition of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” which unbeknownst to me had five verses….I always thought it just had three, LOL.

That night was a night of great music and camaraderie benefiting a gentleman who unfortunately would never know how it all went. Bill Runyon actually passed just before this event was to happen, which deeply saddened many people. But it was because of Bill that so many of us (those who knew him and those who didn’t) were able to get together and raise quite a bit of money which was then donated in Mr. Runyon’s name to the Lymphoma Cancer Research effort. Bill Runyon has passed on but because of him and the donations that were collected, soon a cure will be found to save others. Thank you, Bill from the bottoms of the hearts of “Guiding Lighters” everywhere!

I know that was a bit of a heavy opener for this entry, but I felt that if you were a fan of the show, then you would understand why it needed to be talked about.

Anyhoo, moving on to a more upbeat and exciting event that took place about three weeks ago, the “Men of Guiding Light and As The World Turns on the Discovery Channel!” Some of you may be familiar with the show “The Party Planner” hosted by David Tutera on The Discovery Channel. Well, Procter & Gamble Productions approached “The Party Planner” about helping put on or rather “plan” an event spotlighting the men of their shows. The location was the popular club CroBar on the west side of Manhattan, and the men of daytime not only were featured but we basically helped put the whole thing together…well, we may have had a little help, LOL! To check out the outrageous night, just watch “The Party Planner” with David Tutera on The Discovery Channel June 6^th. I promise that it will be a night of television/bloopers you’ll never forget.

This brings me to the most recent adventure that a few of us from the show were able to attend, “MARCO ISLAND”! About fifteen to twenty Daytime Stars made the trek down to the Gulf Coast Island of Marco for a weekend of boating, wave runners, dolphin watching, fine foods, fans, and lots of Beach Time! I was fortunate enough to only work on Tuesday of last week, allowing me to fly down Wednesday and stay until Monday of this week. Let me just say that I took advantage of sleeping in and laying on the beach and putting some color on this white behind of mine...not really but a good visual non-the-less. On Thursday morning, Frank Dicopoulos (Frank) played a pretty good trick on Michael O’ Leary (Rick) and I during a radio interview. Michael and I were at one of the local radio stations doing some PR for the weekend, trying to get some last minute fans out to see us and partake in the good times, when a not so innocent Frank, who had disguised himself as a very uneducated fan, called in. As you can probably guess, the conversation quickly went downhill from there. To sum things up, Frank or “Jon” as his character referred to himself, basically said that Michael was older and had put on weight and had killed almost every patient that came into his hospital except for maybe one. He then turned the conversation on me constantly calling me “Croop” and saying that I was young and handsome and had a “PURDY MOUTH”….what the $%&# was this guy talking about! Ultimately we figured out who it was when Frank’s daughter, Olivia, got on the phone to say hello and that’s when everyone in the radio station lost it…yeah, very funny guys, ALRIGHT the gag’s on us! It was a pretty priceless moment, I have to admit now, good job Frank.

Another moment that really stands out in my mind was when Michael O’ Leary, George Alverez (Ray), and their families, along with myself, went out dolphin-watching for the day and ended up on this secluded beach we seemed to have all to ourselves. The Fifty-eight foot yacht pulled up to this private dock with us on board, where we were then instructed to change into our suits and disembark and “follow the sandy path to the other side of the strip of land which will come out onto this beach which, well, you’ll see….”

So we followed the path which had coconut trees growing over it just like sabers at a wedding, and at the far end of the path we could see an opening which seemed beautiful. As we got to the opening, the most beautiful beach setting welcomed us. White sand as far as we could see both left and right, ith the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico in front of us. I think the older people were just as happy to see this site as the kids in the group. We all dropped our towels and shirts and shoes and took off for the water, it was like a minor doseof heaven. By the end of the tour, it was unanimous; we were all going to buy some land and beach!

For all you daredevils and lawbreakers, there was some fun, too. Once the rest of the group who couldn’t come down until Friday night arrived, there was no stopping us. You must understand first -- that midnight to us New Yorkers is like nine in the evening down there, it is an older community with a few fun spots. So with this in mind, by midnight we were all still raring to go. Doug Hutchison (Sebastian), Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan), Gina Tognoni (Dinah), Stephanie Gatschet (Tammy), Sarah Brown (Carly GH and Julia from ATWT), and myself decided to go swimming in the Resorts pool and hot tub after about an hour of “catch-up partying.” We must have been down there for at least an hour and a half, and were so loud. We had to have woken a few people up, but we really didn’t care, we were just happy to be down there. From the pool, most of us went for a walk on the beach and just laughed and joked around with each other, blowing off steam from work. By the way, just a side note for all you Sarah Brown fans: be on the lookout for her big screen break out role in the Martin Lawrence comedy “Big Mama’s House 2” set to come out next year, I believe.

Anyways, the last real crazy event we had was a guest bartending charity event at one of the local hot bars called “Blue Fusion”. Now I have to say that I suck at anything having to do with alcohol whether it’s drinking it, getting it, buying it, and most especially making alcoholic drinks. But I did my best and pulled through. Actually I just wore a really revealing shirt and hoped no one said anything about the crappy drinks I was making, LOL! It was so much fun and yes, once again Tom got up and sang his thirty-two minute rendition of “friends in low places” by Garth Brooks…thank goodness all those in attendance were already pretty drunk. It was a wild night for all of us.

When Monday came, I was so tired from this vacation that I am still recovering and most likely will be for a few more days. Before I exit though, I have to say thank you to a few special individuals that gave me some really special gifts while I was down there; Donna Baker for giving me such an extensive picture book of my GL career thus far from events such as our Fan Club weekend back in October of 2004 to the Virginia Calendar signing in January of 2005 to this past weekend in Marco Island. Donna, thanks greatly. Rick McComb, thank you so much for the Edgar Rice Burroughs book of “Tarzan” and the box of Milk Duds, my favorite candy in the world (yes, ya’ll he read the interview, LOL). To my Mondo Milk Dud Girls who brought me five boxes of the beautiful chocolates, they are going to last for a few days as long as my roomies don’t find them. Pat Berry, who put the whole Marco Island weekend on, thanks for having me this year and I’d love to come back next year too! And Frank Dicopoulos for being the older brother that I never really wanted but I now have to deal with even on MY VACATIONS!!!!! I love ya, lol.