Not many people can say they were present at the creation — but I was. Early in 1987, I was interviewing the late William J. Bell (co-creator and headwriter of “The Young and the Restless”) in his office at Studio City, Calif., when the phone rang. It was the powers-that-be at CBS calling with big news: They had just canceled the Washington, … [Read more...]
The Bold and the Beautiful: Maya/Myron is a Transgender Person
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman To commemorate The Bold and the Beautiful’s 28th anniversary last Wednesday, executive producer and headwriter Bradley P. Bell staged a daytime soap cliffhanger that is the shock of the soap century: revealing that Maya Avant (Karla Mosley) is really Myron, a transgender person. … [Read more...]
Six Passover Questions
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passlacqua Hayman 1. Isn’t it a shame that CBS Daytime (The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful) is going retro just for ratings? Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and NeIl (Kristoff St. John) running over pregnant Christine (Lauralee Bell) on Y&R? She sadly had a miscarriage. Running over a … [Read more...]
The Bold and the Beautiful: Inconsistencies and Smokin’ Seduction
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Storyline inconsistencies bother soap viewers who want their storylines to be thoroughly believable and linear (not to mention being true to a soap’s actual history). We’ve seen plenty of them in the unfinished (as of this writing) Fluke story on General Hospital. Now I’d like to … [Read more...]
The Bold and the Beautiful’s Most Excellent 7000th Episode Celebration
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman I remember it well. It was in early March 1987 and I was visiting the office of the late Bill Bell Senior, the stupendously successful executive producer/headwriter of the The Young and the Restless at CBS Television City in Hollywood. Mr. Bell (“call me Bill”) was gloating because the … [Read more...]
The Bold and the Beautiful: A Rare Magnificent Storyline
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman In decades, I’ve rarely raved about a single storyline. But the Rick-Maya-Caroline imbroglio that has played out over the last month or so has just been superb. It’s a can’t-miss-a-day tale of betrayal, ambition, narcissism and, above all, surprise. Eric Forrester decided he … [Read more...]
Heavenly November Sweeps Performances on The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful and General Hospital
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman It’s been quite an eventful November sweeps so far. Stories built over the course of a year or more usually reach their apexes if not their conclusions over sweeps months (February, May, November) and writers plot their most dramatic action to stretch over these months. This November’s … [Read more...]
Ivy and Caroline: Two Fascinating Women to Watch on The Bold and the Beautiful
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalcqua Hayman Before we begin, I’d like to thank the many of you who wrote in with good wishes for my continued good health. I’m feeling much better now and was greatly bolstered, not just by notes from so many readers but also by the shout-outs from long ago friends and former soap world colleagues. … [Read more...]
I’m Ba-a-ack – Not Quite from the Dead, but Almost!
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Sorry for the prolonged absence of late. I’ll spare you the gruesome details of a medical issue that finally kept the entire gastroenterology department of a major New York City hospital in high gear for one long day. I’m on the road to recovery now, thanks to a team of superb doctors, one … [Read more...]
The Young and the Restless: And They Call the Double Mariah
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Bringing back an actor who played a character now dead can be tricky. The options are to bring the character back from the dead or create a double, commonly in the person of a long lost twin. On The Young and the Restless, the dead character of Cassie, the daughter of Nick and … [Read more...]