(SOAP Q) Happy 41st Anniversary to Ryan's Hope and GH's Delia Reid Ryan Ryan (Crane) Coleridge!

Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, originally airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989. It revolved around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in the Riverside district of New York City. Notice Kate (ST-Voyager and ONTB) Mulgrew as Mary and Michael Hawkins (Father of Christian and Helen Slater) and Helen (Broadway legend) Gallagher in the original cast.

(OUTscene AMERICA) Remembering Our 2014 Hunk of the Year, Dirk Shafer!

RIP, 3-5-15

Dirk Shafer, a Playgirl 'Man of the Year' in 1992 who later came out of the closet and wrote, directed, and produced the mockumentary Man of the Year which looked back at his experience, has died, according to Richard Ayoub at Rumorfix:

The actor/model, who gained famed as 1992′s Playgirl’s Man of the Year, was found dead in a vehicle a few blocks from his home Thursday. An autopsy is pending, but it’s believed he may have had a heart attack.

Law enforcement officials confirmed Shafer's death.

Shafer has been working as a fitness and pilates trainer since 2008. He returned to Playgirl for a 20th anniversary photo spread in 2012. He was 52.

(SOAP Q) Honoring OLTL's 46th Anniversary by Highlighting 10 Great Moments of 'LIFE', according to our readers!

Today marks the 46th Anniversary of OLTL. It may have been off for 14 Months but continued on GH until its Online Debut. Even though it did not last online, it just won 2 more Emmys.

From Dec 15,  2011 to Jan 13, 2012 , SOAP Q counted down 30 Classic moments of One LIFE to LIVE History. According to our Page views, Here are the Top 10 Moments our readers loved revisiting!

(TRIBUTE) Cory Monteith Dead At 31: His Best Glee Performances!

Via Homorazzi 

The 31-year-old actor was found dead on Saturday at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in downtown Vancouver. Monteith checked in to the hotel on July 6, but missed his noon checkout time on Saturday. Staff discovered his body in his room on the 21st floor later in the day. No foul play is suspected, and no cause of death has been given. An autopsy on Monteith’s body is scheduled for Monday. It’s well documented that Cory had struggled with drug use. At the age of 19 he did a stint in rehab and just this past spring was back at a treatment facility.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic news. Cory was an exceptional talent and an even more exceptional person. He was a true joy to work with and we will all miss him tremendously. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.” – Glee producers, FOX & 20th Century Fox

(OUTscene AMERICA) A tribute to Hal David!

 

Hal David, the lyricist who along with Burt Bacharach took the pop world by storm in the 1960s with hits such as Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head, Walk on By, Close to You, Do You Know the Way to San Jose and The Look of Love, died in Los Angeles on Saturday at age 91.

Earlier this year, David and Bacharach received the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress, during a White House musical tribute and some of the performances from that evening by Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall and Lyle Lovett are featured here.

Then, of course, there are The Carpenters, BJ Thomas and the Bacharach-David muse, Dionne Warwick.

(TRIBUTE) Remembering American Bandstand!

LOVED: Even when Andy was offensive!

If Andy Rooney is in the "great beyond," he's probably picking a few bones about "all that harp-playing" and "the long line at the Pearly Gates," Frazier Moore muses in the AP. And why not?

It was Rooney's unmistakable style during a 92-year-life and exceptional career: to "shrewdly observe the world" and "give voice to the everyday vexations and conundrums that afflict us all"—even if he did take unfair potshots or get a little mean at times. Every Sunday on "60 Minutes," the syndicated columnist and author of 16 books griped about everyday nuisances—like oversized packages, the agonies of air travel, or the fact that "computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done." When he offended Gays or dismissed modern art or called Curt Cobain's 1994 suicide a selfish act, we forgave him, because the "beetle-browed and rumpled" curmudgeon was more than a talking head. He was America's "lovably cantankerous commentator."

ICON: Andy Rooney Dead at 92!

(AP) – Andy Rooney, the curmudgeonly commentator who spent more than 30 years wryly talking about the oddities of life for 60 Minutes, died last night at age 92. Just a month ago, Rooney delivered his last regular essay on the CBS newsmagazine. The network said he died in New York from complications from a recent surgery. Rooney began his 60 Minutes commentaries in 1978 (see his first one in the gallery at left) and was still at it three decades later. (CBS has a best-of-collection on its site.) 

LANDMARK: Home of Frank Kameny Now Listed in National Historic Register

The home of pioneering LGBT rights activist Frank Kameny, which in February 2009 was declared a District of Columbia Historic Landmark, has now been listed in the National Register of Historic Places, according to an announcement from the National Park Service:

In 1961 Kameny co-founded the Mattachine Society of Washington, an organization committed, through activism to achieving equal social and legal rights for homosexuals. Through lobbying of government officials, testifying before congressional committees, bringing court challenges, and picketing the White House, Kameny and his allies pressured the U.S. Civil Service Commission to eventually abandon its policy of denying homosexuals federal employment. Kameny led efforts to remove homosexuality as a basis for denying government security clearances. He was also involved in the first legal challenge to the U.S. military’s policy of discharging gay and lesbian service members, including the much-publicized case of gay Air Force Sergeant Leonard Matlovich. Kameny played a leading role in attacking the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) definition of homosexuality as a mental illness. In 1973, the APA voted to remove homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders. In 1998, President Clinton signed an Executive Order banning discrimination in federal employment based upon sexual orientation.

The WHIZ: How Edison Differed From Steve Jobs?

The death of Steve Jobs brought no end of Thomas Edison comparisons, but given that Randall Stross has written books on both men, he's probably in a better position than most to weigh in. The two inventors had much in common—less formal schooling than their peers, incredible vision, nasty tempers—but they differed in key ways, Stross writes in the New York Times.

One of them: Edison seemed to get caught up in the myth of himself as "wizard" later in life and felt the need to weigh in on all kinds of subjects ("rice-eating nations never progress") he probably should have left alone. Jobs, on the other hand, stayed grounded and focused on what he knew, the better to take full advantage of a life he knew would be cut short. The tributes to both men after their deaths "were similar, but only superficially," writes Stross. "With Edison, the public thought of the Wizard, an outsize persona, through which it was impossible to see an actual person. But with Mr. Jobs, the tributes were to a fellow mortal, exactly our own height, just as vulnerable as we all are to the random strike of a life-ending catastrophe." Read the full piece here.

LAST WORD: Andy Rooney Signs Off With One Last Complaint!

Andy Rooney delivered his 1,097th and final 60 Minutes essay last night, ending a 33-year relationship with the TV newsmagazine. "Not many people in this world have been as lucky as I've been," he said. "I've done a lot of complaining here, but of all the things I've complained about, I can't complain about my life." In his farewell piece, he noted that "I probably haven't said anything here that you didn't already know or have already thought. 

That's what a writer does. A writer's job is to tell the truth." And, true to nature, he closed with one last curmudgeonly complaint: "I spent my first 50 years trying to become well known as a writer, and the next 30 trying to avoid being famous. I walk down the street now or go to a football game and people shout, 'Hey, Andy!' And I hate that." And though he offered up a sweet sentiment—"It's hard to accept being liked. I don't say this often, but thank you"—his parting words were 100% Andy Rooney: Should you see the 92-year-old at a restaurant, "please, just let me eat my dinner."

SOAP Q: (Highlight of the Week) ONE LIFE Celebrates 40 Years of Erika Slezak

ONE LIFE TO LIVE celebrated Erika Slezak's 40th anniversary on the show with a special episode on Wednesday.

On a recent episode of WE LOVE SOAPS TV, Erika Slezak spoke about why she thinks Viki has lasted for 40 years and is still loved and adored today saying, "Viki is a wonderful creation of Agnes Nixon, and Aggie gave her all of that to begin with. She gave her heart and soul. She made a very flawed person whose always trying to be better. She's not judgmental. She's so aware of her own faults and problems. She's so forgiving and patient and kind. I mean she's practically not human [laughs].

In This clip, Viki is locked up by her slutty alter, Niki, but when Viki gets her icy and cold alter, Jean to take over, Niki is also locked up. (There are 3 Slezaks on the screen at once).

This soap is so juicy they don't set they will never this much History again. Let's Hope we see Viki/Niki/Jean for many years to come.

Soap Q: Classic GH Elizabeth Taylor Bloopers!

The very best tribute to Liz’s stint as Helena, in my opinion, comes from the fan who posted this series of outtakes and bloopers on YouTube, in which the Oscar winner repeatedly flubs her lines, curses and jokes, “I’m not used to acting.”

It’s a marvelous time capsule, not only for the groovy disco synthesizer music that plays in the background, but because of how overjoyed every single person on and off-camera is to be there. A young Tony Geary proclaims, “It’s Elizabeth Taylor!” Tristan Rogers is equally thrilled, as is the laughing and applauding crew. Everyone is having a blast, aware that they are creating something special that the whole country will be watching. II’d like to think that Taylor remembered GH as fondly as she did any of her iconic films.

Elizabeth Taylor Fashionably Late to Own Funeral!

Elizabeth Taylor was laid to rest in a Los Angeles cemetery yesterday following a small private ceremony attended by around 40 friends and family. In keeping with instructions left by the screen legend, the service began 15 minutes after the announced start time, AP reports. "She even wanted to be late for her own funeral," her publicist says.

Taylor was laid to rest near her good friend Michael Jackson in Forest Lawn cemetery, the final resting place of stars including John Wayne and James Stewart. At the service, Colin Farrell recited the poem "The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo" by Gerard Manley Hopkins and family members read other selected works, Variety reports. Protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church—which had threatened to picket Taylor's funeral—were nowhere to be seen. THANK GOD!

Shrine and Cocktail Honor Elizabeth Taylor at The Abbey!

Elizabeth Taylor was a frequent visitor to West Hollywood gay bar The Abbey in recent years, and the bar has set up a shrine in her name, and is planning a special this weekend, TMZ reports:

"We're told the bar's offering a special drink in Liz's memory this weekend ... and they're donating ALL the proceeds to Elizabeth's AIDS foundation. It's called the 'Blue Velvet Martini' -- which they picked in honor of her role in the 1944 hit 'National Velvet' -- and if you wanna try out their recipe ... it's made with Blue Angel vodka and blueberry schnapps. Sources at the bar tell TMZ, regulars have been adding to the shrine non-stop since Elizabeth passed -- sending flowers and gifts since yesterday morning!

The tributes pour in for Elizabeth Taylor from Debbie Reynolds, Whoopi, Elton John, Madonna & more

Debbie Reynolds famously lost her former husband Eddie Fisher in the late 50s causing a huge scandal. But the two women reconciled long ago and even made a film together in 2001 called Those Old Broads. Reynolds spoke to Taylor on the phone two weeks ago and told Access Hollywood: “I said, ‘Well, you just hang in there now, Elizabeth.’ And she said, ‘I’m really trying.”

"God bless her, she’s on to a better place,” Reynolds says. “I’m happy that she’s out of her pain because she was in a lot of pain.”

As for her legacy, Reynolds reflected on Taylor’s “long productive career,” in a statement earlier Wednesday. “She was the most glamorous and sexual star of our generation. No one else could equal Elizabeth’s beauty and sexuality. Women liked her and men adored her, and her love for her children is enduring. She was a symbol of stardom. Her legacy will last.”

Reynolds daughter Carrie Fisher said in a statement: ““A woman who rarely did things in half measure. Elizabeth lived her life to the fullest, whether by loving to the fullest or while also giving us some of the most memorable performances ever on film. A devoted mother many times over and even very briefly a step mother to my brother Todd and myself, loyal to the lifelong friends surrounding her- even with all this she found time to become one of the earliest champions for those living with HIV. If my father had to divorce my mother for anyone, I’m so grateful that it was Elizabeth. This was a remarkable woman who led her life to the fullest rather than complacently following one around.”

SOAP Q: The Sybil of Daytime celebrates 40 Years this week!

By Mike Webber
Soap Q

This week marks the 40th Anniversary of Erika Slezak (Daughter of screen Legend, Walter) the Grand Dame of 'One Life to Life", currently Erika is the 2nd Longest actress playing on the same show, with Susan Lucci as the Longest by about 14 months.

The Best stories was when Viki had 7 Personalities and was known as the Sybil of Daytime. Plus Many Emmys!

When I spoke with Former Lifer, Roscoe Born in 1989, on a set of a TV movie. Born said Slezak was the wild one of the bunch and that the Andrea Evans, who played Viki's wild sister, Tina was the 'Demure" one. In 1994, I met Slezak's sister, Ingrid, and got the scoop about the story that Erika was excited about and that was Viki didn't have just one other personality but 7! Please enjoy this montage that was done 10 years ago for Slezak's 30th.