Earlier this year I had the distinct pleasure of scoring one of the first interviews with actress Jessica Leccia who over the better part of a year has so beautifully played one half of the Guiding Light super couple affectionately referred to as Otalia. Jessica (as Natalia Rivera) along side veteran soap Goddess Crystal Chappell (as Olivia Spencer) has given a voice to so many who have for far too long been without. The love story of Olivia and Natalia has transformed the canvas of television in an unassuming way by redefining what it means to be a family on television. They did it with grace and style and a true love for one another. This wasn’t a ratings stunt. It was, is and always will be a beautiful love story.
Revisit the interview and enjoy the fun, kind hearted, ever grateful spirit of Jessica Leccia.
http://eclipsemagazine.com/EM%20Exclusives/8457/ (Full Interview)
Tags:
Crystal Chappell,
Guiding Light,
Jessica Leccia,
Otalia
If you’re a fan of daytime television and have been following Guiding Light’s break through storyline over the past year between Olivia Spencer (Crystal Chappell) and Natalia Rivera (Jessica Leccia) affectionately know as Otalia, then you most definitely know about the fan forum Big Purple Dreams. BPD was created by a group of soap fans wanting a place of their own to gush over the burgeoning epic love story they were witnessing over at Guiding Light. Though Guiding Light is winding down and about to take its final bow, BPD is running strong and has no intentions of fading quietly once the show goes off the air. It’s become more than a fan forum, it’s a community of people who love and respect not only the story of Olivia and Natalia but also one another and have come together as a family.
Revisit the interview with the girls of Big Purple Dreams and see just how far this community of loving, passionate, die hard fans has come over the past year.
http://eclipsemagazine.com/hollywood-insider/8638/ (Full Interview)
Tags:
Big Purple Dreams,
BPD,
Crystal Chappell,
Guiding Light,
Jessica Leccia,
Otalia
Today kicks off the final week of Guiding Light. Not unlike many of you, my own family, crossing four generations, has watched GL longer than I have been alive. So as a final tribute I am linking to a couple of the interviews I was lucky enough to do this year from Guiding Light.
Today is the interview with Orlagh Cassidy. Her portrayal of Mayor Doris Wolfe and her characters journey of coming out to her daughter Ashley in the final days of the storyline has been some of Orlagh’s best work on Guiding Light. I hope you’ll take the time to read the interview, leave a comment and please let Orlagh know what her time on GL has meant to you by visiting her on Twitter. http://twitter.com/orlaghcassidy
http://eclipsemagazine.com/EM%20Exclusives/9574/ (full interview)
Tags:
Guiding Light,
Orlagh Cassidy,
Soaps,
Television
Today in Peapack New Jersey marks the final shoot day for the cast and crew of Guiding Light. After 72 years of broadcast this American icon will close its doors. I still feel shell shocked that CBS actually canceled the longest running soap in history that has been such a big piece of the culture in the lives of generations of American families. In this day and age it is near impossible to find a show that you can honestly say you’ve watched since you were a kid with your family. I myself grew up watching soaps and Guiding Light was one of the big ones. If I was home sick from school I’d spend the day with my grandmother and little Italian immigrant great grandmother who would often yell at the TV in broken English whenever Reva Shayne would fly off into one of her crazy antics.
Over the years Guiding Light has come to mean so many different things to so many different people. It’s a multi-generational American experience. So today they shoot their final scenes and bring a conclusion to a 72 year tradition. I hope you will watch the show today and everyday through September when they air the final show keeping the cast and crew in your thoughts. If you see someone from the show stop them and tell them thanks, if you’re on Twitter send out a tweet to your favorite cast members or camera guy and let them know you’re thinking of them today or an email letting them know just how much they and Guiding Light as a whole has meant to you over the years.
According to his Twitter page, Frank Dicopoulos (Frank Cooper) has the final scene of the day along with co-stars Tina Sloan (Lillian Raines) and Jordan Clarke (Billy Lewis). I wish them all luck on their final shoot and a thank you for the many years of entertainment!
If you’re on Twitter, the following people from the show are out there:
@Beth_Chamberlin @eakcik @FrankDicopoulos @Michael_OLeary @BradleyCole1 @paulanthonystew @CrystalChappell @TinaSloan @EVILMOMENTS (Keith the camera man)
Tags:
Beth Chamberlin,
CBS,
Crystal Chappell,
Guiding Light,
Michael_OLeary,
Tina Sloan,
Twitter
As a fan, what could possibly give your give your favorite actress for her birthday that she has never had before? If you are Guiding Light’s Crystal Chappell you get to become the #8 Trending Topic on Twitter.
Today is Ms. Chappell’s birthday so as a present to her, her loving, loyal and wildly enthusiastic fans spent the day adding #CrystalChappell to their tweets to ensure the Goddess herself would make the cut on her very special day.
Not a bad way to spend a birthday. Happy Birthday Crystal!
You can follow Crystal @CrystalChappell and her new web series Venice @VeniceTheSeries on twitter.
Tags:
Crystal Chappell,
Guiding Light,
Television News,
Twitter
Technology can be a wonderful tool. It allows you to listen to music from your iPhone on the way to work, download new songs while enjoying a latte at your favorite coffee shop and receive instant tweets from damn near everyone in the known universe. This is no exaggeration, even Elizabeth Taylor (Yes, Dame Elizabeth) has a Twitter account and she uses it! We’re living in an age where you can chat with your best friend in Wales over Skype then switch over and check your Twitter account to see Dame Elizabeth’s latest tweet and then post to your blog about the conversation you had with your best friend about Elizabeth Taylor’s tweet’s, all from your slick new iPhone. Yes, I have a mild addiction to my iPhone…so sue me!
In all seriousness, it is amazing the ability we have today to reach out and touch the people in our lives in an instant. I’ve finally jumped on the Twitter bandwagon to keep in touch with our readers here at Eclipsemagazine.com and fellow writers who enjoy singing snippets from the soundtrack to Glee repeatedly (yes, I’m talking to you DuckyDoesTV) and mytakeontv). I’ve had “…the smell of wine and cheap perfume” in my head for a week now!
But I digress. So I was on Twitter yesterday setting up my account and searching around for people I wanted to follow when I came across a flurry of activity surrounding our friends over at Guiding Light. It turns out that one Ms. Crystal Chappell (Olivia Spencer) has also jumped on the Twitter train and has taken to it like a duck to water. Yesterday during what appeared to be a long shoot day on the set of Guiding Light, Crystal Chappell did want all soap fans could only dream of…she tweeted LIVE from the set. This wasn’t a media event with journalists doing a set tour. This was an actress connecting with her fans. And trust me; Crystal Chappell has fans…lots and lots of devoted fans. As of this morning her Twitter account was up to 1961 followers and I’ve been told she only started her page 4 days ago so yeah, the girls got fans.
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Tags:
Crystal Chappell,
Guiding Light,
Twitter
The name Orlagh Cassidy is a hard one to forget. You may recognize the name because of its unique Gaelic beauty but you’re not quite sure where you recognize it from. Well if you are a fan of Guiding Light you will recognize the name Doris Wolfe, Springfield’s feisty and oh so politically driven Mayor. The character of Doris Wolfe is played by the beautiful and enormously talented Orlagh Cassidy. Orlagh came onto the scene in 1998 as Doris Wolfe, the hard hitting District Attorney in Springfield. She eventually worked her way up the ladder not just politically but socially when she married tycoon and town Wackadoodle, Alan Spaulding. Now as Mayor of Springfield, Doris is responsible for stirring up the pot and unleashing the firestorm, the phenomenon, the love story that is Otalia. It’s because of Doris’ political drive and ambition that the “My Two Mommies” presentation of one Emma Spencer was broadcast across the Springfield airways setting the stage for the domino effect of events that have taken place over the few months. Doris unwittingly pulled the wool out from under Olivia and Natalia and forced them to take a long hard look at their relationship, redefining who they are as friends, a couple…a family.
Doris Wolfe is the character you love to hate. The woman walks around with bodyguards, drops bombs on an unsuspecting, painfully clueless police chief (“Man up Frank…Your ex-fiancé has the hots for Olivia”) and is a closeted lesbian wearin’ a hat at ladies night! Some may say bitch…I say kindred spirit. This woman is a rock star!
I recently had the pleasure to chat briefly with the one and only Orlagh Cassidy. She was kind enough to take some time out of her very busy schedule to answer a few questions about her character Doris Wolfe and Doris’ role in the Otalia storyline. Orlagh also indulged me a little with a few silly random questions just to let us take a peek into her personality outside of Doris and Guiding Light. Thank you Orlagh!
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Tags:
CBS,
Guiding Light,
Orlagh Cassidy,
Otalia
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