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Guiding Light |
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Main article |
Guiding Light (GL) is an American soap opera from 2000-2009. It was the longest-running American soap opera.
Claire Labine took over as head writer in 2000, but her stories focused on character development and reportedly clashed with Rauchs's plot-heavy style.[ citation needed] Labine's team lasted a year, and she was briefly replaced by Lloyd Gold. Millee Taggart took over as the writer, and her tenure received critical acclaim for breaking away from the organized crime and royalty themes that had dominated Guiding Light in recent years.
In early 2003, veteran producer John Conboy and Ellen Weston took charge of the show. Weston who had acted on Guiding Light, and had several prime-time movie writing credits, but had never been a head writer for a soap opera. Conboy's first move was to demote several veteran performers, including Maureen Garrett, Beth Chamberlin and Elizabeth Keifer, to recurring status. However, Conboy and Weston were fired after only a year.
Ellen Wheeler, known for her work on Another World and All My Children became executive producer in the spring of 2004. Her regime addressed unresolved plotlines, and she and writer David Kreizman initially received praise from viewers and critics. In 2005, the show won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Daytime Serial, being the only one nominated. But the show's ratings continued to stagnate and in early 2005, it was revealed that Procter & Gamble had ordered Guiding Light to take a large budget cut. The actors themselves would also see a reduction in salary, and long-time stars Michael O'Leary, Jerry verDorn, and Marj Dusay were taken off contract. As a result of being dropped to recurring, Jerry verDorn, the longest running actor and character (Ross Marler) on the show, quit and joined ABC's One Life to Live.
Nancy St. Alban, Doug Hutchinson, Paul Anthony Stewart and David Andrew MacDonald were fired as a result of the budget cuts. Stephen Martines asked for and was granted a release from his contract. Daniel Cosgrove, who played Bill Lewis since 2002 opted not to renew his contract and also left the show, but would return again in 2007 with a new three-year contract. The show moved to the old As the World Turns studios on the West Side of Manhattan.
On November 14, 2005, Guiding Light introduced a new opening sequence, the first few scenes were presented in widescreen and then followed by a new opening theme song with new video clips, a new logo, and a new musical tune. Episodes became downloadable at CBS.com as a podcast a few hours after their broadcast. Around this time, Guiding Light's sets also changed considerably. Longtime sets such as Company, Josh and Reva Lewis's House, and Cedars Hospital received makeovers, and the Beacon Hotel lobby set were scrapped. The show added a new "Main Street" set which features an outdoor coffee bar (CO2 or Company 2) and a new theater. Guiding Light also made over the Cross Creek cabin set and moved the cabin to Springfield for Josh and Reva.
In March 2006, the producers attempted to get Michael O'Leary, Beth Chamberlin, and Elizabeth Keifer to return to contract status. All three turned the offer down, after they were only guaranteed one appearance each week. In June 2006, following his Emmy win, Jordan Clarke was upgraded to contract status. Around this same time, O'Leary ended up changing his mind and signed his own new contract with the show.
In 2007, the show celebrated its 70th anniversary with two special episodes. The first episode aired on January 25 and the second appeared on February 14, depicting the actors' trip to Biloxi, Mississippi to aid in rebuilding three homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The theme for the 70th anniversary, "Find Your Light", attempted to return the show to its roots of giving back to the community.
Starting in January 2008, Guiding Light moved from the traditional multi-camera style of filming to hand-held digital cameras. All of the show's traditional sets were scuttled and new four-wall sets were erected in their place, as well as two new permanent outdoor filming locations in New Jersey. Executive producer Ellen Wheeler was quoted in the New York Post as saying that the show didn't feel real, and that the show's new production style would have a completely different and more realistic look. [1]
On an August 29, 2008 episode of Guiding Light, actors Adam West and Burt Ward (two Batman castmates) made their special guest appearances.
On April 1, 2009, CBS announced that Guiding Light would end after 57 years on television. The final episode on the network aired on September 18, 2009.
A large segment of the show revolved around San Cristobel, Richard and Reva discovering they have a son named Johnathan who had been hidden away to protect him from evil Edmund. Johnathan was being raised by Richard's ex-lover, Olivia's sister, and her husband. Cassie marries Richard and Richard's evil brother Edmund plots to keep them apart. Richard abdicates his throne after discovering that he is illegitimate.
Democratic elections held a few weeks later to decide San Cristobel's political fate are halted in a coup by Edmund, who has himself crowned prince and ruler. After his coronation, he marries Springfielder Beth Raines. Edmund is later deposed by Richard using an army of mercenaries paid for by Beth's ex-husband, Phillip Spaulding. Edmund escapes the island to avoid a trial and the island becomes a democracy with Richard as the elected president. Another election is held less than a year later after a heretofore unknown Winslow son, Prince William aka Alonzo Baptiste, is discovered. This time the people vote to have the monarchy restored under Alonzo, who quickly divorces and exiles his scheming wife Camille Baptiste (who would later perish in a car accident in Europe) and allows Richard and Cassie to keep their adopted son Will.
The second plot line focuses on the Santoses and the Mob, specifically Michelle Bauer's mobster husband Danny Santos, his sister Pilar, and cousin Tony, and his sociopathic mother, Carmen. Much of Danny and Michelle's story involves fighting against the evil Carmen, until Carmen is injured during a fight with Michelle in 2002. She goes into a coma and is later transferred to a Switzerland clinic, dying at some point before the show ended.
Actor | Character | Status |
---|---|---|
Grant Aleksander | Phillip Spaulding (#2) | 1982β1984, 1986β1991, 1996β2004, 2005, 2009 |
Murray Bartlett | Cyrus Foley | 2007β2009 |
Laura Bell Bundy | Marah Lewis | 1999β2001 |
Robert Bogue | Anthony "Mallet" Camalletti (#2) | 2005β2009 |
E.J. Bonilla | Rafael "Rafe" Rivera | 2007β2009 |
Beth Ann Bonner | Natasha | 2009 |
Jeff Branson | Joshua "Shayne" Lewis (#7) | 2008β2009 |
Lisa Brown | Nola Reardon Chamberlain | 1980β1985, 1995β1998, 2009 |
Mandy Bruno | Marina Cooper (#6) | 2004β2009 |
Crystal Chappell | Olivia Spencer | 1999β2009 |
Jordan Clarke | Harlan Billy "Billy" Lewis II (#1) | 1983β1987, 1989β1993, 1996, 1996β1998, 1999β2009 |
Bradley Cole [2] | Richard Winslow | 1999β2002 |
Jeffrey O'Neill | 2003β2009 | |
Zack Conroy | James Spaulding (#3) | 2009 |
Daniel Cosgrove | Harlan Billy "Bill" Lewis III (#4) | 2002β2005, 2007β2009 |
Justin Deas | Frank "Buzz" Cooper Sr. | 1993β2009 |
Bonnie Dennison | Susan "Daisy" Lemay (#3) | 2007β2009 |
Frank Dicopoulos | Frank Cooper Jr. | 1987β2009 |
Morgan Englund | Dylan Lewis (#1) | 1989β1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2009 |
Maureen Garrett | Holly Norris (#2) | 1976β1980, 1988β2003, 2003β2006, 2009 |
Jay Hammer | Fletcher Reade | 1984β1998, 1999, 2009 |
Melissa Hayden | Bridget Reardon Lewis | 1991β1997, 2009 |
Teresa Hill | Eden August | 2002β2003 |
Jessica Leccia | Natalia Rivera | 2007β2009 |
David Andrew MacDonald | Edmund Winslow | 1999β2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 |
Amelia Marshall | Gilly Grant | 1989β1996, 2006, 2009 |
Karla Mosley | Christina Moore Boudreau | 2008β2009 |
Robert Newman | Joshua "Josh" Lewis | 1981β1984, 1986β1991, 1993β2009 |
Michael O'Leary | Frederick "Rick" Bauer (#5) | 1983β1986, 1987β1991, 1995β2009 |
Tom Pelphrey | Jonathan Randall | 2004β2007, 2008, 2009 |
Ron Raines | Alan Spaulding (#3) | 1994β2009 |
Jennifer Roszell | Eleni Andros Cooper (#2) | 1995β1999, 2001β2002, 2006, 2008β2009 |
Marcy Rylan | Elizabeth "Lizzie" Spaulding Lewis (#6) | 2006β2009 |
Lawrence Saint-Victor | Remy Boudreau (#3) | 2006β2009 |
Peter Simon | Dr. William "Ed" Bauer Jr. (#4) | 1981β1984, 1986β1996, 2002β2004, 2009 |
Nancy St. Alban | Michelle Bauer Santos (#5) | 2000β2005, 2009 |
Paul Anthony Stewart | Danny Santos | 1998β2005, 2009 |
Krista Tesreau | Mindy Lewis (#1) | 1983β1989, 2002, 2004, 2009 |
Gina Tognoni | Dinah Marler (#4) | 2004β2009 |
Caitlin Van Zandt | Ashlee Wolfe | 2006β2009 |
Kim Zimmer | Reva Shayne O'Neill | 1983β1990, 1995β2009 |
Actor | Character | Duration |
---|---|---|
George Alvarez | Ray Santos | 1999β2007, 2008β2009 |
Kim Brockington | Dr. Felicia Boudreau | 2002β2004, 2006, 2008β2009 |
Orlagh Cassidy | Doris Wolfe | 1999β2002, 2004β2009 |
Beth Chamberlin | Elizabeth "Beth" Raines | 1989β1991, 1993β1994, 1996β2009 |
Tyra Colar | Leah Bauer | 2008β2009 |
Carey Cromelin | Wanda Hyatt | 1987β1991, 2006β2009 |
Olivia Dicopoulos | Maureen Reardon | 2007β2009 |
Marj Dusay | Alexandra Spaulding | 1993β1997, 1998β1999, 2002β2009 |
Patrick Gilbert | Robert "Robbie" Santos | 2003β2005, 2009 |
Peter Francis James | Clayton Boudreau | 2003β2004, 2006, 2009 |
Elizabeth Keifer | Christina "Blake" Thorpe Marler | 1992β2009 |
Maeve Kinkead | Vanessa Chamberlain Reardon Lewis | 1980β1981, 1982β1987, 1989β2000, 2002, 2005, 2006β2009 |
Kurt McKinney | Matt Reardon | 1994β2000, 2002, 2005, 2006β2009 |
Narlee Rae | Clarissa Marler | 2008β2009 |
Gil Rogers | Hawk Shayne | 1985β1992, 1995β1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008β2009 |
Tina Sloan | Lillian Raines Cooper | 1983β2009 |
Cally & Brooke Tarleton | Hope Santos | 2005, 2009 |
Jacqueline Tsirkin | Emma Spencer-Spaulding | 2007β2009 |
Yvonna Wright | Melissande "Mel" Boudreau | 2001β2009 |
Cory Zimmer | Rebecca Scott Donnelly | 1950β2009 |
Janet Aldrich | Suzy the Escort | 1984β1986 |
Adam West | Himself | 2008 |
Burt Ward | Himself | 2008 |
1999β2000 Season (HH Ratings)
2000β2001 Season
2001β2002 Season
2002β2003 Season
2003β2004 Season
2004β2005 Season
2005β2006 Season HH Ratings
2006β2007 Season
2007β2008 Season
2008β2009 Season
![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help
improve it or discuss these issues on the
talk page. (
Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Guiding Light |
---|
Main article |
Guiding Light (GL) is an American soap opera from 2000-2009. It was the longest-running American soap opera.
Claire Labine took over as head writer in 2000, but her stories focused on character development and reportedly clashed with Rauchs's plot-heavy style.[ citation needed] Labine's team lasted a year, and she was briefly replaced by Lloyd Gold. Millee Taggart took over as the writer, and her tenure received critical acclaim for breaking away from the organized crime and royalty themes that had dominated Guiding Light in recent years.
In early 2003, veteran producer John Conboy and Ellen Weston took charge of the show. Weston who had acted on Guiding Light, and had several prime-time movie writing credits, but had never been a head writer for a soap opera. Conboy's first move was to demote several veteran performers, including Maureen Garrett, Beth Chamberlin and Elizabeth Keifer, to recurring status. However, Conboy and Weston were fired after only a year.
Ellen Wheeler, known for her work on Another World and All My Children became executive producer in the spring of 2004. Her regime addressed unresolved plotlines, and she and writer David Kreizman initially received praise from viewers and critics. In 2005, the show won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Daytime Serial, being the only one nominated. But the show's ratings continued to stagnate and in early 2005, it was revealed that Procter & Gamble had ordered Guiding Light to take a large budget cut. The actors themselves would also see a reduction in salary, and long-time stars Michael O'Leary, Jerry verDorn, and Marj Dusay were taken off contract. As a result of being dropped to recurring, Jerry verDorn, the longest running actor and character (Ross Marler) on the show, quit and joined ABC's One Life to Live.
Nancy St. Alban, Doug Hutchinson, Paul Anthony Stewart and David Andrew MacDonald were fired as a result of the budget cuts. Stephen Martines asked for and was granted a release from his contract. Daniel Cosgrove, who played Bill Lewis since 2002 opted not to renew his contract and also left the show, but would return again in 2007 with a new three-year contract. The show moved to the old As the World Turns studios on the West Side of Manhattan.
On November 14, 2005, Guiding Light introduced a new opening sequence, the first few scenes were presented in widescreen and then followed by a new opening theme song with new video clips, a new logo, and a new musical tune. Episodes became downloadable at CBS.com as a podcast a few hours after their broadcast. Around this time, Guiding Light's sets also changed considerably. Longtime sets such as Company, Josh and Reva Lewis's House, and Cedars Hospital received makeovers, and the Beacon Hotel lobby set were scrapped. The show added a new "Main Street" set which features an outdoor coffee bar (CO2 or Company 2) and a new theater. Guiding Light also made over the Cross Creek cabin set and moved the cabin to Springfield for Josh and Reva.
In March 2006, the producers attempted to get Michael O'Leary, Beth Chamberlin, and Elizabeth Keifer to return to contract status. All three turned the offer down, after they were only guaranteed one appearance each week. In June 2006, following his Emmy win, Jordan Clarke was upgraded to contract status. Around this same time, O'Leary ended up changing his mind and signed his own new contract with the show.
In 2007, the show celebrated its 70th anniversary with two special episodes. The first episode aired on January 25 and the second appeared on February 14, depicting the actors' trip to Biloxi, Mississippi to aid in rebuilding three homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The theme for the 70th anniversary, "Find Your Light", attempted to return the show to its roots of giving back to the community.
Starting in January 2008, Guiding Light moved from the traditional multi-camera style of filming to hand-held digital cameras. All of the show's traditional sets were scuttled and new four-wall sets were erected in their place, as well as two new permanent outdoor filming locations in New Jersey. Executive producer Ellen Wheeler was quoted in the New York Post as saying that the show didn't feel real, and that the show's new production style would have a completely different and more realistic look. [1]
On an August 29, 2008 episode of Guiding Light, actors Adam West and Burt Ward (two Batman castmates) made their special guest appearances.
On April 1, 2009, CBS announced that Guiding Light would end after 57 years on television. The final episode on the network aired on September 18, 2009.
A large segment of the show revolved around San Cristobel, Richard and Reva discovering they have a son named Johnathan who had been hidden away to protect him from evil Edmund. Johnathan was being raised by Richard's ex-lover, Olivia's sister, and her husband. Cassie marries Richard and Richard's evil brother Edmund plots to keep them apart. Richard abdicates his throne after discovering that he is illegitimate.
Democratic elections held a few weeks later to decide San Cristobel's political fate are halted in a coup by Edmund, who has himself crowned prince and ruler. After his coronation, he marries Springfielder Beth Raines. Edmund is later deposed by Richard using an army of mercenaries paid for by Beth's ex-husband, Phillip Spaulding. Edmund escapes the island to avoid a trial and the island becomes a democracy with Richard as the elected president. Another election is held less than a year later after a heretofore unknown Winslow son, Prince William aka Alonzo Baptiste, is discovered. This time the people vote to have the monarchy restored under Alonzo, who quickly divorces and exiles his scheming wife Camille Baptiste (who would later perish in a car accident in Europe) and allows Richard and Cassie to keep their adopted son Will.
The second plot line focuses on the Santoses and the Mob, specifically Michelle Bauer's mobster husband Danny Santos, his sister Pilar, and cousin Tony, and his sociopathic mother, Carmen. Much of Danny and Michelle's story involves fighting against the evil Carmen, until Carmen is injured during a fight with Michelle in 2002. She goes into a coma and is later transferred to a Switzerland clinic, dying at some point before the show ended.
Actor | Character | Status |
---|---|---|
Grant Aleksander | Phillip Spaulding (#2) | 1982β1984, 1986β1991, 1996β2004, 2005, 2009 |
Murray Bartlett | Cyrus Foley | 2007β2009 |
Laura Bell Bundy | Marah Lewis | 1999β2001 |
Robert Bogue | Anthony "Mallet" Camalletti (#2) | 2005β2009 |
E.J. Bonilla | Rafael "Rafe" Rivera | 2007β2009 |
Beth Ann Bonner | Natasha | 2009 |
Jeff Branson | Joshua "Shayne" Lewis (#7) | 2008β2009 |
Lisa Brown | Nola Reardon Chamberlain | 1980β1985, 1995β1998, 2009 |
Mandy Bruno | Marina Cooper (#6) | 2004β2009 |
Crystal Chappell | Olivia Spencer | 1999β2009 |
Jordan Clarke | Harlan Billy "Billy" Lewis II (#1) | 1983β1987, 1989β1993, 1996, 1996β1998, 1999β2009 |
Bradley Cole [2] | Richard Winslow | 1999β2002 |
Jeffrey O'Neill | 2003β2009 | |
Zack Conroy | James Spaulding (#3) | 2009 |
Daniel Cosgrove | Harlan Billy "Bill" Lewis III (#4) | 2002β2005, 2007β2009 |
Justin Deas | Frank "Buzz" Cooper Sr. | 1993β2009 |
Bonnie Dennison | Susan "Daisy" Lemay (#3) | 2007β2009 |
Frank Dicopoulos | Frank Cooper Jr. | 1987β2009 |
Morgan Englund | Dylan Lewis (#1) | 1989β1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2009 |
Maureen Garrett | Holly Norris (#2) | 1976β1980, 1988β2003, 2003β2006, 2009 |
Jay Hammer | Fletcher Reade | 1984β1998, 1999, 2009 |
Melissa Hayden | Bridget Reardon Lewis | 1991β1997, 2009 |
Teresa Hill | Eden August | 2002β2003 |
Jessica Leccia | Natalia Rivera | 2007β2009 |
David Andrew MacDonald | Edmund Winslow | 1999β2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 |
Amelia Marshall | Gilly Grant | 1989β1996, 2006, 2009 |
Karla Mosley | Christina Moore Boudreau | 2008β2009 |
Robert Newman | Joshua "Josh" Lewis | 1981β1984, 1986β1991, 1993β2009 |
Michael O'Leary | Frederick "Rick" Bauer (#5) | 1983β1986, 1987β1991, 1995β2009 |
Tom Pelphrey | Jonathan Randall | 2004β2007, 2008, 2009 |
Ron Raines | Alan Spaulding (#3) | 1994β2009 |
Jennifer Roszell | Eleni Andros Cooper (#2) | 1995β1999, 2001β2002, 2006, 2008β2009 |
Marcy Rylan | Elizabeth "Lizzie" Spaulding Lewis (#6) | 2006β2009 |
Lawrence Saint-Victor | Remy Boudreau (#3) | 2006β2009 |
Peter Simon | Dr. William "Ed" Bauer Jr. (#4) | 1981β1984, 1986β1996, 2002β2004, 2009 |
Nancy St. Alban | Michelle Bauer Santos (#5) | 2000β2005, 2009 |
Paul Anthony Stewart | Danny Santos | 1998β2005, 2009 |
Krista Tesreau | Mindy Lewis (#1) | 1983β1989, 2002, 2004, 2009 |
Gina Tognoni | Dinah Marler (#4) | 2004β2009 |
Caitlin Van Zandt | Ashlee Wolfe | 2006β2009 |
Kim Zimmer | Reva Shayne O'Neill | 1983β1990, 1995β2009 |
Actor | Character | Duration |
---|---|---|
George Alvarez | Ray Santos | 1999β2007, 2008β2009 |
Kim Brockington | Dr. Felicia Boudreau | 2002β2004, 2006, 2008β2009 |
Orlagh Cassidy | Doris Wolfe | 1999β2002, 2004β2009 |
Beth Chamberlin | Elizabeth "Beth" Raines | 1989β1991, 1993β1994, 1996β2009 |
Tyra Colar | Leah Bauer | 2008β2009 |
Carey Cromelin | Wanda Hyatt | 1987β1991, 2006β2009 |
Olivia Dicopoulos | Maureen Reardon | 2007β2009 |
Marj Dusay | Alexandra Spaulding | 1993β1997, 1998β1999, 2002β2009 |
Patrick Gilbert | Robert "Robbie" Santos | 2003β2005, 2009 |
Peter Francis James | Clayton Boudreau | 2003β2004, 2006, 2009 |
Elizabeth Keifer | Christina "Blake" Thorpe Marler | 1992β2009 |
Maeve Kinkead | Vanessa Chamberlain Reardon Lewis | 1980β1981, 1982β1987, 1989β2000, 2002, 2005, 2006β2009 |
Kurt McKinney | Matt Reardon | 1994β2000, 2002, 2005, 2006β2009 |
Narlee Rae | Clarissa Marler | 2008β2009 |
Gil Rogers | Hawk Shayne | 1985β1992, 1995β1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008β2009 |
Tina Sloan | Lillian Raines Cooper | 1983β2009 |
Cally & Brooke Tarleton | Hope Santos | 2005, 2009 |
Jacqueline Tsirkin | Emma Spencer-Spaulding | 2007β2009 |
Yvonna Wright | Melissande "Mel" Boudreau | 2001β2009 |
Cory Zimmer | Rebecca Scott Donnelly | 1950β2009 |
Janet Aldrich | Suzy the Escort | 1984β1986 |
Adam West | Himself | 2008 |
Burt Ward | Himself | 2008 |
1999β2000 Season (HH Ratings)
2000β2001 Season
2001β2002 Season
2002β2003 Season
2003β2004 Season
2004β2005 Season
2005β2006 Season HH Ratings
2006β2007 Season
2007β2008 Season
2008β2009 Season