I have no idea why no one else online seems to have gotten their hands on this nugget of information, so I’m breaking big soap casting news right here on Brandon’s Buzz tonight: I’m thrilled to announce that one of the Buzz’s favorite actors, the magnificently dashing Gordon Thomson (with whom I had a riveting two-hour chat back in January on Brandon’s Buzz Radio, and who will likely be returning to my hot seat sometime in May), has just joined the cast of “Days of Our Lives” in a recurring role. Thomson — best known as slick, sinister Adam Carrington on the ’80s classic primetime soap “Dynasty,” and as the finest and most wittily erudite of the three Mason Capwells on the late, great “Santa Barbara” — will be portraying Walter, the father of Owen, the mysterious new character being played by Latter Days star (and “Guiding Light” alum) Wes Ramsey. As of now, Thomson is only slated for five episodes, but is hopeful that the role will be expanded. (A first airdate is not yet known; Gordon relayed to me that he has just begun filming, so Walter should show up in Salem just in time for some May sweeps madness.)
Growing up, I was an NBC kid.
To this day, I have clear memories of getting home from half-day preschool just in time to catch the closing minutes of “Texas,” have lunch, and settle in at my mother’s knee for a full afternoon of “Days of Our Lives” and “Another World.” That marvelous lineup of daytime entertainment underwent multiple changes as time marched forward — “Texas” (the first soap cancellation I ever survived, funnily enough) left the air in 1982 (just as it was getting good!) around the same time that “Search for Tomorrow” came over from CBS to finish out its legendary life, and my beloved “Santa Barbara” came along in 1984 for a remarkable nine-year run — but throughout my formative years as a television fan, NBC — with its softly glowing series (didn’t you always love the way “Days” looked just a tad fuzzy back then, almost as though it were shot through a thin film of super-sheer pantyhose?) and its magnificently endearing characters (Marlena! Roman! Felicia! Cass! Rachel! Cruz! Mason! Julia!) — was always home.
“There is nothing more compelling than a human face who is communicating. I don’t think there is anything more compelling on TV than flipping the channels and seeing Mr. Rogers lean forward and go, ‘I like this, do you?’ It stops me every time, because there is somebody at home there.”
— Emmy-winning former “Guiding Light” headwriter Nancy Curlee, speaking to Soap Opera Weekly in 1994 about what ails the genre. (The point she goes on to make is that soaps thrive when their foundation is real emotions and real events. Speaking of which, my thoughts about the unfathomably tragic “GL” cancellation are forthcoming, I swear.)
I’m still positively reeling over CBS’ announcement today that they are yanking “Guiding Light” off the air after 72 continuous years, and I’ll have my thoughts on that news just as soon as I’ve fully gathered them. In the meantime, there’s another full slate of new releases to close out the month of March in high style, kids. Waste no time digging in:
I’m not sure whose ridiculous idea this was: that fabulous trumpeter extraordinaire Chris Botti schedules a two-night stand last fall at the world-famous Boston Symphony Hall, invites a who’s-who of his all-star pals — among them Sting, Josh Groban, and Aerosmith’s fearless leader Steven Tyler — to play along, and fails to include his gorgeous muse Paula Cole, with whom he has created so much terrific, passionately brilliant music over the past four years? (Worse yet, he invites that pitiful fourth-rate “American Idol” runner-up Katharine McPhee to take her place! Is he kidding me with this?!) I’m trying to hard not to pass judgment on Live in Boston before I’ve even heard a note of it, but what an unspeakable outrage is the setlist of this concert recording on the face of it! Color me physically offended by this blatant foolishness!
For much of the past year, I have been helping out — in the form of writing, guest research, and calling in when no one else would — a woman who has become a great friend of mine, the marvelous JoAnn Kubasek, with her fledgling online enterprise, an internet talk show entitled Stardish Radio. Hosted on the BlogTalkRadio network, a fascinating cabal of self-help and celebrity-driven chat shows, Stardish is a blast of a program whose main beat is connecting fans with their favorite soap stars (although we’ve also stepped outside that box of late, having recently had hilarious exchanges with the fierce and fabulous singer Kimberley Locke and with Academy-Award-nominated actress Marsha Mason, among others), and its moderator — a thirtysomething cancer survivor who recently relocated to the Buffalo area — is a total doll, and one of the coolest gals it has ever been my pleasure to have a conversation with.
Because Stardish is not my show, and because the show is designed specifically for the fans who call into it and not necessarily for its host(s), it often happens that many of my guest questions are forced to go unasked. (In no way am I denigrating JoAnn and/or the show for this; as it is the fans and the fans exclusively who keep these shows on the air, that’s not only the way it is, but the way it should be.) This was never more heartwrenchingly apparent than during a brisk, brilliant conversation we had last month with the legendary Constance Towers (whose best-known role is as Helena Cassadine on “General Hospital”); although I was able to chat with Ms. Towers about a number of topics throughout the hour we had scheduled with her, I was only able to skim the surface of what I really wanted to ask her about. And as utterly grateful I was for the experience and for the opportunity — how many regular schmoes like me get to hobnob with the same folks he watches with awe on television every single day?! — I closed out the episode with an extremely heavy heart.
Later that sleepless night, while exploring BlogTalkRadio’s main website, I ran across a button which read, “Become a host now!” Not sure what lay ahead of me, I clicked the link and filled out the information which the resulting application requested. (You actually wouldn’t believe how mind-bogglingly easy it is to be granted your own show! Anybody can get one!) Literally within minutes, Brandon’s Buzz: The Radio Show was born.
I have no idea what form the radio Buzz will ultimately take. As this blog is largely music-centric, I would hope and expect that the online program which now shares its name will eventually be as well; however, as pretty much any topic is fair game for this blog, so shall it be for the show, at least in the early going. (In my wildest imaginings, the radio show will essentially be the blog brought to glorious, three-dimensional life.) I’ve reached out to roughly twenty celebrities with whom I have always dreamed of having a serious conversation, and while Annie Potts’ (of “Designing Women” fame) press agent gave me a swift and rude “no,” and the divine Robin Strasser’s (of “One Life to Live” fame) webmaster gave me a firm and hopeful “maybe,” I’m thrilled beyond words to announce that I have gotten two bites right out of the gate. One of them has graciously agreed to be interviewed but has yet to be scheduled — we had a lovely chat earlier this evening; tune in tomorrow for more news on that front — and the other has taken an enormously brave leap of faith and agreed to be my very first guest.
Next Wednesday night — January 14, 2009, at 11pm EST (that’d be
8pm PST) — Brandon’s Buzz will welcome the marvelous Robert Krimmer. Once known professionally as Wortham Krimmer, Robert portrayed, with a stunning, steely grace, one of the most unique and riveting characters that has ever been created for daytime television — that of Reverend Andrew Carpenter on “One Life to Live” — throughout much of the ’90s. (You’ll hopefully recall how brightly Krimmer shone in one of the most daring, groundbreaking storylines in the history of the genre, the 1992 tale which found Krimmer’s Andrew falsely accused of molesting one of his teenage parishioners, who just happened to be gay and was struggling to come to terms with the fact. The story culminated with outdoor scenes which featured both the AIDS quilt and a gut-punchingly powerful sermon from Andrew which pivoted on the idea that hatred can only be consumed by love. Trust me: if you saw it, you never forgot it.) After his “One Life” stint ended at the turn of the century, Krimmer stepped away from showbiz altogether and enrolled in law school, and he is now a practicing attorney based north of Los Angeles. And, in what I predict will be a smashing hour of discourse, I and Robert and his fans will broach all of these topics and many, many more.
I can’t tell you how greatly I’m looking forward to this, and I’m very hopeful that you’ll all join me as the Buzz embarks on this latest leg of its journey. The show can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/brandonsbuzz, and the call-in number is (347) 202-0799. January 14, 11pm EST, be there.
Dear Mr. Obama,
I understand you’re kinda new at this racket, so let me say at the outset that I’m willing to give your shameful ignorance the benefit of the doubt, and willing to believe your silly, impetuous actions on Friday will never again be repeated. But, sir, you’ve been president-elect for barely a week, and you’ve already made no fewer than one enormous miscalculation, one which, try as I might, I simply can’t allow to stand.
