WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Congratulations on your second book, “How Does She Do It?” I think soap fans who have been watching Marlena will be very interested in checking this out. I was especially fascinated when you talked about showing "neck scrunch," and how hospital scenes can be a “nightmare” to film.
Deidre Hall: [Laughs] That’s about hospital beds, as opposed to just lying on your back.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Which for Marlena is a lot. Between all the comas and Devil possessions, Marlena has spent a lot of time on her back!
Deidre Hall: Any time you are lying back in can be tricky. We weren’t too worried about how I looked during the possession scenes.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: What led you to write this book?
Deidre Hall: Lynn [Parmiter] and I talked about this when I came out with "Kitchen Close-Up." This is a gift we give ourselves. This is a collaboration women do every day of their lives. I’ve been in the store when someone says, “Where did you that purse?” We have no shame about it. We like each other, we watch each other, we want to copy each other, we learn from each other. Lynn said, “You know more about appearances than anybody I know, you’ve been in front of a camera for forty years, let’s just tell people about this.”
Also when we sit around doing our make-up, the question always comes up, “Oooh, what color are you using? Where did you find that? Let me try it.” We like to experiment. It seemed fun and appropriate that we share the wealth. So we wrote about what we know. I realized in the midst of writing the book that the lessons I have learned about appearances and how to look come from lessons I’ve learned from being on television. Like how to find a light, how to find an angle, how to use your hands, I’ve gotten to see that on camera. We thought it would be fun if I said, “When you are on television you do it this way. When you are in a business meeting you find your light this way.”
If people would like an autographed copy of the book, that is available on the website. We’ve set up a system so people can order the book on DeidreHall.me. You can pay a little extra and get it autographed or personalized from me.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: That is a unique and rare gift any Marlena fan would treasure.
Deidre Hall: It’s from me directly. From my hand to your house. Amazon is great, but I think for the holidays a lot of people would appreciate an autographed book.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: One thing I found extremely pertinent, yet somewhat sad, was the sentence, “It’s women who, no matter what their accomplishments, how brilliant their talents, how good their soul, will be measured against the Beauty Stick.” Why do you think that is ?
Deidre Hall: It can’t be helped.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Why?
Deidre Hall: It’s the way of the world. I didn’t make it, we just live here. It’s because we’re judged by our appearance, the same as men are.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Do you think it’s the same though? It seems like for men there is a less pressure. For example, there is a lot less scrutiny about Barack Obama’s appearance than Hillary Clinton’s. That doesn’t seem fair to me.
Deidre Hall: It’s not fair, but that’s the way the world is.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Do you think that will ever change?
Deidre Hall: No.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Would you want it to change?
Deidre Hall: I enjoy being a woman. I like dressing up. I like changing hairstyles. I like trying different outfits and trends. Would I want it to change? I think I would like it if women were judged on a loftier level. At some point, we are. But getting in the door, getting in position, and doing the job has a lot to do with your appearance.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Have there been any hairstyles or outfit styles that you would have liked Marlena to have tried that you haven’t had a chance to wear?
Deidre Hall: The producers have always been very good about allowing us to find our own look. I have always thought that Marlena presents an image of faith. When you come towards her you see someone who is loving, accepting, forgiving, patient, and not somebody you have to compete with on any level. If she was doing the Kate DiMera look, which is glamorous, fashionable, current, and really edgy, I don’t think you would feel the same about her.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: When you played Hattie for a couple of days in 2004 you did have a chance to let loose a bit.
Deidre Hall: There were several points during those scenes where Peter [Reckell] said, “Don’t you spit that gum at me.” So of course, I did [laughs]. If you pull up that scene, Kristian [Alfonso] and I are leaning over so you can’t see our mouths because we are laughing so hard. Playing Hattie and being possessed were the most fun times.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: The scenes we’ve watched this past week were quite different, those of Marlena letting go of John as he plead guilty to criminal charges.
Deidre Hall: And those scenes with Ali (Sweeeney, who plays Sami) and James (Scott, who plays EJ) were...wow. That was like a feature film to me. That was some of the best work that has ever been done on DAYS. Those were scenes you could not look away from.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Which illustrates the richness of daytime you can’t get anywhere else. The scenes between Sami and EJ were loaded with five years of history. Similarly, your recent scenes with Alison that brought up eighteen years of mother/daughter drama were astounding.
Deidre Hall: And Darrell and Marlene are so brilliant at this. They play to the history of the show.
Deidre Hall: I don’t have an opinion on that. It’s my belief that it is important for John and Marlena to stay together. I believe we are like the new Tom and Alice, the couple that always stays together through thick and thin. I think that is important for an audience to have that. Beyond that, whatever Darrell and Marlene come up with is far more brilliant than what I can come up with.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Your books are so instructive with easy to apply tools for nutrition, and now for beauty. At the same time, Susan Hayes (Julie) and Jed Allan (Don) have remarked in their books about your wisdom, humor, and healing ways. Will we ever see Deidre Hall’s books for the mind and the soul?
Deidre Hall: I don’t think so. The flirtation I’ve had with the next book, if I were to do another one, would be a book about manners. I get so impatient with young people who don’t understand language, manners, grammar, what is appropriate. I think we send them out in the world completely illiterate in those areas. Greg [Meng, DAYS Executive Producer] and I have flirted with the idea of a little book that Marlena has written for Will - like “I’ve written down some things I want you to know in your life.” I just think it’s important for young people to know how to behave. You can be as hip as you want to be, as cavalier as you want to be, but you are still judged by the world by the way you behave. A man or a woman with good manners will go much farther than someone who thinks they can get by on their brains or their looks.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: So then what do you think of Twitter? Some consider that the death of grammar and punctuation.
Deidre Hall: I'm on there. That’s a current phenomenon. Communication is so fast these days, I don’t have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is someone sitting down at the dinner table and not knowing which fork to use. Or how you introduce people or how you pour tea.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about?
Deidre Hall: I am on Facenook on the Deidre Hall Fan Page. I check that every day. I answer questions, I talk to people, please join it.
Damon L. Jacobs is a Licensed Therapist in New York City who specializes in treating depression, stress management, anger management, ageism, and grief/loss issues. He is also the author of the popular book "Absolutely Should-less: The Secret to Living the Stress-Free Life You Deserve," currently available at Amazon.com. He is currently helping thousands get through the holidays stress-free at http://www.shouldless.com/. To learn about schedule a session or speaking engagement, write him at [email protected]
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