News Brief

ABC Campaign Gives Washed-Up Soaps New Image
ALL MY CHILDREN, ONE LIFE TO LIVE and GENERAL HOSPITAL have run on ABC since 1970, 1968 and 1963, respectively. That's why the Walt Disney network is sexing up the soaps with a promotion geared to get Millennials to watch.

The effort will portray the shows as having more of the glitz, dalliances and delightful tension viewers expect in prime-time dramas. In the spots, which will appear on cable, in celebrity-oriented magazines and websites, and, of course, on ABC and SoapNet, actress Elizabeth Berkley spotlights the strong women of "One Life to Live," fashion designer Randolph Duke points to the style of "All My Children" and country- music singer Billy Currington calls attention to the romance on "General Hospital." Other well-known faces that are part of the effort include Spice Girl Mel B and "Sopranos" actor Vincent Pastore. These people traditionally have very little to do with soap operas, but that's part of the plan: surprising would-be viewers and getting them to tune in.

In 2003, advertisers spent about $967.9 million on the eight big network soaps. In 2007, they spent about $870.6 million, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

While some of the programs, such as THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS have remained relatively stable, NBC's DAYS OF OUR LIVES -- the only soap the network runs -- has seen ad dollars tumble to about $97.5 million in 2007 from nearly $130 million in 2003.

Brier, Bonner and de los Reyes will be part of Obama Fundraiser, "Spare Some Change"
"Spare Some Change: NYC Artists for Barack Obama" is the title of an upcoming concert to benefit Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

The Aug. 11 concert will be held in Manhattan at New World Stages. The 8pm performance is scheduled to include an original song penned by Henry Krieger and Bill Russell performed by Tony winner Lillias White; appearances from ONE LIFE TO LIVE stars Kathy Brier, BethAnn Bonner and Kamar de los Reyes; songs from Andrew Lippa, Sarah Schlesinger, Mike Reid, Georgia Stitt, Sean Keogh, Kirsten Guenther and Joy Sun; and performances from the casts of "Hair," the short-lived "Glory Days" as well as "Mamma Mia!'s" Carrie Manolakos, "Grease's" Lindsay Mendez and "Company's" Teri Ralston and musician-actor.

de los Reyes grateful for OLTL role
ABC's long running soap, ONE LIFE TO LIVE just celebrated its 40th anniversary. Soaps often mark the springboard to other things and "One Life" has boasted its share of soon-to-be-famous actors including Tommy Lee Jones, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Cross, Ryan Philippe, Tom Berenger, Joe Lando.

Kamar de Los Reyes has been on the show for almost 12 years. He says he was thrilled to arrive in the imaginary town of Llanville. "I became a part of the first _ of one of the only Latino families on daytime television, on all of network television. And I'm not talking about just Latino families portrayed in sitcoms. I'm talking about a real Latino, a real Puerto Rican family who dealt with real-life issues. And it was _ I was extremely and continue to be extremely proud of that. I always felt extremely lucky and blessed and to this day am very grateful for that opportunity as a Latino, considering, you know, one tenth of a percent of Latino actors get that opportunity. And I was one of them."

Photo Flash: "Paper Dolls" at the Fringe Festival
Lively Productions and Métropole Ink are proud to present the world premiere of "Paper Dolls" as part of the 12th annual New York International Fringe Festival - FringeNYC. In his New York debut, New York Daily News columnist and playwright Patrick Huguenin goes behind the scenes of celebrity scandal. Performances begin Wednesday August 13th at the Players Theatre (115 MacDougal Street).

Gaye Taylor Upchurch directs a cast that features Allison Goldberg, Jen Jamula, Billy Magnussen (AS THE WORLD TURNS), and Ashley Morris ("Die Mommie Die!" with Van Hansis). Magnussen made his Broadway debut in The Ritz and currently stars as Casey Hughes in the daytime drama As the World Turns. David Newell will serve as costume and scenic designer, with lighting design by Lucrecia Briceno and Julia Meinwald composing original music.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Former TEXAS and GL star Mary Pat Gleason
Mary Pat Gleason plays the Middleman’s cranky android assistant on ABC Family’s THE MIDDLEMAN. Ida is patty cranky because somehow her morphing appearance abilities have malfunctioned and she’s stuck in the form of a middle aged school marm. The only link to the Middlemen who have gone before, Ida is not convinced that Wendy Watson (Natalie Morales) is there for the right reasons, and rides her on a regular basis.

Two Perth actors on GL
Two Perth actors have found themselves acting opposite each other on "a popular US TV series." Kane Manera played a hit man on the long-running CBS series GUIDING LIGHT, but came home at Christmas time to appear in Crush, the feature film being made in Perth. While he was away GUIDING LIGHT executives hired another Perth actor, Murray Bartlett, to play the part of his on-screen brother. Neither actor knew each other before meeting on the set.

Leann Hunley goes golfing
The Hilton Head Island Celebrity Golf Tournament has announced the list of celebrities that plan to attend this year's event, to be held Aug. 29 through 31. Included is Leann Hunley, known to soap fans as Anna on DAYS OF OUR LIVES.

Sweeney expecting baby girl
Alison Sweeney is expecting a baby girl. The 31-year-old DAYS OF OUR LIVES star and host of the hit TV show THE BIGGEST LOSER is due to give birth in January. Sweeney announced last month she was expecting her second child with husband Dave Sanov and she is delighted at discovering the baby's sex.

She says, "The whole experience of having a little girl, I'd love that. I am feeling fantastic. I have moments of extreme morning sickness, but I get through it. Hopefully, I will be past it soon."

The couple has one son, three-year-old Ben.

NYC welcomes 'BETTY' with fiesta
Crowds gathered at Jackson Heights on Thursday to welcome the cast of UGLY BETTY and hear Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber's efforts to bring more diversity to the entertainment biz.

The speech was part of a Mexican-themed block party in the Queens area welcoming back the ABC skein to its roots in Gotham, after filming in Los Angeles for two seasons.

UGLY BETTY thesps America Ferrera, teary-eyed and fresh off her second Emmy nod, and Tony Plana gave gracias to the Queens residents and offered some Spanish salutations to the predominantly Hispanic crowd.

Lieber and his "Made in NY" Task Force have introduced new programs to promote diversifying employment within the film and tv industry.

TOM CASIELLO: Llanview turns 40 - Part One
"I get it. I understand what they're going for [with Mendorra]. And honestly? I can't put my finger on exactly what it is that didn't work for me. I loved that there was a reference to Cristian's brainwashing. As silly and Days-ish as that story was, I was writing for the show when it first aired, and I appreciated the fact that Ron and Co never EVER sweep history under the rug... even not-so-memorable history. And I loved Andrea Evans in this episode... for the first time since she's been back! Mainly because she was less Rebecca on Passions, and a lot more human. So what went wrong? I don't know. Maybe it was Cristian standing there the whole time, like a statue. (I know the guards were armed, but this is CRISTIAN VEGA we're talking about. He'd still TRY and stop them!) Or maybe it was the way Sarah never tried to make a run for it through the woods, while Carlo and Tina were facing AWAY from Cris and Sarah. Whatever it was, that's the only part of this that feels forced."