News Brief

ATWT stars in DC this weekend getting "presidential"
Dylan Bruce, Terri Colombino, Austin Peck and Ewa Da Cruz were in Washington from New York over the weekend for a magazine photo shoot. They were dressed up to look like presidential couples -- or what presidential couples would look like if they were starring in a soap opera. Jackie Kennedy with a heaving bosom. Bill holding Hillary in a smoldering embrace. George and Martha Washington in an erotic fantasy scene involving grapes.

"Absolutely exquisite! Love it! Love it!" cried the shoot's creative director, Angelique O'Neil, upon seeing soap actress Terri Colombino with her hair and face all dolled up as a sexy Nancy Reagan. Colombino slid off her robe in the hotel suite and pulled on a hand-painted white couture gown that retails for $2,950. It did look like the dress Nancy wore to the 1981 inaugural ball, except with considerably more cleavage.

"Too bad we're not going to the Emmys -- I would totally wear this," said Colombino, who on AS THE WORLD TURNS plays a character named Katie Peretti Frasier Coleman Kasnoff Snyder, who's been married five times.

"Well, six, actually, but two times to the same man," Colombino clarified.

PHOTOS/INTERVIEW: "Daytime for Obama" photo shoot
Blake Berris: "I wanted to take off my clothes any chance I get. I will do it! (He laughs) No. I am a huge Barack Obama supporter, and I really believe his candidacy and election will be a great departure from the last 8 years with George Bush and Dick Cheney and that administration. I am trying to do whatever I can to help him get elected."

Kristen Renton: "I feel like our country is at such a cross roads while we try to repair the damage that has been done for the last 8 years, and even more. I feel like Obama is the first candidate I have seen in a while, who has the most tools and things in line, and is ready to start to repair the poor choices we have been making. I feel, if his opponent is the one to succeed, that I honestly feel our country could be doomed."

Role of a lifetime: Iraq vet sought for AMC
An open casting call for ALL MY CHILDREN is far from business as usual: The soap opera is seeking an Iraq war veteran to play an injured veteran. The ABC daytime show has created a romantic story line to combine entertainment and a window into the challenges faced after combat, said executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers.

ALL MY CHILDREN has launched a broad search to fill the role, inviting veterans to contact the show's New York casting director. The series also is working with a veterans' support group, USA Cares, as well as the military.

"It will make it such a heightened experience for the audience and for us ... to cast a real-life soldier, a veteran, and bring him into our created drama," Carruthers said.

The veteran-turned-actor will play the character of Brot, a key figure in a plot that's already under way and involves a visitor to fictional Pine Valley, Army Lt. Taylor Thompson (Beth Ehlers). Taylor, who was stationed in Iraq and is on medical leave, has come to town to deliver medals to fellow soldier Dr. Frankie Hubbard (Cornelius Smith Jr.). But it's Brot, the soldier and lover she believes died in combat, who's on her mind. Brot, however, survived. Unwilling to involve Taylor in his suffering, he's allowed her to think he's dead.

GUIDING LIGHT: The O'Neill Controversy
"Are Sarah O'Neill Shayne and Jeffrey O'Neill related? It would be somewhat of a shock, but not unusual for the soap.

This revelation could come out soon, if true, to bring Reva and Josh back together. Let's face it - Guiding Light needs the ratings. GENERAL HOSPITAL, which airs in the same time slot, won best soap last year. GUIDING LIGHT slugs along, but in these economic times, who knows when the plug might be pulled."

Premiere Radio Networks Partners with City of Hope to Launch the Pink Channel
Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, and City of Hope, one of the nation's leading cancer research, treatment and education centers, today announced the launch of The Pink Channel, the first radio channel supporting the fight against cancers, particularly those that affect women. Airing 24/7 on XM Satellite Radio channel 24, The Pink Channel will feature pop hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s as well as segments on health and wellness, personal development, trend reports and more. In addition, a weekly celebrity host will report on City of Hope's latest cancer research and treatment programs, share personal stories and read listener dedications. American Idol Jordin Sparks, Grammy-winner Olivia Newton-John (SORDID LIVES), actress Andrea Evans (ONE LIFE TO LIVE), Jillian Michaels, and singer P!nk, among others, are slated to serve as upcoming weekly hosts.

Felicity Huffman Admits To Trying Madonna's Thong On
Felicity Huffman tried Madonna's used thong on. The DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES star admits she couldn't resist trying on the underwear after she found the discarded garment in her dressing room when she replaced the singer in 1988 Broadway play "Speed-the-Plow."

She said: "I was like, 'This is Madonna's underwear!' So I tried it on - of course, it didn't fit me."

INTERVIEW: FORBIDDEN LOVE's Jo Weil
On knowing the storyline has found an audience in the U.S. and other English speaking countries: "It's something rather special for a German actor. When the reports became more regular with you and your colleagues, and we received the first emails and letters from abroad, we couldn't believe it. By now, I'm just very proud that we created something on VERBOTENE LIEBE which touches and connects people across borders."