News Round-up

B&B actress "rises from the ashes" in N.O,
A moment of silence, please, for Phoebe Forrester, the ethereal blond goddess of the cascading sunshine curls and golden singing voice, who met an untimely end Friday on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. Fans, who have been mourning her passing in three languages online, can take solace in the fact that Phoebe's demise serves a higher purpose, since it will send shock waves through the popular daytime drama's blissfully foolish story line for months to come. And we have it on good authority that Phoebe will be singing "Eternal Flame" at her own funeral.

"Where did you hear that?" asked MacKenzie Mauzy, the blindingly beautiful, 20-year-old singer-actress who played Phoebe.

"It's on your Web site," she was told.

"Oh!" she said. "That's the song Phoebe wrote for her dad, Ridge, to thank him for always being there for her, and she never got to sing it for him."

Break out the Kleenex, folks. But you needn't cry for Mauzy, who has risen like a gilded phoenix and shaken off her fictional self to walk among us mortals last week in New Orleans. Mauzy (pronounced "Mo-zy") was here for workshop rehearsals and two preview performances of the new musical "White Noise," a work-in-progress scheduled to try out in New Orleans next year, with a hoped-for September opening on Broadway.

MICHAEL FAIRMAN: Morrow, Case, and Fath on casting casualties
Y&R's Joshua Morrow on the firing of Don Diamont: "I think it's a big loss, Don is part of the old guard. He is like a piller there. What ever translates on the screen as his character, in real life, he is one of the most giving, considerate people on the planet.

OLTL's Farah Farah on the situation at DAYS: "I don’t know what to think about it. I know Ken Corday is in a tight spot and he has a lot of cutting to do."

Daytime's Gold Standard - Walton and Lau
Every week, Canyon News takes a look at the strongest performance given each week in a Daytime. This week the gold standard belongs to Jess Walton of CBS’s THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and Laurence Lau of the same network’s hit show, AS THE WORLD TURNS.

Could the networks drop the soaps?
"Even though it's daytime, some of their biggest stars draw huge salaries. [Susan] Lucci, according to IMDB, draws $10,000 per episode, a sum that really adds up for a show that airs five days a week plus or minus a few reruns. So if Lucci hocks her only Daytime Emmy at a pawn shop, start burying some money in the backyard because the financial apocalypse is a-coming."

GH and the unity candle tradition
Alene Gamel writes: "It may have become popular during the 1970s when mothers wanted a greater role in the wedding. In my research, I even came across this interesting bit of trivia: The lighting of the unity candle was performed at the wedding of Luke and Laura on the TV soap opera General Hospital in 1981. After that segment aired, this tradition spread to a national, and even international, audience. In all probability, the writers of General Hospital made it up, or it was a cutting edge trend in Hollywood."

Brides and doom in 3 British soap marriage rows
It's wedlock deadlock as three TV nuptials fail to hit the bliss button. Saucy suspenders, suspense and a shooter . . . but no soft soap.

Sexy gold-digger Janine Butcher gets dolled up in white frillies on EASTENDERS as she prepares to tie the knot with an old bloke who could be her grandad.

On EMMERDALE, Anna De Souza (Emma Davies) and Matthew King (Matt Healy) are saying their vows when furious Carl King (Tom Lister) storms into the wedding. Carl punches him in the face — then reveals Matthew’s involvement in Donald’s death See it on December 16.

And on HOLLYOAKS, Louise (Roxanne McKee) gives new meaning to ‘till death do us part’ by pulling a gun on Warren to bump him off for his cash.

MARK HARDING: Failing to re-invest- Another reason for the decline of soaps
"As a cultural referent, I mention music, movies and primetime. In none of these genres do we expect the young (desirable demographic) consumers to be enjoying the stuff of their parents and grandparents. Each new generation needs its own music (rock and roll, folk, progressive rock, disco, rap/hip-hop, punk...each was new music for a new generation)."

SNARK: What Does Y&R Have OLTL Doesn't?
"Personally, I don't feel that OLTL was anywhere in Y&R's league last month."