News Round-up

Queers Finally Do It on Daytime TV
Tommi Avicolli-Mecca of Beyond Chron writes: "Back in August 1988 when I was managing editor of the Philadelphia Gay News, an historic thing happened on a daytime soap called As The World Turns: a character (an interior designer, no less) came out as gay.

Always sniffing around for a good story, I called CBS and was put in contact with Douglas Marland, who was, at the time, the head writer for As the World Turns. I figured he would refuse me an interview.

To my surprise, Marland spoke to me freely. He was excited that a gay paper was interested in his storyline. He invited me up to New York to visit the set. He gave me tips on what was going to happen next. I decided to run a weekly wrap-up of the adventures of Hank Elliot. We were the only queer paper in the country to do that.

While poor Hank Elliot couldn’t even kiss his lover, who was dying off camera of AIDS after being rejected by his family, Luke and Noah are pressing lips over the place, and now they’ve actually taken a roll in the hay. Though their moment in the bedroom is tame by heterosexual soap couple standards, it’s certainly refreshing to see that Marland’s groundbreaking efforts were not in vain. TV is growing up."

Darin Brooks and Paris Hilton?
Following in the footsteps of Victoria Beckham, Katie Holmes and Gwyneth Paltrow, the stylish socialite showed off her "bob" as she boogied the night away. And according to Pop Tarts spies, the newly-single Hilton was also canoodling with "Days of our Lives" star Darin Brooks in a private cabana.

"They couldn't keep their hands off each other," said the insider.

Cue Card: Walt Willey ready for improv & staying on AMC
"I've got another three years of my contract, they're going to have to kick me out of Pine Valley in a pine box. I'm not going anywhere," said Willey, who joined the cast of ALL MY CHILDREN in 1987. "I never expected to stay this long, but you know what? You got a job like this, especially these days, you cling on to it."

NYMF '09 Next Link Jurors announced
Jurors for The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) for the 2009 Next Link Project will include lyricist Susan Birkenhead, composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown, producer Robyn Goodman (former OLTL Supervising Producer), and director Francesca Zambello. The New York Musical Theater Festival is currently accepting open submissions for its Next Link Project for the sixth annual festival taking place September 28 - October 18, 2009.

Deal keeps KDBC on Las Cruces cable
So today is not the last day of CBS soaps in the area.

First Slovenian soap opera going off the air
Following a civil initiative and general public uproar, PASSIONS, the first Slovenian soap opera, will go down in history as a short-lived. The soap is being replaced by cartoons in the lineup.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS ends season 3 on DirecTV
"If the series is to say goodbye now, it leaves without falling victim to the weight of network notes or dumbed-down plots for the sake of landing new eyeballs."