Bryan Cranston & Nelson Aspen Remember Louan Gideon

My fabulous friend of nearly three decades, Louan Gideon, passed away recently after a recurrence of cancer. I've written about our friendship "then and now" here on WLS, but just as she remains present in my everyday life as a "guardian angel," so does she stay with me in many tangible ways. Many of her predictions and convictions pertaining to my life have started newly manifesting themselves and she even became part of my recent interview with award winning superstar Bryan Cranston.

Bryan and Louan became pals around the same time I first met her: the early 1980s when we lived in NYC, chasing acting work. We all chalked up Soap Opera credits, but I wouldn't meet Bryan until all of us had relocated to Los Angeles and he was enjoying Prime Time success as the Dad on Malcolm in the Middle. I was a Hollywood correspondent for a show called TV Guide Television and Louan was working one of her myriad sidelines as a "Feng Shui" expert. I suggested we film a segment getting her to work her magic on a celebrity home and she immediately enlisted Bryan to be our guinea pig.

We had a blast going to his house for a hilarious tour while Louan reaaranged furniture and tweaked decor. I saw Bryan a few more times, personally & professionally, over the years and always watched his meteoric ascent to the top of the Showbiz Mountain with special admiration, knowing what a loyal friend he was to precious Louan (one of her greatest attributes, too!).

When Louan and her partner, Walt, decided to marry (I don't recall her ever being into Numerology, per se...but "11/11/11" sounded like an inarguably lucky date!), it was Bryan who flexed his powers as a Justice of the Peace to legally marry them. I teased him that, although it looked unlikely to ever happen, I'd want him to do the same for me someday and he agreed.

Since the end of Breaking Bad, Bryan has not rested on his laurels. He's currently nominated for a Tony Award for his acclaimed work as LBJ in Broadway's "All The Way." And when you read his Biography in the Playbill, you will see that he dedicates this amazing performance to Louan. He is a gentleman of the first degree and, as you recall from Malcolm in the Middle and his hilarious appearances on Seinfeld, smart as a whip and funny, funny, funny. (Louan, too, popped up in a Seinfeld episode: spoofing "Mrs. Robinson" in a story involving Jerry's pecking order on a telephone "speed dial.")

I caught up with him this week to chat about his role in the new Godzilla movie. As soon as I entered the interview suite, he was on his feet to greet me with a giant bear hug. I warned him that the Makeup artist had powdered me down and I didn't want to mess up his fancy suit, but he laughed it off and didn't care. I had deliberately worn the same jacket I'd worn the last time I'd seen Louan (my 50th Birthday party weekend) and brought him a couple of souvenir snapshots of us from the occasion. He was delighted.

We sat down to the business of movie-talk....five minutes for the Studio's Home Video Division...and then another session straight away for my Australian TV outlet, Sunrise. When my time was almost up, I had to acknowledge our darling mutual friend and we both got pretty teary eyed. It was a very special moment for both of us to share our love for this lady who brought so much into the lives of so many. (Her husband is planning a celebration called "Lou-laPalooza!") When my new book, "My Prime Time," comes out next month, one of the highlights for me will be that Louan is so prominently featured in its pages...as she has been in my previous works as well. You know how it is when friends become "family!"

So for those of you who admire Bryan and/or Louan's work, I wanted you to also be assured that, more important than the careers, are the PEOPLE. Like Louan always was and I aspire to be, Bryan Cranston is a class act all the way. I wanted to share these clips with you so you might see for yourself!

Unedited chat for Sunrise, including conversation about Louan.

Edited Godzilla chat for Sunrise.

Yes, I got another big hug when I left the room, too...powder, be damned! And I happen to know he kept those snapshots beside him throughout the rest of his day's schedule of interviews.

Nelson Aspen is a regular contributor to We Love Soaps and popular broadcast journalist around the world. His new book, "My Prime Time" will be released in June. You may visit him at www.nelsonaspen.com or follow him on Twitter @nelsonaspen.