Exclusives
DC EXCLUSIVE: General Hospital Alum Lilly Melgar Dishes The Bay, Vanessa, Maurice, Ricky, Clink-Boom and ACME Saturday Night!
By Jamey Giddens on October 15, 2010"Clink, Boom." With those two barely audible noises Lilly Melgar and her character Lily Rivera Corinthos were forever immortalized in the pages of General Hospital history books and You Tube clips alike. Now some 14 years since Sonny's (Maurice Benard) tragic, pregnant first wife blew up before his and fans eyes, just as other woman, Brenda (Vanessa Marcil-Giovinazzo) was sayng her vows to Jax (Ingo Rademacher), Melgar is back in the spotlight, thanks to a juicy, bitchy part in Gregori J. Martin's independent soap opera The Bay.
I recently caught up with the striking actress, who this weekend will be hosting ACME Saturday Night, to dish about what it was like working with Benard and Marcil-Giovinazzo all those years ago on GH. Was Benard as blunt with Melgar as Marcil-Giovinazzo has said he was with her?
Melgar also reveals what it was like to be a part of what many consider to be one of the show's best eras, under the tutelage of Wendy Riche. Has she tuned back in to the antics going on in Port Chuck since Marcil-Giovinazzo's much-heralded return?
We also talk about pop singer Ricky Martin, who played Lily's first love Miguel on GH. Melgar shares if she is still in touch with the Latin heartthrob. How did she react to his decision to come out as a gay man earlier this year? Has she met his children? Read on to find out.
Daytime Confidential: First off, let me say a hearty welcome back to soaps! Have you been hearing from a lot of General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful fans who are happy to see you on their laptop screens in The Bay?
Lilly Melgar: Thank you! Happy to be back. Yes my fans have been incredibly supportive and excited about my return. I am so grateful for their loyalty.
PC EXCLUSIVE: Rib Hillis, Confessions of a Single, Hollywood Dad
By Jamey Giddens on October 11, 2010
We can't seem to get enough of Rib Hillis around the Daytime Confidential/Pop Confidential universe. The likeable ex-soap hunk (ABC's Port Charles; NBC's Passions)-turned-reality TV handyman ( ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Editiion; A&E's $100 Makeover) is just so, well—real— we just love chatting with him! This time Hillis opens up about what it's like being a single, Hollywood dad to 7-year-old twins Dane and Hannah. Hillis shares how essential it has been to keep a healthy, supportive relationship going with his ex-wife Melissa Blackler, as they navigate raising kids in Hollyweird. He also gives us a glimpse into a typical day at the House of Hillis.
Pop Confidential: In addition to being an in demand model, TV host and actor, you're also a single father, sharing custody of your twins, Dane and Hannah. How do you balance auditioning, walking the runway and hosting shows like A&E's $100 Makeover, with raising a pair of tykes?
Rib Hillis: A lot of caffeine and a lot of help. But seriously, juggling a career and family is hard work, as any working parent will tell you. I try to schedule my work around when my kids are with their mother, but that is not always possible. When there is a scheduling conflict, I have a tremendous support system of close friends. I am also extremely close to my ex and her family, so we all just do our best to make it work out. Dad doesn't get as much sleep as he would like....but in the end, I would gladly sacrifice sleep to see my kids happy...and they are. READ MORE
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DC EXCLUSIVE: Eden Riegel and Elizabeth Hendrickson Dish Going From Kissing on AMC to Clawing on Y&R and Doing ACME Comedy Theatre Back-to-Back!
By Jamey Giddens on July 16, 2010
They don't grow them any cuter or multi-talented than Eden Riegel and Elizabeth Hendrickson. We first fell in love with the duo when they were getting all sapphic and sweaty on All My Children as Bianca and her twin loves Frankie and Maggie (that is when Mainstream America wasn't looking!), then they made our sides almost split clean open from inappropriate laughter on the best web series ever, Imaginary Bitches. Now the real life friends with the benefit of combustible chemistry are squaring off as very hetero rivals Heather and Chloe on daytime's number one sudser, The Young and the Restless.
As if all those shared IMDB credits aren't enough, Riegel and Hendrickson will be appearing back-to-back this weekend at the hottest spot for sketch comedy and improv in Los Angeles, ACME Comedy Theatre (135 N. La Brea Ave
Hollywood, CA 90036). Tonight at 9 pm PST, the Riegel-icious one returns to ACME in Unscripted Dream Role. Then tomorrow night at 7 pm. PST, Hendrickson will host ACME Saturday Night. (Watch the shows streaming live here!)
I recently caught up with the two crazy, sexy, silly sirens to dish their ACME gigs. I also wanted to find out if they ever get sick of working with each other, the probability of them letting me produce an update of Laverne and Shirley starring them and, most importantly, who gets first dibs at getting to yell out the name "Ronan Malloy" (Jeff Branson) in the throes of unbridled passion in a suite at the Genoa City Athletic Club.
Daytime Confidential: I tell you what, you two just can't seem to do anything by yourselves! First you played star-crossed lesbian lovers on All My Children. Then you portrayed besties who talk to imaginary people (Well, at least one of you did!) on my fav-or-ite web series ever, Imaginary Bitches. To follow that up, you recently reunited on The Young and the Restless to scratch each others' eyes out over the same man. And NOW (takes breath), you're doing ACME back-to-back. Do either of you ever get sick of the other one? We certainly don't get sick of seeing you together!
Eden Riegel: That's really what we're going for. We like each other way too much, and we figure eventually we'll hit that saturation point. So far though, it hasn't been working so great. I still like the little whippersnapper, gosh darnit!
Elizabeth Hendrickson: Well, there aren't a lot of jobs available for actors these days soooo.... READ MORE
Exposé: ABC Seeks Special Waiver From WGA Allowing Them to Skirt Writer Guarantees!
By Jamey Giddens on July 14, 2010
Multiple sources have confirmed to Daytime Confidential.com that ABC Daytime has approached the Writers Guild of America (WGA) requesting a special waiver allowing them to disregard guarantees already promised writers as a part of their current, respective contracts, in order to cut up to 20 scripted episodes a year from each of their three soap operas— All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital— to be replaced with classic episodes.
"ABC is basically saying, if you don't give us the waiver, we'll have no choice but to start firing writers on each show," says one source. READ MORE
RUMOR REPORT: Will ABC Daytime CUT 20 Scripted Episodes Per Year, Per Soap?!
By Jamey Giddens on July 12, 2010
The daytime community is reeling this weekend after news began to circulate that ABC Daytime is seriously toying with the idea of cutting their order of scripted, new episodes by 20 shows per year, per soap.
"In a cost-cutting measure, ABC wants to replace as many as 20 episodes a year with 'classic episodes' of the three ABC soap operas," says a source. "These new, classic episodes would highlight current couples the network wants to promote."
In addition to the six holiday episodes a year where classic episodes are already aired, this would bring the total of annual re-airings of ABC Daytime soaps to 26. If it happens, this move would alter the guarantees ABC has to pay its actors, writers, directors, producers, etc. Keep checking back with Daytime Confidential.com as this potentially game-changing story develops...
PC Exclusive: Desperate Housewives' Kathryn Joosten Talks Ageism on Madison Ave., Hosting ACME Saturday Night and Romance For Wisteria Lane's Nosiest Neighbor
By Jamey Giddens on June 25, 2010
In the 1980's, Dynasty's Linda Evans told us 40 wasn't fatal in order to move hair products. Two-and-a-half decades later, Desperate Housewives scene stealer Kathryn Joosten could star in her own series of commercials—Life Doesn't Stop at 60, or even 70 for that matter!
I briefly caught up with the actress, who since 2005 has portrayed Wisteria Lane's nosiest neighbor, Karen McCluskey, as she was preparing to host
ACME Saturday Night this weekend at the ACME Comedy Theatre in Hollywood (135 N. La Brea Ave Hollywood, CA 90036). In just five, quick questions the outspoken TV star, who began her career at 40 and didn't land her breakout role as President Bartlett's secretary on the NBC drama The West Wing until she was in her 60's, sounded off on everything from enjoying doing comedy as much as the audience does watching it, to ageism in Hollywood and how her battle with lung cancer caused her to seek out therapy. You can bet I'll be talking to this courageous, fiery spirit again!Pop Confidential: Fans of Desperate Housewives are already well aware of the fact that you know your way around a funny line. Are you nervous about doing comedy live when you host ACME Saturday Night this weekend?
Kathryn Joosten: No, not at all. I get as much fun out of doing comedy as the audience hopefully does out of watching. And then I found out they would be using teleprompter so I wouldn't have to worry about memorizing four sketches. Besides, when the mood strikes, I just start improvising.
PC: What kind of sketches will you be doing? Will any of them spoof Desperate Housewives?
KJ: Now that would be telling. I'm sure some kind of mention of DH will come up. READ MORE


