A reader writes soap columnist Lynda Hirsch and asks, "Is "Guiding Light" being cancelled? "That rumor has been around for 20 years. It is no truer now than it was before. Look for lots of changes on GL starting next year, however. Ellen Wheeler, the show's executive producer, wants the venerable show (can you say over 70 years?) to have a more realistic look and feel.
Soaps: Is "Guiding Light" Being Cancelled? (CBS)
Wheeler says she plans more in-depth characterizations. She wants scenes to be more realistic. If someone is planting flowers, viewers will see the planting process and know the type of flowers they are planting. Viewers will also see those flowers bloom and watch the joy they bring the planter. Viewers will know the favorite songs and foods of characters. Graphics will be different, and so will camera effects.
This is not an attempt to save the show, but give it a different style. As for the cast being cut, Wheeler says that she has no plans to let anyone go.
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Q: My friend says the actor who played Joe Riley on "One Life to Live" died. Is she right? -- Corinthia in Macon, Ga.
A: Sadly, she is. Lee Patterson succumbed to cancer in Texas earlier this year. The 78-year-old actor played Joe Riley Sr. for several stretches (1968 to 1970, 1972 to 1979 and 1987). Patterson loved to tell the story about the last time he died on OLTL (he came back from the dead once and then played a look-alike): "I asked the crew to put a bucket at my feet out of view of the camera. When Joe drew his last breath, I literally kicked the bucket."
Before OLTL, he played the senior detective co-starring with Van Williams and Troy Donahue on "Surfside 6." Born in British Columbia, Canada, he went to college in Ontario, then moved to London. His movies included "Terror Street," "The Good Die Young," "Reach for the Sky" and "The Flying Scot."
Patterson's family started a plastic utensil company. He would joke that he was born with a plastic spoon in his mouth. "The money allowed me to follow my acting dreams," he said.
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Q: I just started watching "Passions" on DirecTV. The actress who plays Tabitha looks so familiar. Who is she? -- Lauren in Redondo Beach, Calif.
A: She is British-born actress Juliet Mills. Sister to actress Hayley Mills, she is the daughter of the late actor Sir John Mills.
Juliet Mills starred opposite James Stewart and Maureen O'Hara in the Western film "The Rare Breed" (1966). You may have seen her in the sitcom "Nanny and the Professor" in 1970, co-starring Richard Long. The series was top-rated, but was canceled after two seasons by ABC.
Mills is an original cast member of "Passions," playing Tabitha the witch. She married actor Maxwell Caulfield in December 1980, and they are still married. Caulfield is 18 years her junior.
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