OT: WLS's Claire Labine Interview

SOURCE: We Love Soaps
Claire Labine Answers YOUR Questions, Part One
Saturday, December 19, 2009 Posted by Damon L. Jacobs

Thank you to all the We Love Soaps readers that posted questions for the Divine Claire Labine to answer. We did not have time to respond to all of them, but she did generously answer a great amount. Please enjoy this follow up series of questions which will hopefully entertain and educate us all about this brilliant woman, as well as the history of daytime television.

Michael asks: Do you know or ever talk with Harding Lemay?
Claire Labine: Oh, yes. Many times. I’m very fond of him. He is an old soldier, and he knows what it’s all about. He’s very good at handling the network, and he’s very generous to writers. I like Pete a lot.

Michael asks: Did you watch ANOTHER WORLD when he wrote for it in the 1970’s?
Claire Labine: No, I didn’t watch anything. The only soap I ever watched outside of the ones we were writing was LOVE OF LIFE. [I watched] in the 15 minute era, and then when in went to half an hour. That was ages ago, when my babies were little. When you’re writing the soaps, you don’t have time to watch the other shows. I never got in the habit. I also didn’t want to be influenced by story, I didn’t want to get somebody else’s story in my head unconsciously. I just stayed away from other shows.

Michael asks: What about Douglas Marland?
Claire Labine: You’ve picked two of my favorite people. I was fond of Doug. His death was a great loss to the serial community. He had an enormously wonderful sense of humor and I always enjoyed him. We didn’t see a lot of each other, but whenever we did it was extremely pleasant. And no, I didn’t watch his things either. I just didn’t watch soaps.

Jennifer asks: What writers have influenced your work?
Claire Labine: Besides Aeschylus? I’m very fond of the Greeks. Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus are my all time favorites. There isn’t much that we write about in daytime that the Greeks didn’t write about first. Their insights into human nature and Psychology are mind boggling. I love all that. And probably Tennessee Williams, in terms of loving his style, loving the people he wrote about, and loving his language. When he was on, his grasp of the dramatic form was mind boggling. Then Eugene O’ Neill. He wrote God awful dialogue but his plays were amazing. And Thornton Wilder in "Our Town" remains one of the most moving theater pieces ever written.

Jeleasure asks: What about writing novels based on the projects she would have written for television? She is a wonderful writer and would love to read her words if I can not see and hear them.
Claire Labine: Yes I have. And I’ve been too lazy to do it. Tell her I said thank you very much. That may goad me to sit down and do it. I have two things that would be quite appropriate for a novel. Other people have urged me to do it. Maybe I should. I have a play I have to finish first. And I’m working on a book for a musical with a collaborator. After that, that would be a lovely thing to so. What else?

James asks: Is it true that writer's get a bonus and residuals for creating new characters on the soaps? And do those residuals for character creation continue as long as the character remains on the canvas, even if the writer has left the show?
Claire Labine: Well let’s put it this way. I created a number of characters on show, but I have never gotten a residual based on that my whole life. It may be done, maybe my agents were asleep at the switch. But I have never participated in that, and I created a number of characters. I don’t know. You’d have to go the Guild on that one.

Hunger asks: Were you ever offered the chance to write for ATWT instead of GL? If so, what would you have done?
Claire Labine: Yes. It was a very generous and lovely offer. Except Matt and I were trying to get HEART & SOUL [aka Union Place] on the air. I had to turn it down because we were in the middle of that development. I said to Proctor & Gamble, “I am gratified by this offer, but if I have any chance at all...” I didn’t think there was much chance but I thought it was worth a go to do our own show. And they were very lovely about it. That was several years before the GUIDING LIGHT gig.
We Love Soaps: What time frame was that?
Claire Labine: After GENERAL HOSPITAL, and before ONE LIFE TO LIVE.

Justin asks: With all the changes taking place at ALL MY CHILDREN, have you been approached to write for the show?
Claire Labine: No.
We Love Soaps: Would you consider it if you were approached?
Claire Labine: I don’t know. I think it’s a mute point. I don’t think I’d have the opportunity to consider it.

Antonio asks: Was their ever a character on any of the soaps you have written on that you couldn't stand but the network wouldn't let you write them out?
Claire Labine: Yes but I’m not going to say who they are. [Laughs], That’s a good question, and I’m so tempted to answer it!
We Love Soaps: What prevents you from answering it?
Claire Labine: I don’t want to be mean to an actor. There’s no point. There’s enough negativity in this world without adding to it.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Come back Monday to read Claire Labine Answer YOUR Questions Part Two. She will give answers about soaps leaving New York, the soap she wanted to develop after RYAN’S HOPE, and how she inadvertently played a significant role in the development of THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL.

Damon L. Jacobs is a Marriage Family Therapist practicing in New York City, and the author of "Absolutely Should-less: The Secret to Living the Stress-Free Life You Deserve". He is blogging about surviving the holidays at www.shouldless.com.

SOURCE: We Love Soaps
Claire Labine Answers YOUR Questions, Part Two
Monday, December 21, 2009 Posted by Damon L. Jacobs

In Part One of our follow up interview, the Divine Ms. Labine answered YOUR questions pertaining to her influences, the writers she admires, and her history of writing on daytime. In Part Two she responds to more comments and questions about the current state of soaps. What role did Claire play in the creation of THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL? Find out below!

Jordan Hudson wrote: I don't know if Claire will ever read my comment but honey, it's not you that is doing anything wrong it's the idiot executives of the shows and network that will not allow you to do what you were hired to do which is write. You have given me so much with your storytelling. As an artist myself you have made me grown but also as a human being with your incredible words. I have watched RH, GH OLTL and GL when you were working on them and you never disappointed me.
Claire Labine: Will you tell Jordan thank you very much? That delighted me and touched me.

John asks: As a longtime New Yorker - and a writer who has primarily written for shows taped in NY - what do you think about the exodus of NY-based soaps?
Claire Labine: I think it’s tragic. That’s the word for it, it’s truly tragic. I hate it. And I don’t think it’s going to do them any good.

To me the idea of taking anything out of New York is hideous! I personally find the atmosphere here, the energy, the people who are involved in the business, all make it unique. I think the real reason for going to California is that that is where the program departments are. They can keep closer control of the shows out there than they can here. And it’s probably more financially desirable to do it [there]. I don’t know about that, but I suspect so. They have a lot of studio space that is amortized. But I think it’s awful, I’m really sad about it.

Dee asks: What if anything do you think can be done to revitalize the soap opera genre?
Claire Labine: I think we have to wait awhile until the economy turns around. Because scripted drama undoubtedly is more expensive to produce. And the dollar signs currently control programming choices. I think the networks are really up against it. They have to redefine themselves if they’re going to survive as networks. I don’t think it will ever be the way we have known it to be. But I think it could be better. I mean serial drama has been around since Homer. It’s going to continue to be around. But just in the light of contemporary economics and the availability of other avenues of the delivery of the product, I think the serial will adapt to the available means of communicating it. Whether it’s the net, or what, who knows. But storytelling, as long as you’ve got something that will deliver it to an audience, is going to go right on. We just may have to wait awhile for the serial form to be revised.

John asks: Are there any other writers whom you have mentored in the past who you think might do particularly well in the head writer position, if given the chance?
Claire Labine: That’s funny. I’ve always learned things from the writers on the staff. I don’t really think of myself as a mentor. I think of myself as someone who is pretty good at putting together a group of people who think similarly. I can’t name some, because then I would leave out somebody and I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. But I have worked with such gifted and talented people. A lot of them are quite disillusioned at the moment. I might think they would be great headwriters, but they may not want to do it. Understandably.

John asks: I've read that you had developed and pitched a new soap to CBS during the years when you were away from RH. Was this an earlier version of what almost became your GH spinoff in the mid-90s, or was it something else? Can you tell us about it?
Claire Labine: Yes. There were two, actually. The first was one of the ones that could be a novel. It was set on a horse farm in Kentucky. It was called CELEBRATION. And it’s still around and it’s still alive. The other was HEART & SOUL (aka Union Place). HEART & SOUL was about two families, one black, one white, both show business families. The black family was three generations of jazz musicians. Next door was a theatrical family. The Brooklyn community was a big part of it, as well as a local radio station, some very colorful characters. Matt (Labine) and I really loved it. We had the first go around with it with ABC, then NBC, then ABC again.

Michael Brockman was head of daytime at CBS. He asked me to develop CELEBRATION. Bill Bell had been reluctant to do another show at the time. I was kind of used in a way, but it was alright because it was legitimate use. Michael was very upfront about it. He said, “I have to tell you, I’ve asked Bill to do a series and he has declined. He may accept if we get down to the wall and I have something from you that I’m going to put on the air. He may change his mind.” I said, "Michael, you have been totally forthcoming and I totally understand. I would love to work on this material and the fun of working on it makes it okay." And indeed, Bill Bell decided, “Yes, maybe I will do another one,” and went ahead and did THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Claire Labine answers YOUR questions about RYAN’S HOPE tomorrow!

SOURCE: We Love Soaps
Claire Labine Answers YOUR Questions, Part Three
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 Posted by Damon L. Jacobs

In Parts One and Two of the We Love Soaps follow up interview with Claire Labine, the Emmy winning writer answered our reader's questions and comments about her illustrious career, her reflections on the state of daytime, and her non-developed projects. In Part Three, she answers your questions specifically about RYAN'S HOPE. Enjoy!

James asks: Of the several times that you left RYAN'S HOPE, which writer do you think did the best job of following in your footsteps and remaining true to your vision of the show? Why?
Claire Labine: Mary Ryan Munisteri.

Gwynnega asks: I was curious about what your original story plans had been following the death of Frank early in RYAN'S HOPE--for example, Delia's path would have been?
Claire Labine: We would have focused immediately on Pat. There was a story with Faith and Pat and Delia, and Roger interfering in that. Mary and Jack were much more intense. Jack was convinced that Frank was being paid off by someone and he was determined to find out about it. So the initial conflict between Mary and Jack was even more fierce. There was broken hearted Jill and Seneca, but she couldn’t commit to him because she was still in love with poor dead Frank. We brought someone in for her but I can’t remember who it was. It was more out of the Ryans and into the Coleridges. It had the two sisters [Jill and Faith], with one involved with a Ryan, and the other having been involved with a Ryan. That was roughly the structure.

Gwynnega asks: What was your original idea for Mary's exit story? (As I understand it, you wanted to kill off Mary when Kate Mulgrew left.)
Claire Labine: We never really worked it out because the network flatly refused to even to consider it. They said, “Absolutely not, you cannot kill her.” And we said, “Well, it’ll be death by 1000 cuts.” We never had a thoroughly worked out deal because there was never any point. You don’t go around really sweating long story when you know you’re not going to get anywhere with it.

Ryan asks: Any scoop on the revolving parade of Marys?
Claire Labine: We couldn’t find one that suited the audience or us or the network. There were three entities to get past in that role. The network was quite surprised that the audience was having so much difficulty relating to the new Marys. We did the best we could in casting in every case. But it was not to the audience’s liking, or the network’s, or in some cases, ours.
Ryan added: I personally thought Mary Carney (#2) wasn't too bad
Claire Labine: I thought she was wonderful.
Ryan asks: Why on earth did they let Carney go in favor of Tolan?
Claire Labine: That was a network choice. They thought she wasn’t glamorous enough, or whatever. Whatever was their whim of the week.

Ryan asks: More details as to why the network let Sarah Felder go? I also thought she was amazing
Claire Labine: She was so wonderful. You know what that was about? Sarah really did fulfill the character as we saw it. We had beautiful Siobhans and good acting Siobhans. I think they thought she wasn’t glamorous enough, that she wasn’t pretty enough, that she had gained weight. They thought all this dumb stuff. I remember saying to them one time, “Just stop! Will you look at the child act?” Our casting always shook them up a bit until they decided it was all their idea in the first place.

Ryan asks: Did the network decide to send Julia Barr to ALL MY CHILDREN straight from RH? The Reenie storyline just seemed to end so abruptly.
Claire Labine: Yes. Agnes [Nixon] wanted her. I think that’s alright to say, she did want her. Fred Silverman [President of ABC Entertainment] was not particularly interested in Nick Szabo and the criminal element. But the criminal element was right for the neighborhood and right for the time. I don’t know if it that’s how Fred was justifying it for us because Agnes wanted Julia, or what. But that was the heavy influence there.

Jennifer asks: Rosie O'Donnell hinted once in her blog she was trying to bring back Ryan's Hope. Is that still a go?
Claire Labine: No it isn’t. There was a discussion, but there wasn’t a great deal we could do. I love Rosie. She has been so generous to RYAN’S HOPE over the years. She has been a champion, a pal, and a friend. She was extremely supportive.

Sandy asks: Curious about Ms. Labine's comments that Karen Morris Gowdy left for personal reasons. Back then, every magazine said she was let go after new writers took over. Any ideas why the differing reasons?
Claire Labine: No! I think it was much more personal, I think it was Karen’s choice. Was it Millie [Taggert] and Tom [King] then? I don’t think they had anything against her. It might have just been that Faith wasn’t going to be used a lot. It may have been they didn’t have front and center story for her. But I can’t imagine anyone in their right minds wanting to let Karen go.

John asks: In your mind, where are the characters of Ryan's Hope today?
Claire Labine: They’re up there in Riverside. They’re just perkin’ along. Maeve is running the bar. Johnny has died. Frank has gotten out of politics and is teaching. They’ve been very active in politics, everyone was campaigning for Obama. Paul [Avila Mayer] and I would occasionally brush up on the fantasy just for fun. Roger and Delia were married and having a ball. Finally, she was relaxing and having a good time. In spite of the problems with Little John and Owen. They’re fine. Everyone is alive and well and living in Riverside.
We Love Soaps: What about Rae Woodard?
Claire Labine: She’s circling. I don’t think Rae is the kind of character who gives up. Frank and Jill are married, but that does not mean that she has given up ambitions for Frank. And she’s certainly still in the newspaper business.

Elizabeth Kerri Mahon, author of Scandalous Women, said: “How did you know that RYAN'S HOPE is one of the soaps I miss most? Every time I pass Coogan's up near Columbia Presbyterian I think of the show.”
Claire Labine: [Laughs] That’s nice! That was so nice.

Politicaljunkie asks: What would Maeve think of Sarah Palin?
Claire Labine: She’d fall over laughing. Maeve, with her usual tact, would not want to offend whoever asked this question. But she would have a beer while she gathered herself and tried not to get hysterical.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Come back for Part Four in which Claire Labine answers YOUR questions about GENERAL HOSPITAL.

Damon L. Jacobs is a Marriage Family Therapist practicing in New York City, and the author of "Absolutely Should-less: The Secret to Living the Stress-Free Life You Deserve".

SOURCE: We Love Soaps
Claire Labine Answers YOUR Questions Part Four
Wednesday, December 23, 2009 Posted by Damon L. Jacobs

In Parts One and Two, Claire Labine answered your questions about her career as a writer and insights into the daytime genre. In Part Three, she answered your questions specifically pertaining to RYAN'S HOPE. In Part Four, the Divine Ms. Labine answers your questions about GENERAL HOSPITAL. Enjoy!

GGmaire asks: With Jonathan Jackson's recent return to GENERAL HOSPITAL as Lucky, I was just wondering how you envisioned Lucky's character originally. What role did you think he would play in Luke and Laura's life? Did you envision them being good parents?
Claire Labine: I didn’t know that he was back! I think that kid was really smart, and I think both of his parents really loved him. So he was not going to get into too much terrible trouble in my book. I think he would push the edge of the envelope. I giggled over the concept of Luke handling Lucky as an adolescent. Because what can the kid pull that Luke doesn’t know? How can he expect to get away with anything with Luke as his daddy? He’s not going to! I think it was the fun of that, the fun of him pushing the envelope, and then in his 20’s settled in. I can see him as a second almost Luke. Not the wild and desperate Luke that Tony [Geary] loved to be, and which he deplored my not writing. He felt I didn’t understand him, but I really did. I knew what [he wanted] but he played that a lot and we wanted to see Luke in another light. Then as it worked out, he and Sonny’s partnership was good fun, at least in the beginning. I don’t know what’s going on now. So don’t tell me what Lucky is now, I don’t want to know.

islandlucy asks: As much as I loved the character of Sonny under your writing I really dislike how GENERAL HOSPITAL is now all about the mob. Sonny and Jason are two criminal characters that now rule all and it is so disheartening. The hospital is all but gone. The show is dark and soulless. Do you have any thoughts about why GENERAL HOSPITAL went in this direction?

Claire Labine: Yes I do. Because those two actors [Maurice Benard and Steve Burton] are so good! I think of balance in all things. Sonny and Jason as nothing but bad, after while, becomes a little wearing. I don’t know, I haven’t seen it. Can’t truly comment. But I can understand why anyone would get seduced into writing for them. But at the same time there were so many other amazing talents available on that show. Tony Geary among them, who I think is one of the best actors pound for pound in the business. Ever. Ever. Daytime, nighttime, anytime.

islandlucy asks: Do you ever regret placing so much focus on the mob and Sonny Corinthos?
Claire Labine: No. Because I think we were going to moderate it, we were trying to. I don’t think it would have gone this far and this long. I think Brenda would have an affect on him in the end. That would have been fun to watch, his trying to stay out of it. We tried to show him many lights.

Ben asks: I read that the storyline that reintroduced the Cassadines was based on an idea you had for the return of Luke and Laura, that somebody needed a bone marrow transplant and that is what brought them back to town. Any truth to that one?
Claire Labine: What? No. The only transplant story was the heart transplant for Maxie.

Ben asks: Did you have any specific plans for Mary Mae Ward that were cut short by her real life death?
Claire Labine: Just that she was [pause], Rosalind Cash was such an amazing performer. I adored writing for her. I thought a black family, related to the Quartermaines, made an enormous amount of sense. There was so much there that could have been played. Roz’s death kind of took the heart out of it. Everyone was so sad about that. It really was quite a tragic loss.

John asks: You were at ABC when it was bought by Disney (and probably when it was bought by Capital Cities before that). In retrospect, at the time Disney took over, it seemed like all three of those shows were doing some really groundbreaking things (none more so than your GENERAL HOSPITAL, of course), and then a few months later, not so much. Do you have any thoughts on how the new ownership affected the way the ABC daytime lineup was run?
Claire Labine: The Irish Mafia [aka Capital Cities] sold it to Disney, is that right? Daniel Burke and Thomas Murphy were fondly referred to as the Irish Mafia, I didn’t mean that meanly. I thought they were a class act. They came in [in 1985] and everybody was terrified. Everyone said it was going to be gestapo, that there were going to be drug dogs in the building, none of which was the case. They were broadcasters . They cared about broadcasting, they cared about the bottom line responsibly. I had the greatest respect for them. It was furthered by the fact that after they canceled [RYAN’S HOPE], Mr. Burke and Mr. Murphy had the guts to turn up at the wrap party and talk to everyone. They were so gracious, and so regretful. Helen [Gallagher] told them off.
We Love Soaps: So did Disney make a difference creatively?
Claire Labine: I don’t know. I don’t think Disney had really begun to have an affect on it while I was around. God knows they were totally supportive of Pat Fili-Krushel, and Pat supported us as Mickey [Alice Dwyer-Dobbin] had done. Mickey was fully behind Matt, Eleanor, and I when we went on as head writers. She and Wendy [Riche] had met, and Wendy said, “I will do everything I can to implement what you want to do and we will work together happily.” And we did for a long time. So I wasn’t affected by it. Who knows? I don’t.
We Love Soaps: For me there was a change creatively
Claire Labine: I think there is, no question about it. But why that is, what the cause of that is, I’m hard pressed to speculate.

Melanie asks: I enjoyed your work on both RYAN’S HOPE and GENERAL HOSPITAL and was wondering if you'd ever return to GENERAL HOSPITAL as head writer if ABC asked you. The show is in desperate need of a fresh vision and I think you would bring back some heart to the show. What do you think?
Claire Labine: It would all depend. I love writing daytime, and I love writing serial. I’m beginning to learn how to do it. It’s a shame to not be doing something I love doing. I would consider anything. In direct contrast to what I said earlier, I would consider doing it. But I don’t know if it would happen. One, the offer won’t be made. And if it was, I’m not sure we could implement it. But we could talk about it!

Stay tuned, Claire Labine answers YOUR questions about ONE LIFE TO LIVE next!

Damon L. Jacobs is a Marriage Family Therapist practicing in New York City, and the author of "Absolutely Should-less: The Secret to Living the Stress-Free Life You Deserve". He is blogging about surviving the holidays at www.shouldless.com.

SOURCE: We Love Soaps
Claire Labine Answers YOUR Questions, Part Five
Saturday, December 26, 2009 Posted by Damon L. Jacobs

In Parts One and Two of this series Claire answered your questions about her writing career. In Part Three, she answered your questions specific to RYAN HOPE'S, then in Part Four about GENERAL HOSPITAL. Now in Part Five, she answers your questions about ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Please read on to learn how she helped Ron Carlivati, her fascination with Todd and Tea, plus her secret about Wendi Mercury.

John asks: Do you see yourself as having been a mentor to Ron Carlivati?
Claire Labine: What happened was, somebody I knew suggested he call me. And this very personable person called me up, explained he had been a lawyer, and what he really really really wanted to do was to be a writer on ONE LIFE TO LIVE. He knew he couldn’t start as a writer, but he would do anything, and did I have any suggestions? I said, “My first suggestion is that I put down the phone and call Jean Passanante because I happen to know they are looking for a writer’s assistant.” So I called Jean. She said, “We haven’t hired anybody and we’re desperate.” I said, “I have lively candidate for you.” She said, “Send him over.”

So off he went, and they hired him in about two minutes. He’s very smart, he’s very personable, and he’s obviously very dedicated to the show. Then after we arrived, there he was, he was our writer’s assistant. He began writing spec scenes (scenes from the current outlines), and handing them to me and saying, “If you have a chance, tell me what you think of it.” Several scenes into this I thought, “Holy moly, we can get another writer’s assistant, why not see what he can do as a dialogue writer?”
That was where we left it. He was really enormously accomplished, had a terrific sense of humor, and his scripts were very lively. I never doubted that he would ultimately become the headwriter of ONE LIFE TO LIVE. It was just one of those things that seemed inevitable. I don’t take much credit for mentoring anybody. If they fit in and hang out and share the fun then it almost always works out. I haven’t seen any of his headwriting stuff, I honestly and truly don’t know what’s going on [on the show]. I certainly am very fond of him as a person, and I greatly admired him as a script writer.

PJ asks: Right after you left OLTL, Eli, the HIV-positive teenager Carlotta Vega adopted, vanished without a trace. If you had stayed, what story did you have planned for him?
Claire Labine: I don’t remember Eli. I don’t think he was my invention, he was probably Jill's [Farren Phelps]. I wouldn’t have done another HIV story, I had done that with Stone [on GENERAL HOSPITAL]. I wouldn’t have touched another HIV story for a long time. I felt we had given that our all and I wouldn’t have gone back to that.

Jase asks: It has been rumored that the Tea character was originally modeled in part after Jill from Ryan's Hope; is that true?
Claire Labine: No. Not consciously. But unconsciously, who knows. There certainly were similarities. She was very independent and gutsy. I adored that actress [Florencia Lozano], I thought she was wonderful. And I thought her stuff with Roger Howarth was magical.

Jase asks: How was the decision made to focus on Tea and Todd rather than Blair, who spent much of your tenure in a coma?
Claire Labine: Well they were both such wonderful actors and I wanted to see them together! That was one of those things that evolved from chemistry. I don’t think that was in our minds at all. But when we saw them together...it really seemed to work.

Jase asks: Also, did you have any role in the multiple personality or "DID" story One Life embarked on with Todd in 1998, or was that all taken up by the writers after you left?
Claire Labine: I didn’t know anything about that. I don’t know anything about it.
We Love Soaps: It was an idea they played with in the summer on 1998, then it was dropped.
Claire Labine: I think it would be a little bit tricky to play a multiple personality story on that show because of Vicki.

Matt Cormier said: Ms. Labine, first of all thank you for the richly entertaining shows you've given me for the last two decades. they have informed my life and enriched me more than you'll ever know.
Claire Labine: Thank you, Matthew!

Matt Cormier asks: During your years at "OLTL" you wrote some of the most wonderful stories that show has ever seen and I've always admired your ability to write stories that include socially relevant issues with comedy and soap staples like romance and love. Why do you think soaps today are not written with social issues at it's core?
Claire Labine: I don’t know! [Laughs] I mean, if you want to relate them to the real world, God knows there are plenty of issues for them to relate to. Good grief, I don’t know the answer to that, I couldn’t begin to figure it out.

The Film Panel Notetaker says: Under yours and your son Matthew's head writing during your brief stay at One Life to Live, I witnessed some of the best character development and witty dialogue the show has ever had. The episode when Mel's mother, Mary "Dr. Maude" Boylan as played by the marvelous Helen Gallagher, came to meet Dorian and her Kramer girls for the first time with granddaughter Dorothy (Mel's daughter) at La Boulais, was just so incredibly charming, sophisticated, elegant, yet tense and dramatic. I also loved the chemistry between the characters of RJ Gannon and Jacara Principal, whom together created Bluejay/Indigo Records. And to top that off, there was Club Indigo's transgendered mixologist, Wendi Mercury [played by Shequida], who was a sympathetic ear to Llanview's denizens.
Claire Labine: I don’t think I can take credit for Wendi. I adored it. Somebody is going to howl, but that wasn’t my idea. I’m not sure who’s idea it was, but I loved it. It may have been Matt or Eleanor [Labine], it may have been Jean, it may have been Ron. I have no idea where that came from, but I loved it too.

The Film Panel Notetaker asks: How do you come up with all these brilliant characters and just make it work?
Claire Labine: I don’t know how you make them work. I do know if a character is grounded in reality...and when I say reality, my best friends would tend to shy away when I start looking at them in a speculative way. You take bits and pieces from people you know and love, or people you know and don’t love. You knit them together, and try to make sure it’s a psychologically sound amalgamation of personality traits. If you’ve done a good job hatching them, then you sit back and let them tell you what their story is, because they do!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Stay tuned for the final part of our Q&A with Claire in which she answers YOUR questions about GUIDING LIGHT [yes, I asked about "Holivia"] and more general responses to YOUR questions!

Damon L. Jacobs is a Marriage Family Therapist practicing in New York City, and the author of "Absolutely Should-less: The Secret to Living the Stress-Free Life You Deserve". He is re-imagining a world without "shoulds" at www.shouldless.com.

Are you sure you don't know what's going on on OLTL these days? I did like the cultural feel of OLTL at that time, but moreso that the characters had depth, even the transgendered mixologist we only saw occasionally. It's interesting to note that she saw Ron possibly being an influence in that way.

SOURCE: We Love Soaps
Claire Labine Answers YOUR Questions, Part Six
Monday, December 28, 2009 Posted by Damon L. Jacobs

In Parts One and Two of our follow up interview with writer Claire Labine, the Emmy winner answered your questions about her writing career. In Part Three, she answered your questions specific to RYAN HOPE'S, in Part Four about GENERAL HOSPITAL, and Part Five about ONE LIFE TO LIVE. In this final part, she answers YOUR questions about GUIDING LIGHT and LOVE OF LIFE.

John asks: Were there any other GL characters you wished you could have written for, either who were on the canvas at the time but not utilized very much or who were already gone from the show by then?
Claire Labine: Yes indeed. I can’t go into it because there isn’t any point. In the end the network and the production entity called the shots. That’s the way it is. You take a deep breath and wish you could have been more eloquent in persuading them this would have been a good thing to do. If you can’t do it, you can’t do it.

We Love Soaps: We spoke about the triangle that so many enjoyed of Buzz, Holly, and Billy. Who could you have seen Holly ending up with.
Claire Labine: I don’t know! We would have to have played it out. They were both so viable. The chemistry with the three of them was gangbusters. I don’t know who she would have ended up with. Maybe a third party.

PJ asks: Is there any truth to the rumors that on GL, around the time you were writing, Olivia and Holly were going to get involved?
Claire Labine: That wasn’t the original plan, but it was a later plan. I wanted to a “Children’s Hour” story. I was very serious about wanting to do that, but the network shied away from it. We really wanted to try it to see if it would go with those two consummately gifted actresses. I would have loved to do that.

We Love Soaps: But "Children’s Hour" is a very tragic story [in which a lesbian commits suicide].
Claire Labine: It sure is.

We Love Soaps: Did you mean for it to end that way?
Claire Labine: No I don’t think anyone needed to have committed suicide. But the realization of one or the other, that she really was in love with the other. I think how she managed that, and how the other character managed it in a loving way. In a sympathetic and loving way, ask, “How the hell do we stay friends and how the hell do I not torment you? At the same time how do we do this?” That’s the stuff you get can get a lot of emotional scenes out of. It moved me, I was really interested.

Hunger asks: Please comment on the almost male rape jail scene with major heartthrob character (“Beanie”, played by Christopher Reeve) on LOVE OF LIVE in 1974?
Claire Labine: Ben Harper—I had only written for Christopher Reeve in that role. But this story rings no bells, I can’t imagine how we would have gotten there. He got bigamously married in a highly convoluted story. I think that had to have been an early incarnation. I didn’t know him as “Beanie,” that must have been prior to 1974. We didn’t talk about it, it wasn’t us.

Hunger asks: Did you write the Vietnamese woman & war vet story?
Claire Labine: I don’t remember that one.

Hunger asks: Also,the horsemeat/cafeteria story on LOVE OF LIFE?
Claire Labine: That probably was an early foray into environmental issues that outraged me because I love horses very much. This fellow has a great memory.

We Love Soaps: According to Wikipedia, this was related to the story around the mayor Jeff Hart. He had his henchman lock Vanessa and her daughter Cal (Caroline) in a meat freezer. They learned that the meat served as Cal’s school was horsemeat.
Claire Labine: That was us! We were fully responsible for that. Van and Cal were locked in the freezer.

We Love Soaps: Then it says Jeff raped Cal before he left town.
Claire Labine: That had to have been after we left. We wouldn’t have done that for a minute. The wonderful thing was having Jeff Hart as the mayor and his henchman played by Michael Fairman [ex-RYAN’S HOPE, now THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS]. Fairman was playing Haldeman to Hart’s Nixon. We had laid this out before Watergate. We had this mini-Watergate story that was playing out at the same time as the real scandal. Hart’s lies were closing in on him, he had dirty tricks up one side and down the other. I don’t think ABC ever really understood, but my theory is that there five minutes of news at 12:00, they were playing out Watergate, then on comes LOVE OF LIFE doing Watergate. They thought we were doing it on purpose.

We Love Soaps: That covers most of our reader’s questions. What do you think?
Claire Labine: Please thank them. I was delighted to answer them. I’m astonished people remember what they remember, it pleases me very much.

We Love Soaps: I think it also shows how you’ve touched so many people. They carry your writing and how your stories have helped them or improved their lives in some way.
Claire Labine: Really and truly it such an astonishing privilege to be able to tell stories that reflect human dilemma and have this incredible audience every day. And a resident company of actors that you trust and love. There’s nothing like it. The pressures of night time are different, the pace is different. This every day exposure to other people’s lives, and the fun of living in the alternate reality...when one is it one is not always sure which world is the real world. Am I coming out of the real world to bring things into the serial, or am I coming out of the serial to bring things into the real world? Who knows, it gets very confused. But it’s a profound pleasure to work in the forum.

Damon L. Jacobs is a Marriage Family Therapist practicing in New York City, and the author of "Absolutely Should-less: The Secret to Living the Stress-Free Life You Deserve". He is re-imagining a world without "shoulds" at www.shouldless.com.