DeniseB
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Posts: 8
(12/14/05 12:11 pm)
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My Letter to the Ladies @ "The View" re: HBS
Hi everyone! I wanted to share the letter I just sent to each of the ladies at "The View" via e-mail. I don't know if it'll help, but it certainly can't hurt!!!
"Hi! I'm a huge fan of yours & the show and am writing to request your help. ABC may lose one of daytime's most-loved, brightest stars. Hillary B. Smith ("Nora", 'One Life to Live') has been w/ the show 13 yrs. & her contract expires this month. Thousands of fans across the country are pooling resources & writing TPTB on her behalf. In fact, members on opposite ends of Hillary's fan base have come together & created the "Nora Fans United" Message Board strictly for this purpose. Hillary is incredibly talented, smart, passionate & beautiful. There's only 1 problem: she's over 40, and like many daytime actors 40+, she's considered expendable. Whereas journalism enables women more opportunity to age gracefully while remaining in the spotlight, daytime drama does not. Veteran actors are placed out to pasture, 1st by having their character "back-burnered" w/little or bad story, & 2nd by being forced into huge salary cuts or being bumped off-contract & down to recurring status. Networks claim that they have to slash salaries b/c they no longer have the audience of years past. Whose fault is that? I mean, the majority of their audience is in the 30+ age range, & most of their stories are geared towards pre-teens. I'm all for cultivating fresh, young talent, but veterans are the backbone & staple of daytime drama. Is this the message we want to send young women? Do we want to encourage them to pursue their dreams, while softly reminding them that they need to have a backup plan, because it all may end when the crow's feet appear? I'm in my late 30's & began watching OLTL while in junior high. At the time, I was enthralled with strong female characters who served as mentors. Hillary is not the only potential casualty: AMC's Julia Barr & GH's Nancy Lee Grahn & Leslie Charleson are also under-used. I know how supportive you ladies are of daytime actors. Soaps like "Dallas", "Dynasty" or "Knots Landing" would never have aired if they were created today. Sue Ellen & J.R. would be drooling into a cup and playing Parchese in the corner of a nursing home somewhere. Could you imagine?! Right now we are fighting for Hillary, but this issue is bigger than 1 person: it affects the future of daytime tv & sends the wrong message. Please, if the opportunity presents itself w/in the next week or two, give a nod for Hillary. She needs our support more than ever. Thanks for listening!"
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