Vets Say

Veterans' Say:
Guiding Light's Longest-Running Cast Members -- Maureen Garrett (Holly) and Jerry verDorn (Ross) -- Talk Shop In Honor of The Show's 50 Years on Television.

By Melissa Scardaville
Soap Opera Digest, June 25, 2002

Digest: Do you feel any responsibility as the longest-running cast members?

Maureen Garrett: I do. I find that with the young people coming up, I want to help steer them in the right direction [to] not take the celebrity part too seriously.

Jerry verDorn: I try to let new people know that this may be different from any other show they've done, that it's a relaxed atmosphere. And mistakes, if you've done your homework, are more than tolerated-they're understood.

Garrett: And I try to teach them the lessons that we learn again and again, like letting it go at the end of the day.

VerDorn: They're not going to call you back the next day to reshoot the episode!

Garrett: I've always tried to calm myself by saying that these are rough sketches, like a sidewalk [artist] who does a quick sketch of your face. Grab the material and run.

Digest: What sorts of survival tools have you developed?

Garrett: I always remember Bill Roerick [ex-Henry] saying, "If you can sit down, sit down. If you can lie down, lie down." Grab those moments to relax.

VerDorn: I've found over the years that fatigue can lead to a great deal of artistic insight because your monitor is down. You just react-directly, with the heart-because you're tired, and there's no artificial crap in front of you.

Digest: What were some of your favorite periods on GL?

VerDorn: The period where they paid us to stay home? [They laugh.] I certainly liked my first day on the show because people were so kind. And acting-wise, the first thing I did was kiss my brother's wife, which I thought was a wonderful way to start.

Garrett: I think of the early days, too. [Garrett started on GL in 1976.] Maybe it's nostalgia, but they were also wonderful stories. When Jerry came [in 1979], the trial, and Roger [Thorpe], we were breaking new ground. I suppose by now, everything's been done, all the stories have been told. But at the time, it was very exciting to do, and as part of the feminist movement, to do the marital-rape story was empowering, heady stuff. Yeah, those were the days. [laughs]

VerDorn: I think we like the old stories, but today's Tory story is a very Guiding Light thing because it ended up coming out of past story, which audiences go ape over because it's a connection. It forces them to get involved and see different things. So many people tell me that when a show is really cooking, it's like reading. You know, you're cross-referencing to chapter six when you're on chapter 15.

Garrett: Because of all the chords that it strikes. Like when Blake says, "Am I like Roger?"

VerDorn: And now the reader, if you will, is looking at Blake and thinking, "Oh, my God, is she genetically cursed?" Hopefully, that's a hook that's stronger than just some event.

Garrett: And then Ed comes back and mentions Roger to Holly, so it all comes alive again. Your story is automatically deeper and more complex.

Digest: Over the years, have you fought to have history included in the storyline?

VerDorn: You gotta be careful there because you can come across as an old schmuck who's just yearning for the good old days, but I've tried to look at myself honestly and say, "No, our strong suit is this kind of storytelling."

Digest: How has it been to play characters who have basically aged in real time?

VerDorn: It's most unusual. It's a very odd thing to see yourself physically grow old on-camera. When you start as a young ingénue or leading man, and then see a couple of decades go by . . . It's hard to discuss because people find it hard to grow old in life.

Garrett: And [you lead] this double life. Just as you look back on your own life and go, "Gosh, where did the time go?" You look back at this and go, "My God!" But you can actually go back and see those scenes. It's a most bizarre existence.

VerDorn: Maureen was so kind to be involved with the anniversary party my wife threw for my 20 years on the show. They had --- in continuous loop, mind you --- this videotape going of things happening years ago.

Garrett: We love to see ourselves in the younger days. "Yes, run that part again!" [laughs]

Digest: The two of you have been working together on an off since 1979, which is pretty unique.

Garrett: I think it's the best because the best theater, in my mind, has come out of ensembles who've stayed together. Being so familiar with each other, you've already cut through the stuff you had when you first met.

VerDorn: Even though I don't socialize with a lot of cast members, I feel related to Maureen. I feel that way with Liz [Keifer, Blake], Grant [Aleksander, Phillip], Mikey O'Leary [Rick], and many others because we have spent so much time together and have gone through some trying times, artistically and personally.

Garrett: My dreams, too, are mixed with people in both my life and my working life, as if they are family.

VerDorn: So, both of us need therapy! [They laugh.] We've all been tangled up in another family!

Garrett: As if it wasn't hard enough sorting through one!

Digest: Can you pinpoint various turning points for GL?

Garrett: Well, not to avoid the obvious for my character, the Holly/Roger era was a long and significant one.

VerDorn: So much has to do with who's in what slot at what time, although I think we've caught lightning in a bottle several times. And if you're on for 50 years, you're not going to have 50 golden years.

Garrett: There's always flux, depending on who's in charge.

VerDorn: Everything changes. I mean, it's not like [creator] Irna Phillips was going to be alive forever. But I think that soaps are going to have a renewal. Everybody's dinging the death bell, but as the world gets faster, everything old is going to be new again. We might look like a nice respite. If we can get the audience back, I think they'll be back for good.

Digest [To Garrett]: How has the role of women changed since you started?

Garrett: Well, we were quite at the forefront because the women had jobs. Every character that I can think of, except the wealthy ones, was working. So, I think we've been kind of on the vanguard of that for women.

Digest: Do you think GL is just as progressive now?

Garrett: I wouldn't say progressive. We've gone off on other limbs. We've gone into supernatural bents. I suppose it's a matter of taste, but I would prefer real stories. I think "progressive" would be showing people of today dealing with real situations.

VerDorn: Not to be a name-dropper or anything, but Aristotle said there's nothing more dramatic than family. If you don't believe it, go home. And that's true. It's down and dirty and dramatic being a member of a family. That's where we started out, and I don't think we should get too far away from it.

Garrett: But outside forces do come down on the family. They needn't be supernatural, but they can loom very large and affect day-to-day life. So, you're not ignoring the outside world, but bringing it home.

VerDorn: A lot of times when family comes up, it becomes misread in that it's always meant to be warm and fuzzy and huggable, whereas it can be cutthroat, with people ripping at each other.

Garrett: You know, we used to have more generations in families and on the show. And now with Mary Stuart's [ex-Meta] passing, that's not represented well. We're the old folks here.

VerDorn: [putting his arm around Garrett] Ma and Pa Kettle.

Garrett: [leaning on VerDorn's shoulder] Yeah, Ma and Pa Kettle.

VerDorn: Of course, Peter [Simon, Ed] is way older than we are.

Garrett: Yes, perhaps he'll take that over now! [laughs]

Digest: Have you tried to seek out what GL was in the early days?

VerDorn: That radio recreation [in 1997] got me interested. I went through Charita's [Bauer, ex-Bert] son and read some of her diary that she wrote [starting] in 1952. They still did the show on radio, so actors taped the radio show, then did the TV show live with some small revisions to the script because you could see the people, and then did Broadway shows. I thought, "My God, what an immersion in acting that is." But from almost the very beginning, I have felt an obligation not to screw up [laughs], in honor of all the performers who have come before us.

Garrett: You feel such a warmth and glow from being part of this. A lot of people have left, but there's still that wonderful feeling that only comes with shared experiences.

VerDorn: We're part of something that will never happen again. In that regard, if you stop to think about it, it's quite an honor.

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