Bob Woods on Zaz

zazwoodssos.jpg (32779 bytes)

Michael Zaslow embraces OLTL castmate Bob Woods
at the SOS 4 ALS Awareness Benefit at Yankee Stadium on September 12, 1998.

Bob Woods Speaks Out On Pal and Idol Michael Zaslow
Soap Opera Magazine - June 23, 1998

Years ago, prior to his own foray into daytime television, Bob Woods got hooked on GL's scheming Roger Thorpe, then played by Michael Zaslow. "I used to watch reruns of "All in the Family" at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon in L.A., and GL would come on before it. So I'd sit down with my sandwich and catch the last five minutes, and I thought Roger was just out of control," Robert S. Woods (Bo, OLTL) remembers, smiling. "It was only a half-hour show at the time. Soon I started sitting down to catch the last 15 minutes, then the last 20 and then the beginning of it so I could watch this beautiful nurse, Rita, and this awful guy, Roger Thorpe. Zaslow was really my introduction to soap operas; he's the one who managed to grab my attention and keep me coming back."

Years later, Woods would have the opportunity to work alongside his idol when Zaslow joined OLTL as David Renaldi. "As a matter of fact, when he married Brynn Thayer's character (Jenny), I was the best man at their wedding!" Woods recalls. "I remember telling him about how I watched GL because of him and Lenore Kasdorf (ex-Rita). We laughed about it, but he knew that I really loved his work.

"Later on, we were both nominated for Emmy awards for Outstanding Lead Actor against guys like Peter Bergman (Jack, Y&R) and David Canary (Adam/Stuart, AMC)," Woods continues. "Zaz got us all together, and said, 'I'll be honest with you. I want this thing. You guys have all won, you've got yours and I think it's my turn. I want it.' He was laughing and joking around with us, but I said, 'God bless ya, Zaz, I think you oughta have it!' When his name was called that year as the winner (1994), I couldn't have been happier!"

These days, the two men are working together once again; however, the circumstances are a little different now that Zaslow has been diagnosed with ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease. "I've thought about it a lot," reflects Woods. "You see this happen to somebody you know and you wonder, 'Why?' If there's any kind of divine plan, or if Lou Gehrig is up there looking down, he's saying, 'Who's the next guy that's gonna be afflicted with this and then turn it and the situation into something positive to raise consciousness? Zaz is that guy.

"If it had happened to me, I might have stayed home," admits Woods. "But not him. That's not the way he is. He's developing a foundation and raising awareness. If anyone can beat this disease, it's him. I have all the faith in the world in that man."

- A.S.