Get Inside the Bubble at the Daytime Emmys with Soapdom's QueenRuler
Emmy week was one wild week for us at Soapdom, Inc. There were so many events and so little time. Soapdom is a small business, and our staff was stretched so thin, we were not able to cover all the events we were invited to cover. For instance, NBC Daytime had a party on Thursday, April 27. I was personally going to cover the Red Carpet, but after attending the official SOAPnet NATAS/ATAS party for nominees at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and seeing just about all the NBC stars there earlier in that evening, I never got over to the NBC party! But I did get to pop into a fundraiser sponsored by Celebrities 4 Charity called Lights, Camera, Healthcare as a VIP Guest. At this event, fans got to mingle with stars and bid on auction items all for a good cause.
But I am getting way ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning.
When ABC Daytime, in conjunction with the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, announced the 33rd Annual Daytime Emmys were to be held in Hollywood for the first time ever, I couldn't contain my excitement. Finally -- the Emmys on my turf. Laura Debrizzi, Soapdom's NY contributor did not share this enthusiasm, however, feeling slighted that the Awards which had always been in NYC, would be leaving the Great White Way for the Pacific Time Zone.
In my humble opinion, ABC Daytime did an amazing job publicizing the event. The Fan Zone concept took things to new heights, as fans got to interact with the Emmy winners seconds after they won! Even the Awards show itself was packed with fun, music, and surprises.
The SOAPnet party was 'the' place to be the night before the Emmy's broadcast. Stars flew in from NY, and the west coast contingent hurried over from their sets to join the festivities. Soapdom had the Red Carpet covered, thanks to Merle Goldberg and Lori Wilson, so I got to go to the party. What a scene. Everyone who is anyone in daytime was present and accounted for. The band played swing tunes in the far room, but had nary an audience as stars from both coasts preferred instead to mingle in the other room.
The party consumed the entire lobby of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. It was standing room only. Food was sparse, but the vodka abundant. Forever the goody-two-shoes, when the invitation said 'no tape recorders or cameras inside the party' I obediently obliged. Drat. Darn that Catholic school girl in me. I saw a number of tape recorders and cameras inside! Those guests must not have gone to Catholic school.
As mentioned above, I unfortunately did not get to go the NBC party, but I was not the only one. After getting a big hug from Galen Gering (Luis, PAS), who was about to head over to the NBC gig, I stopped to chat with adorable Kelli McCarty (Beth, PAS). She shared that she had so many lines to learn for the next day's taping, she was not going to be able to join the rest of her cast mates at the NBC event. She wanted to be sure to get her scenes worked out well. Who says daytime stars are glib about their jobs?
DOOL's Stephen Nichols (Patch) was eager to say hello. He recognized me from somewhere ' probably a red carpet interview or a visit to the set of GH during his tenure there. Regardless, he was happy to be returning to Salem and couldn't wait to share that with Soapdom's members.
OLTL's Antonio de los Reyes arrived late, escorting the beautiful Sherri Saum (ex Keri, OLTL) to the party. They were also coupled the next day at the Daytime Emmy Awards.
Alec Musser (Del, AMC) remembered me from the very first production day of I Wanna Be A Soap Star season 2. He was happy to chat about his life in Pine Valley and how exciting it is working with such fine actors as Michael E. Knight (Tad), Cady McClain (Dixie) and Kelli Giddish (Di).
Paul Leyden (Simon, ATWT) was very chatty, and couldn't wait to get back to New York to work. He did say that this return is only for six months, so fans, if you want to see more of Simon in Oakdale, be sure to let the powers that be know.
James Scott (ex Ethan, AMC) was hanging with his former cast mates. Jacob Young (JR, AMC; ex Lucky, GH) enjoyed visiting with his former cast mates from GH!
It was fun to see the east coast contingent out in such force on the town in Los Angeles, although Robert Newman (Josh, GL) seemed a little lost as he aimlessly wandered around at the Lights! Camera! Healthcare! event. It was almost as if no one knew who he was. Mostly ABC daytime fans in attendance, perhaps?
Friday, I worked from home, which is closer to the Kodak Theatre than Soapdom's Santa Monica office. Traffic in LA is always a concern, and I was expecting a bumper to bumper trip on surface streets to get to Hollywood and Highland. What should take about 15 minutes in no traffic, took about 60 minutes on Emmy night. Hollywood Blvd was closed off and as it's a major thoroughfare, traffic was extremely congested.
The scene at The Kodak Theatre was organized mayhem. According to Soapdom's Merle Goldberg, who was stationed on the Red Carpet with Lori Wilson, there was just too much room for the stars to sneak by without stopping for press. She preferred the Red Carpet set up in NYC. Because of the excellent publicity ABC put into promoting the event, fans hugged the red carpet and overtook the Fan Zone. Security was extremely tight.
My party and I finally got seated in the first balcony of the Kodak, with little time to spare. I was more than disappointed that Rick Springfield performed outside in the Fan Zone, and not on the stage of the Kodak ' until he came running in, guitar in hand, for a grand finale finish to his set. Boy, did he rock.
The show was entertaining. Co-hosts Kelly Monaco (Sam, GH) and Tom Bergeron shared a comfortable, easy rapport. Even during the commercial breaks, the audience was treated to fun film clips. My favorite was Days' Bryan Datillo (Lucas) who explained the 'tag' of scene. The 'tag' is that lingering long look an actor gives in close-up before a soap breaks for commercial. He demonstrated a few of his cast mates' typical 'tag' looks. He had Drake Hogestyn (John, DOOL) down to a tee. In another film clip segment, GH's Tony Geary (Luke) treated the audience to additional film footage of his second home, Amsterdam. There were several clips of actors telling us all not to leave our seats.
From the audience, the three-hour show seemed to progress at a steady speed. Breaking the awards up with the musical numbers, Barbara Walter's introducing Rosie O'Donnell as the new host of the View come September, the Dancing with the Soap Stars segment, and the anniversary packages for As the World Turns and Days of our Lives helped move things along.
And whoa! How about that Guiding Light? With fans worried late last year that the show was going to be cancelled, it certainly finished very strong in the Emmys taking home four of the six top acting honors. Way to go GL!
The 33rd Annual Daytime Emmys in Hollywood was a big success, far as I can tell. CBS has the Emmy broadcast next year. Will they take it back to New York? According to NATAS Peter Price, it's up to the network. Stay tuned.
Return to Soapdom Emmy Headquarters 2006
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