| Subject: 'Light' shines on many a career |
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Couchie
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Date Posted: 19:06:18 06/28/02 Fri
Author Host/IP: mdsnwi11-vlan423-25.wi.tds.net/66.222.60.25
'Light' shines on many a career
Fri Jun 28,11:36 AM ET
Donna Freydkin USA TODAY
There must have been something in the water. From the time it premiered on June 30, 1952, enduring soap opera Guiding Light has nurtured dozens of unknown actors who left its set and went on to become household names. The show marks its 50th anniversary Sunday, after 14,000 episodes on CBS. The soap has no plans to celebrate the anniversary on the air, and few stars will 'fess up to their daytime tours of duty, let alone speak of them fondly.
''I think that some actors, especially the younger ones, feel that soap operas are second class,'' says director Bruce Barry, who has been with the show for 25 years. ''There are some people who are not proud, but that's their shortcoming.''
Perhaps they're not aware of Guiding Light's status as the longest-running soap opera in history. The show has tackled many previously taboo issues, including uterine cancer and marital rape, and in 1966 became the first to prominently feature black characters. Among those who have followed the Guiding Light:
* Nia Long. Though she had already starred in 1991's Boyz N the Hood, she played Katherine ''Kat'' Speakes from 1991 until 1993.
* Christopher Walken. Sure, he was creepy in The Deer Hunter, but Walken paid his dues as Mike Bauer from 1954 to 1956.
* James Earl Jones. The timeless voice behind Darth Vader, and current Verizon pitchman, pulled soap opera double duty, stepping into scrubs as Dr. Jim Frazier on Guiding Light in 1952 and Dr. Jerry Turner on As the World Turns in 1956.
* Allison Janney. Before starring as the no-nonsense presidential press secretary C.J. on NBC's West Wing, Janney was Ginger from 1993 to 1995.
* Kevin Bacon. Long before Wild Things, Bacon played T. J. Werner from 1980 to 1981.
* Cicely Tyson. The former top fashion model and best-actress Oscar nominee (for 1972's Sounder) played Martha Frazier in 1966.
* Ruby Dee. This legendary star's list of credits is as long as her marriage to Ossie Davis. In 1967, she replaced Tyson as Martha Frazier.
* Taye Diggs. He has since moved on to the big-screen version of Chicago, but the hunky actor played Adrian ''Sugar'' Hill in 1997.
* Calista Flockhart. Long before she broke through as the neurotic lawyer on Fox's Ally McBeal ( news - Y! TV), Flockhart got her start in 1989 as Elise.
* Sherry Stringfield. She's best known as Dr. Susan Lewis on NBC's ER, but Stringfield cut her teeth as Blake Lindsey-Spaulding from 1989 to 1992.
* Billy Dee Williams. The suave actor who played Lando Calrissian in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi launched his career as Dr. Jim Frazier in 1966.
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