Farewell Guiding Light. After 72 years of crazy melodrama, the longest running show in the history of Television will say goodbye forever in the fall. My grandma got hooked on this show when it was a 15 minute radio program, then followed it to TV. My mom and dad both watched it when I was a baby in the late '70s.
I watched it most of the way through the '80s and had a brief period of being totally smitten with the actor playing Alan-Michael Spaulding. Back then Alan-Michael had a wrong-side-of-the-tracks best friend named Cameron who was dating the equally wrong-side-of-the-tracks (and equally blond) Harley Cooper while Alan Michael was dating some suitably rich (and brunette) girl whose name I can't remember. Eventually Cooper started dating the rich girl and Alan-Michael and Harley started dating and then Cooper and Rich Girl left the show. Cooper was played by Ian Ziering.
A few years later my best friend and I were at the local mall one Saturday when we noticed a big hubbub in the center of the first floor. From our vantage point on the second floor we were able to see that the hubbub was actually a loooooong line of squealing girls waiting to get Ian Ziering's autograph (remember in the very early days of 90210 when they had to do mall tours?). What really caught my eye though, was the totally cute guy who appeared to be a friend of Ian's standing on the sidelines waiting patiently for the whole thing to be over. I told my friend I was SURE that was Alan-Michael from Guiding Light and who gives a shit about Ian Ziering when Alan-Michael is standing RIGHT THERE and is about a million times hotter. Then he broke away from the action and my friend and I set about following him until we got our opportunity to ask for his autograph. That is the one and only autograph I have ever requested. That actor's name is Carl T. Evans. I still kinda think he's dreamy. (This is him and Harley - she was always my favorite on the show.)
Also, he later played the ex-boyfriend of Brandon's newspaper girlfriend played by Emma Caulfield (Buffy's Anya) when the 90210 gang went to college.
I still remember a ton of names from TGL even though I haven't watched a single minute of it since the '80s. Phillip Spaulding - Alan-Michael's older brother who was deeply in love with Hope; Rick Bauer - Phillip's best friend who I'm pretty sure I remember as having a relationship with Phillip's sister Blake who was played by Sherry Stringfield; Billy and Josh Lewis who both married Reva Shayne - after she divorced their father of course and not at the same time. Josh and Reva were the Luke and Laura of this show. They had a daughter named Marah who was originally played by Ashley Peldon (that's Brown to you GFY fans). Speaking of Ashley Peldon - today is her 25th birthday. She's a major nutbar now, with the rapping and the perfume and stuff, but back in the day, she was cute as a button. Not just on GL but also in Deceived with Goldie Hawn and in Drop Dead Fred.
Another GL alum is celebrating a birthday today too...but I'm going to give her her own post because I never saw her on GL, she was way after my time.
I watched it most of the way through the '80s and had a brief period of being totally smitten with the actor playing Alan-Michael Spaulding. Back then Alan-Michael had a wrong-side-of-the-tracks best friend named Cameron who was dating the equally wrong-side-of-the-tracks (and equally blond) Harley Cooper while Alan Michael was dating some suitably rich (and brunette) girl whose name I can't remember. Eventually Cooper started dating the rich girl and Alan-Michael and Harley started dating and then Cooper and Rich Girl left the show. Cooper was played by Ian Ziering.
A few years later my best friend and I were at the local mall one Saturday when we noticed a big hubbub in the center of the first floor. From our vantage point on the second floor we were able to see that the hubbub was actually a loooooong line of squealing girls waiting to get Ian Ziering's autograph (remember in the very early days of 90210 when they had to do mall tours?). What really caught my eye though, was the totally cute guy who appeared to be a friend of Ian's standing on the sidelines waiting patiently for the whole thing to be over. I told my friend I was SURE that was Alan-Michael from Guiding Light and who gives a shit about Ian Ziering when Alan-Michael is standing RIGHT THERE and is about a million times hotter. Then he broke away from the action and my friend and I set about following him until we got our opportunity to ask for his autograph. That is the one and only autograph I have ever requested. That actor's name is Carl T. Evans. I still kinda think he's dreamy. (This is him and Harley - she was always my favorite on the show.)
Also, he later played the ex-boyfriend of Brandon's newspaper girlfriend played by Emma Caulfield (Buffy's Anya) when the 90210 gang went to college.
I still remember a ton of names from TGL even though I haven't watched a single minute of it since the '80s. Phillip Spaulding - Alan-Michael's older brother who was deeply in love with Hope; Rick Bauer - Phillip's best friend who I'm pretty sure I remember as having a relationship with Phillip's sister Blake who was played by Sherry Stringfield; Billy and Josh Lewis who both married Reva Shayne - after she divorced their father of course and not at the same time. Josh and Reva were the Luke and Laura of this show. They had a daughter named Marah who was originally played by Ashley Peldon (that's Brown to you GFY fans). Speaking of Ashley Peldon - today is her 25th birthday. She's a major nutbar now, with the rapping and the perfume and stuff, but back in the day, she was cute as a button. Not just on GL but also in Deceived with Goldie Hawn and in Drop Dead Fred.
Another GL alum is celebrating a birthday today too...but I'm going to give her her own post because I never saw her on GL, she was way after my time.
So long Guiding Light, I haven't watched you in 20 years or more (holy shit I'm old!) but I'll miss knowing you're there.
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