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Dr. Schnitzel is in town

November 16, 10:09 AM

What was funnier that Dr. Schnitzel???  Seriously, hilarious!!!  We were in such hysterics shooting those scenes.  Especially the first day.  We had those scenes in Lucas' apartment when Sami accidentally slips and lets Lucas know that Dr. Schnitzel is in town.  In the scene when Lucas is rubbing it in to Sami, and Nicole overhears and comes in to confront her?  I don't know... just the way Ari said the line Did you tell them about Schnitzel?  It was practically impossible to keep a straight face.  Bryan and Daphne (Eugenia) got to 'smirk' a little, making fun of Sami, but I had to be 'horrified' at Sami's mistake.  A couple of takes, I would crack up first, and everyone else would immediately bust out laughing.  And a couple of times Ari cracked up first... her lips would just turn up a little bit, and then I would lose it and then she would bust up and it was all over.  Not to mention Bryan tossing in those little ad libs as Nicole enters the room... Each take Bryan would say something different.  I think with the take they used he said uh oh, you're in trouble  but one time he whistled, and one time he said busted!  There were are a bunch of different versions.  We kept having to do the scene again and again.

Then the next couple of Days, with Lulu Weiner marrying Dr. Schnitzel?? When Sami bursts into the meeting with Schnitzel and everyone and she explains about Lulu.  In the rehearsals we were laughing so much during those scenes too.  And then there was the scene when Lulu and Hans are in private, and all of us are listening on the intercom was cracking us up too.  Yowsers!  I don't know if it made it to the air show, but at one point the actor who played Hans was singing!  We were totally busting up... as soon as the camera panned past each person for their close-up, they immediately started laughing! 

The Days 40th Anniversary party was last Friday night.  We had such a fun night.  So many people from Days' history!!  Steven Nichols (Patch) and Mary Beth (Kayla) came... I've only met them a few times, so it was such a thrill for me to see them.  The party was at the Hollywood Paladium, and they had designed the whole party to look like a 1965 airport.  There were blown up classic photos with previous casts up on the walls... and let me tell you - the outfits and hair in the '70s were truly spectacular!!!!  I gave Wayne (Alex) such a hard time about his curls and short-shorts!!  There was a whole lot of upper-thigh to see in some of his early photos with Deidre. 

So, I'll leave you all with that mental picture... I've got lines to memorize!

xxoo,Ali

Permalink | Posted by Alison Sweeney | Comments [88]

Days of our Lives for 40th

November 08, 10:09 AM
Congratulations to Days of our Lives for 40 incredible years.  I have been a huge fan of the show since I began watching back in the Cruise of Deception days, as many of you know.  And it was such an overwhelming thrill to be asked to join the cast in 1993.  Days has always stood out from the rest, for its entertaining adventures, its tumultuous lovers and you can't leave out Salem's Machiavellian villains and vixens.

I have spent almost half my life as a cast-member on Days. The cast and crew are truly my family.  Especially now that I have my son Ben, visiting me at work, I see how lucky I am to have such a huge group of close friends to rely on for advice, and friendship not to mention our fights, our tears and our laughter.  There has been tons of all of the above in my 13 years there, both on-camera and off.  We are the luckiest people - to be able to work with such a fabulous group of people, doing what we love!

The Museum of Television and Radio hosted a Days tribute last week.  A bunch of cast members attended, to listen to Jim (Abe), Drake (John), Deidre (Marlena), Peter (Bo), Kristian (Hope), Ken (Corday!), Susan (Julie) and Bill (Doug) talk about their memories of Days and what the last 40 years has meant to us all.  It was such a wonderful experience for me to sit (with Christie Clark (Carrie) next to me!!! Yay!!) and listen to everyone exchanging wonderful stories about their auditions and more.  I wish you all could have been there to appreciate as I did how all these individual personalities added together are what make Days so special.  I could not say enough how special all these people are to me.

Jim Reynolds is such an incredible person.  He invited me to join him on a USO tour to the middle east two years in a row, and during our week together I got the opportunity to see first hand, what a kind, thoughtful, funny and truly generous man he is.  I can't say enough good things about Jim.  Drake is another one of my favorite people!  His stories are always funny and clever and filled with interesting (sometimes useless) facts that you never knew.  Drake is such a wonderful father, too.  And he has always made me feel like one of his daughters.  Right from my first day on set, he has always been there as a friend and guide through the murky waters of daytime tv.

I hadn't planned on going down the row, but, it's my blog, and I will if I want to!

My first big storyline was with Deidre.  Who can forget that fabulous purple gown on the conference room table??!!?!  When I first started working with Dee I was so nervous!  And then, I'll never forget the time she and Wayne and I were ducking back on a stairwell, waiting to make our entrance together, and she gave me a suggestion for my upcoming scene.  Sami was supposed to be all excited and nervous about going to the Spring Fling Dance with Lucas.  And at 16 years old, I just was nervous about my job so not ready to handle the nuances of daytime romance, and when she caught my attention, and advised me to enjoy the moment' a little more, and be surprised by the flowers he handed me well, I realized how lucky I was in that moment to be playing her daughter.  I have heeded her advice ever since!

I was a fan of both Peter and Kristian when I watched the show (who could forget Hope being dropped into that vat of acid?) and Bo's heartbreak over
losing Fancy Face?  Neither actor was on the show when I joined, so after being on the cast a few years, I got  a renewed burst of excitement meeting  them for the first time when they returned to Salem.  They are both such fabulous actors, and it's so neat to be able to consider them friends now.

Susan and Bill are both so filled with incredible stories!  Those who attended the Museum event, saw first hand Susan and Drake tag-teaming fabulous memory after fabulous memory.  It was so fun to hear stories I'd never heard before, especially knowing all the personalities involved.  Please go buy and read Bill and Susan's book!  I have a well-read copy, and I encourage you all to get it into your hands a.s.a.p.!!!!

Wow, there are so many more people I have to talk about... this is definitely a part 1 in a series!

Okay, longest blog in history!!!  I gotta get to work. Lol.

p.s. Ari (Nicole) always teases me that I'm not really a mushy person in real life.  She is going to get such a kick out of my sentimental blog!
Permalink | Posted by Alison Sweeney | Comments [205]

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