Hello everyone and welcome to the Charles Keating and Victoria Wyndham
Newsletter! This letter is dedicated Victoria Wyndham and Charles
Keating.
Charles Keating's last airdate is May 15, 1998
Carl is missing after a fire runs rampant. (That's enough of a
spoiler for me)
How stupid are the Idiots in Charge?
Apparently quite since they seem to think that we fans have the
intelligence of a 5-year-old (though I have met some pretty smart
5-year-olds) and have no idea as to what it takes to make a popular
show. I'd say by the ratings that we aren't the ones who don't know
diddley!
1. Don't forget Couplets CD is still available at many fine stores and
make great gifts.
2. Charles Keating (Carl Hutchins, Another World) will be making a
special appearance benefiting the family of Frank Toy, a dear friend
whom died suddenly at the age of 37. The event will be held at the
Elyria/Lorain Holiday Inn, in Elyria/Lorain, OH on Saturday May 16, 1998
at 7pm. Tickets are $25 per person, which includes dinner, door prizes,
a raffle and an auction. To order, please send a SASE along with your
check or money order to The Frank Toy Benefit Fund, PO Box 1511,
Wooster, OH, 44691.
3. Charles Keating will be performing "You Never Can Tell", a Play by
George Bernard Shaw, for the Round About Theater in NYC. Tickets go on
sale May 13th. The play opens May 27th and runs through August.
4. Charles Keating also just finished taping "Sex in the City" with
Sarah Jessica Parker for HBO. It's supposed to air this summer. I'll
keep you posted.
5. On July 18, 1998 at 8pm Victoria and Charles will be performing
Couplets, at the Muscatine High School in Muscatine, IA. The tickets
cost $15 and $10. Call (319) 263-8895 for ticket information. It is an
8pm Curtain call and reception with stars will follow.
1. BY Jodi: NOW WHAT?
This article can be found on the TV Guide web site and will appear in
the May 16 - 22 printed issue.
SOAP FANS IN A LATHER
By Michael Logan
The firing of longtime Another World stars Alice Barrett (Frankie), Anna
Holbrook (Sharlene) and Kale Browne (Michael), and the exit of David
Forsyth (John), who quit when asked to take a pay slash, has left fans
feeling battered and bruised. But the firing of Charles Keating (Carl)
has them battling back: When it was announced that the craggy,
ponytailed heartthrob was being written out (his final scenes aired May
15), NBC was barraged with complaints, many demanding the termination of
executive producer Charlotte Savitz. But Savitz is merely the
messenger: It's no secret in the industry that the dislike of Keating as
a romantic lead (he used to be the show's villain) goes all the way to
the top - and by that we mean NBC West Coast president Don Ohlmeyer, who
reportedly found Keating's scenes with TV wife Vicky Wyndham (Rachel) to
be downright stomach churning. Ohlmeyer, while offering no denials,
refused our invitation to comment.
What does this mean? Well. It could be TPTB are "passing the buck"
once again. After all, their story changes every week or two. Let's
review, shall we:
Story #1 - Official Denial
When news of Charles Keating's dismissal was leaked on the Internet,
TPTB denied it. (Yeah, right...)
Story #2 - "Give Him A Rest"
When they finally admitted Mr. Keating was fired, TPTB released a
statement which went something like this: "As with all great villains,
we felt the time had come to give the character a rest, but we would
like to bring him back in the future." (This statement was particularly
insulting to fans. Why? Carl hasn't been a villain in ages! Did they
think we would just forget the past five years?)
Story #3 - You say tomato, I say tomahto TPTB insist he wasn't fired,
it's just that his option wasn't picked up.
Fired ... not picked up ... dropped ... terminated ... dismissed ...
laid off...
discharged ... sent packing ... let go ... released ... ousted
...removed ...
(It all means the same thing folks! Semantics, nothing but semantics.)
Story #3 - "Negotiations broke down"
TPTB insist he wasn't fired ... yet again. Only this time, they claim
Mr. Keating made unreasonable demands during contract negotiations,
forcing them to let him go. (What negotiations? It was an OPTION! ---
What is an option? Exactly what it sounds like: every few months TPTB
have the option to keep an actor or to get rid of him. They chose the
latter.)
Story #4 - "He Quit"
A variation on the contract negotiation story, only this time, HE'S the
one who ended the talks. (Like I said before ... it was an OPTION!)
Story #5 - "It's His Fault"
TPTB blame Mr. Keating for his own dismissal. "Setside sources" claim
that he is arrogant, demanding, difficult to work with, a troublemaker,
etc. (In their original statement, TPTB said they wanted to bring him
back in the future. If he were so difficult to work with, why would they
want to bring him back? Strange, isn't it? Up until a few weeks ago, NO
ONE had anything bad to say about him. "Troublemakers" usually have a
long-standing reputation.)
Story #6 - Pass The Buck, part 1
This is when anyone and everyone gets blamed: Charles Keating, Charlotte
Savitz, Richard Culliton, Carolyn Culliton, NBC, P&G, Susan Lee, Mary
Alice Dwyer-Dobbin and the guy who sweeps the floor at the Brooklyn
studio! (Sounds to me like everyone's trying to cover their @ss!)
And finally
Story #7 - Pass The Buck, part 2 AKA "Blame the Big Guy"
Don Ohlmeyer reportedly found Keating's scenes with TV wife Vicky
Wyndham (Rachel) to be downright stomach churning. (Did NBC President
Don Ohlmeyer really say, "get rid of the guy with the ponytail"?
At this point, who knows? If he did, then it proves what fans already
know: TPTB are grossly out of touch with their fan base.)
Why have I dredged up all of this? To prove a point: the truth never
changes, it is a constant. Since I have pointed out 7 different
versions of "the truth", I have to assume it's all lies.
As a 15 year viewer, I am highly insulted by the way TPTB are
treating
AW's viewers. They obviously don't care about the fans, but they do care
about money. In television, money comes from one source: advertising. Ad
rates are based on the ratings. The lower the ratings ... the lower the
ad rates, which means less money for the network. AW dropped to 2.3
during the week of April 27th - May 1st, the lowest rating in its
history.
Many fans have stopped watching AW since Charles Keating was
fired. Many more are saying, "his last day is my last day", which means
the ratings will probably drop even further. Good! No ... I don't want
AW to die, but I do want "my show" back. I want to care about the
characters again. I want to see familiar faces, not this cast of
strangers that is currently invading "my show". I want strong,
intelligent storylines with well-developed characters, not the cartoon
plots and countless character assassinations we are currently forced to
endure.
For the record ... I've already stopped watching. I love Carl & Rachel
... and Charles & Vicky. I had no desire to see 5 years destroyed in 8
weeks. Carl & Rachel deserve better. Charles & Vicky deserve better.
Another World fans deserve better. Lower ratings = Less money for NBC.
If that's what it takes to make Don Ohlmeyer and Co. pay attention ...so
be it. Just my humble opinion.
:-)
Keep writing, phoning, faxing and E-mailing TPTB
Will it do any good? I hope so!
Look at it this way ... if nothing else, we're REALLY pissing them off!
hehehehehehe :-P
Yes, I know ... I said I was out of all this protest stuff. What can I
say? I love CK & VW too much to be an innocent bystander.
So ... ONE MORE TIME!!!
Friday, May 15th is CK's last airdate. I'm sure TPTB will breathe a BIG
sigh of relief that day, thinking all the phone calls and faxes will
finally stop. Let them have the weekend to get used to that feeling of
security...
Then contact them on Monday, May 18th by phone and fax. After all, we
wouldn't want them to get lonely! ;-)
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I hope that this
will continue to be a BI-monthly newsletter. It will be only if time
permits.
If you know some one that would be interested in this letter feel
free to pass it on and have them email me and I will include them in my
mailing.
If you receive this letter and don't wish to receive it again
please email me, Lori at vwckfan@hotmail.com
Spoilers:
Question of the past two weeks:
Victoria Wyndham and Charles Keating News:
Gossip:
To Contact Charles Keating:
1.Charles can be emailed here
Survey, addresses and emails you may wish to use.