WATCH: Christopher Goutman Visits @NELSON'S

ALL MY CHILDREN director Christopher Goutman is this week's guest on @NELSON'S, hosted by Nelson Aspen. Goutman talks about meeting his wife, Marcia McCabe, as an actor at SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, and playing Sharkey on THE EDGE OF NIGHT before making the transition to director and, later, executive producer. He looks back at ANOTHER WORLD and AS THE WORLD TURNS, and talks about some of the talented actors that have come from daytime soap opera (Jordana Brewster, Peyton List, Jennifer Ferrin).

Goutman also shares his Insight into the State of Soaps.

"Serial storytelling exists in so many forms now," Goutman says. "It's just the financial model is very, very difficult to sustain in this environment."

On the cancellation of ANOTHER WORLD and AS THE WORLD TURNS, Goutman says he understands the sense of loss felt by the fans.

Christopher Goutman Will Be The Guest On @NELSON'S This Friday

ALL MY CHILDREN director Christopher Goutman will be the guest on this Friday's (August 16) episode of @NELSON'S, hosted by Nelson Aspen. The conversation will include an Insider's Insight into the State of Soaps and looks back at THE EDGE OF NIGHT, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, ANOTHER WORLD and AS THE WORLD TURNS, plus a look at what the future holds.

You can catch up on previous episodes of @NELSON'S at nelsonaspen.com.

FLASHBACK: Chris Goutman - Coasting Toward Better Tomorrows (1979)

The October 1979 issue of The Soap Box newsletter featured a story on actor Chris Goutman, who was playing Marc D'Antoni on CBS's SEARCH FOR TOMORROW at the time. He would later go on to star on THE EDGE OF NIGHT, TEXAS, and RYAN'S HOPE and work work as a director and/or producer at ALL MY CHILDREN, ANOTHER WORLD, AS THE WORLD TURNS, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, and DAYS OF OUR LIVES.

The article opens with this line: "Christopher Goutman may not be a name that immediately rings bells for you but file it away in your memory because over the next few years, his name may sound as familiar to you as your own."

He said later in the article, "I don't think I'm cut out to do anything but what I'm doing." What would the daytime soap landscape look like today if he had stayed in acting?

AS THE WORLD TURNS Ends on CBS in September 2010

AS THE WORLD TURNS, the long-running daytime drama, will complete its final season on the CBS Television Network in September 2010. CBS has decided not to renew the show for the 2010/2011 broadcast season, thereby ending its 54-year run on the Network.

"Throughout our history, AS THE WORLD TURNS has remained dedicated to sharing compelling stories that have entertained fans for more than five decades," said Executive Producer Chris Goutman. "We are disappointed and saddened by the news that the show is not being renewed. It will certainly be a loss for all of us, and for the show's loyal audience."

"AS THE WORLD TURNS has been a cornerstone of our business and a tremendous asset to the company," said Brian T. Cahill, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, TeleNext Media, Inc. "We are proactively seeking a new outlet to carry the show, and are open to exploring innovative formats and relationships that will enable the future success of ATWT."

FLASHBACK: Marcia McCabe, Actress, Is Bride Of A TV Director 1985

In honor of her return to daytime on today's AS THE WORLD TURNS (where her husband is the executive producer), here is the New York Times wedding annoucement for Marcia McCabe, best known to soap fans from her many years as Sunny on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, and Christopher Goutman.

MARCIA MCCABE, ACTRESS, IS BRIDE OF A TV DIRECTOR

New York Times
April 14, 1985

The marriage of Marcia Bishop McCabe of New York, a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bayard McCabe Jr. of Wallingford, Pa., to Christopher Paul Goutman of New York took place yesterday at the Swarthmore (Pa.) Presbyterian Church.

The Rev. J. Barrie Shepherd performed the ceremony. The bridegroom is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Dolya Goutman of Rosemont, Pa.

Jeannette L. McCabe was maid of honor for her sister, who will retain her name. Thomas M. Goutman was his brother's best man.

The bride, an actress portraying the role of Sunny Adamson on NBC TV's daytime drama SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, graduated from the Abbot Academy and attended Rollins College. She is a granddaughter of the late Thomas Bayard McCabe, chairman of the Scott Paper Company, and of the late Arthur H. Motley, president and publisher of Parade Publications. Her father was president of the Marketing Science Institute in Cambridge, Mass.

Mr. Goutman, who directs NBC's daytime drama ANOTHER WORLD, graduated from Haverford College and received a master's degree in directing from Carnegie-Mellon University. His father is a professor at the Moore College of Art in Philadelphia. His mother, Lois Goutman, teaches drama at the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

CLASSIC CLIP: Cass and Kathleen's 'Another World' Wedding (1986)

My all-time favorite soap couple is Cass and Kathleen from Another World in the mid-80s. They were written as smart and funny and I rooted for them so hard back in the day as a teenager juggling many shows at a time with my trusty VCR.

They finally married on November 10, 1986 in a sweet ceremony following Kathleen's paralysis, Cass being kidnapped by Cecile, and many other twists and turns. I have this episode saved on a VHS tape along with hundreds of other AW shows from its last 15 years.

As many times as I've watched this wedding over the years, I just discovered something brand new today that I had never noticed before. Christopher Goutman, Executive Producer of As the World Turns, was the director for this episode.

Stephen Schnetzer (Cass) and Julie Osburn (Kathleen) left AW a month after the wedding. Schnetzer returned in July 1987 and stayed with the show until it's demise in June 1999. He then brought the character of Cass to As the World Turns and Guiding Light but, sadly, Cass was just a glorified dayplayer lawyer on those shows.

Classic Clip: 'The Edge of Night' (1981)

In this classic EON clip from 1981, watch Christopher Goutman (Matt Sharkey) do a complete freak out. Goutman appeared on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, THE EDGE OF NIGHT AND TEXAS as an actor before moving into directing and then producing.

He is now the Executive Producer of AS THE WORLD TURNS. I wonder if he has meltdowns like this when he gets the weekly Nielsen ratings reports?