In Memoriam - Those We Lost in 2010

The soap world lost a number of greats both in front of and behind the camera this year. Here is the annual WE LOVE SOAPS TV tribute to those who passed away in 2010 including Michael Gene Adams, Danny Aiello III, Himan Brown, Dixie Carter, Christopher Cazenove, Jill Clayburgh, Gary Coleman, Jacqueline Courtney, John Forsythe, David Froman, James Gammon, Harold Gould, Carl Gordon, Suzanne Grossman, Park Yong Ha, Peter Haskell, June Havoc, Carol Pfander Henderson, Bernard Kates, Larry Keith, Antonie Kamerling, Mick Lally, Simon MacCorkindale, Nan Martin, Kevin McCarthy, Rue McClanahan, Caroline McWilliams, Werner Michel, James Mitchell, Gordon Mulholland, Roger Newman, Michelle Nicastro, Leslie Nielsen, Vince O'Brien, Niek Pancras, Nancy Pinkerton, Addison Powell, Carla Princi, Bob Rappaport, Frances Reid, Lynn Redgrave, Rosa Rio, Zelda Rubinstein, Paul Ryan Rudd, Jean Simmons and Helen Wagner.



UPDATE:
Domini Blythe (Estelle, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW) also passed away in 2010.

James Mitchell on WHERE THE HEART IS

WHERE THE HEART IS debuted in September 1969 and ran through March 1973. Lou Scofield and Margaret DePriest created the series and before the end of its run it was being head written by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer. Set in the fictional town of Northcross, Connecticut, WHERE THE HEART IS focused on the sexual and psychological intrigues of the dysfunctional Hathaway family. James Mitchell played one of the three Hathaway children, Julian, who was professor of literature at the local university. Diana van der Vlis and Louise Shaffer played his sisters when the show debuted.

James Mitchell Dead at 89

Longtime ALL MY CHILDREN star James Mitchell (Palmer Cortlandt) died today, Jan. 22, in LA of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, complicated by pneumonia.

Sacramento native Mitchell appeared on the soaps THE EDGE OF NIGHT as Lloyd Griffin and WHERE THE HEART IS as Julian Hathaway prior to his run on ALL MY CHILDREN, which began in 1979. He earned seven Daytime Emmy nominations for the work in the role of Palmer.

Mitchell started his career as a dancer and achieved great success appearing in films such as Moonlight in Havana, Rhythm of the Islands and White Savage.

Taylor Miller, who played Mitchell's daughter Nina on ALL MY CHIDLREN, spoke fondly of him in our recent interview: "James Mitchell (Palmer), one of the kindest men in the world, was about finding the humor in situations." She also spoke about requesting to come back to the show last year to spend time with him: "I wanted to come back on the show because James [Mitchell] is not feeling well. And I wanted to come back to be with him, to be able to see him more. And they said, 'No.'"

Mitchell recently appeared on ALL MY CHILDREN's 40th anniversary show on January 5.

Catching Up With Taylor Miller, Part One

Longtime soap fans will never forget Taylor Miller's run on ALL MY CHILDREN as Nina Cortlandt Warner. Her pairing with Peter Bergman's Cliff is one of the most memorable in daytime history. Miller created the role of Nina in 1979 and played the role off and on until 1989. She returned in the mid-1990s a couple of times and will be returning again for soap's 40th anniversary in January. Miller also played Sally Frame on ANOTHER WORLD for a year during a break from AMC. For the past 20 years, Miller has been raising her two children in Chicago and occasionally performing in plays or acting in films. The role she plays in her latest film, Hannah Free, is a huge departure from Nina and she is winning rave reviews. Miller recently spoke with We Love Soaps about her days as a soap star, her other roles, life as a mom, and seeing both her children off to college.

We Love Soaps: You grew up in New Orleans and went to Tulane. Did you always want to be an actress?
Taylor Miller: Yes. But I wasn’t encouraged to be that. The question was always how are you make a living doing that. I was always in plays growing up and I wanted to major in theater but I ended up majoring in history. The idea was that I would be a lawyer, which I thought was very theatrical.