Louise Sorel Returning to 'Days of our Lives' as Vivian Alamain

Louise Sorel is returning to Days of our Lives as Vivian Alamain.
Photo Credit: Sue Coflin/Max Photos

Louise Sorel is returning to Days of our Lives as Vivian Alamain in December. Emmy winner Robin Strasser let the cat of the bag in a tweet on Wednesday.

Strasser tweeted the following: "#LouiseSorel as if you didn't know is reprising her iconic role on #DaysOfOurLives #Corday knows what makes our day(s) doesn't he?:)"

She later realized the news had not yet been made public, and tweeted a follow-up message: "UH OH-is it supposed to be a SECRET #Vivian will SHOW #DOOL? I didn't know-a SECRET? Oh crap SHOUT IT-La GREAT ONE returns-BEST NEWS ever!"

The revelation forced the public relations team at Days to confirm the secret casting news.

Sorel joined Days in 1992 and played the role of Vivian until 2000, then reprised the role from 2009 to 2011.

We Love Soaps TV spoke with Sorel in February 2014. Watch our interview below.

'Days of our Lives' 50th Anniversary: A Look Back at the Villains (Video)

Joseph Mascolo as Stephano DiMera

NBC.com is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Days of our Lives with a weekly look back at the show using various themes. This week, they focus on villains.

The new clip looks back at some of the highlights from the show's most memorable baddies over the years including Stefano DiMera (played by Joseph Mascolo), Ernesto Toscano (Charles Cioffi), Vivian Alamain (Louise Sorel), Ava Vitali (Tamara Braun) and Kristen DiMera (Eileen Davidson).

Watch the video below which includes Carly Manning (Crystal Chappell) being buried alive, EJ DiMera (James Scott) firing shots in Stefano's direction, and Hope Brady's (Kristian Alfonso) memorable 1990 "death" scene.

Louise Sorel, Linda Thorson Participate in Marking 500 Days Since Chibok Schoolgirl Abductions (Photos)

Soap star Louise Sorel remembers the girls kidnapped in Chibok 500
days earlier. Photo Credit: Sue Coflin/Max Photos

Last Thursday (August 27) marked 500 days since 276 girls were abducted from their school by Boko Haram in Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria. 57 girls escaped from captivity. 219 girls remain in captivity. And Boko Haram has gone on to steal thousands more women and children who are being tortured, raped, impregnated, sold for $10 as sex slaves or wives to their enslavers. While military raids recently reclaimed some, not one of the remaining Chibok abductees have been restored to her life, her education, her family.

Bring Back Our Girls NYC held an Interfaith Service at Tillman Chapel that day at the UN Church Center, followed by a silent procession to Nigeria House to insist that they are rescued. The event participants came from all walks of life, including the world of soap operas. Days of our Lives and Santa Barbara star Louise Sorel, and One Life to Live and Emmerdale actress Linda Thorson were among those on hang.

Check out more photos below:

Louise Sorel Previews 'Beacon Hill' on 'We Love Soaps TV'

Louise Sorel plays "Emily Tanner" on Beacon Hill.

On the latest episode of We Love Soaps TV (5.16), Roger Newcomb traveled to the set of an east cost photo shoot for upcoming web series Beacon Hill, a Open Book Productions and Bella Books political drama premiering on March 5.

Watch our new episode below as we speak with former Days of our Lives and Santa Barbara star Louise Sorel, who plays Emily Tanner in Beacon Hill. Sorel shares her experiences from the set of her first web series, and talks about working with Tina Sloan and executive producer Crystal Chappell.

30 Dynamic Duos of Daytime Soaps (25-21)

Our list of 30 Great Dynamic Duos of Daytime Soaps started with a look at 30-26.   Below the countdown continues with Dynamic Duos 25-21.  Tell us your favorite Dynamic Duos in the Comments section below:

WLS Interview Archive: Louise Sorel

Louise Sorel celebrates her 72nd birthday today. I had the honor of speaking with the actress in the summer of 2009 about her return to Days of our Lives as well as highs and lows of her acting career. In case you missed it, here is the complete five-part interview:

In Part One, Ms. Sorel discusses her early career, her relationship with Dame Judith Anderson, and the unfortunate (yet ambivalent) fate of Laken Lockridge's pet pigeon.

In Part Two, Ms. Sorel shares receiving a letter from President Reagan, the end of Augusta Lockridge, and the beginning of Vivian Alamain.

In Part Three, the actress shares her experience working on Days of our Lives, burying Carly alive, and a day in the life as a box of french fries.

In Part Four, we learn how a strong, dedicated, and opinionated actress come back to the show that fired her eight years earlier? Read here to find out!

In Part Five, we discussed more about the causes that are near to her heart, and some hard life lessons learned.

FLASHBACK: Louise Sorel 1985

Louise Sorel: No Regrets About Role

By Dick Kleiner
Newspaper Enterprise Association
February 23, 1985

HOLLYWOOD - When Louise Sorel was approached and asked to play a continuing role on the NBC soap opera SANTA BARBARA, she said yes, and then she said no, and then she said yes, no, yes. She was not very sure if she wanted to do it or not.

"I had my doubts," says the beautiful and charming actress. "I backed out a few times. But now I am glad I finally decided to do it. It has changed my life."

50 Greatest Soap Actresses: #41 Louise Sorel

NAME: Louise Sorel
RANK: 41
SOAP ROLES: Vivian Alamain, DAYS OF OUR LIVES (1992-2000; 2009-present); Dort, PASSIONS (2004); Judge Kay Campobello, ALL MY CHILDREN 2001); Donatella Stewart, PORT CHARLES (2000); Judith Sanders, ONE LIFE TO LIVE (1986-1987); Augusta Lockridge, SANTA BARBARA (1984-1986; 1988-1991)

AWARDS:
1999 Soap Opera Digest win for Outstanding Female Scene Stealer
1997 Soap Opera Digest win for Outstanding Female Showstopper
1996 Soap Opera Digest win for Outstanding Supporting Actress
1995 Soap Opera Digest win for Outstanding Female Scene Stealer
1994 Soap Opera Digest win for Outstanding Villain/Villainess
1993 Soap Opera Digest nomination for Outstanding Villain/Villainess
1986 Soap Opera Digest nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role on a Daytime Serial
1986 Soap Opera Digest nomination for Outstanding Comic Relief Role on a Daytime Serial

COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Connie Passalacqua Hayman (Marlena De Lacroix): Louise Sorel and Darlene Conley. The divine-a's. The best daytime comediennes, ever!

Day of DAYS with Peggy McCay and Louise Sorel

I had the fabulous honor to sit between two of the classiest and funniest women ever to grace the daytime television screen, DAYS OF OUR LIVES stars Peggy McKay and Louise Sorel. Please join me to read the highlights from this illuminating and hysterically funny interview.  And press here to watch the complete video. 

We Love Soaps:  For you, Louise, how have the fans been greeting you?
Louise Sorel: They waved a lot.  They said, “Welcome back,” which is very nice to hear.  It’s kind of taken me by surprise.  Rather than saying, “What are you doing here?” I saw something on the internet, our fans are very ferocious.  And I saw something, a slam, and I thought, “I don’t need to read this."

We Love Soaps:  Do fans every blur the lines between fantasy and reality? Do they ever say personal things to you because of Vivian’s actions?
Louise Sorel: Nah.  But it did happen to an actress I know who was hit across the face with a woman who was wearing a ring.  There are certain types of characters, even if they’re mean, that people don’t want to tangle with.  They’re a little uncomfortable with coming at them.  And I don’t really invite that level of attack.

INTERVIEW: Lunch with Louise Sorel, Part Five: Dessert

This is the “dessert” part of my lunch with Louise Sorel, and the end of the interview we did together. I was impressed not only with her ability to entertain as an artist, but her with her dedication and passion as an animal rights activist. In this part we talked more about the causes that are near to her heart, and some hard life lessons learned.

We Love Soaps: Does it surprise you that after nine years off Days of our Lives that people are so thrilled to have you come back?
Louise Sorel: Yeah, I guess it does. I’m not surprised they liked the character. You know, I’ll tell you a story. I had to get an endoscopy done. And I’m lying down, and they’re trying to find my vein, and the doctor says, “I’m so upset that Hope left.” And I said, “Hope didn’t leave.” And I’m engaging in this insane conversation while he’s jamming a needle in my arm. And he says, “I didn’t like that new Bo who came in, I liked the old Bo.” And I said, “Could we not have this conversation right now?”

We Love Soaps: As we have said on our website, we have been celebrating the 25 year anniversary of Santa Barbara starting on the air. If you could go back and give yourself any kind of advice, what would it be?
Louise Sorel: “Keep your trap shut.”

INTERVIEW: Lunch with Louise Sorel, Part Four

How does a strong, dedicated, and opinionated actress come back to the show that fired her eight years earlier? Read on in Part Four of my lunch with Louise Sorel to find out!

We Love Soaps: Your role on PORT CHARLES came soon after DAYS OF OUR LIVES?
Louise Sorel: Immediately.

We Love Soaps: What was that role like for you?
Louise Sorel: Oh, I don’t know, I think I was trying to make her blonde or something. I don’t know if it was funny. I tried to make it funny. She was in bed the entire time. And frustrated all the time. It was like a salve for me, because I went from a place where I felt rejected to a place where they said, “Oh, it’s so wonderful to have you here!” And I thought, “Oh, that feels so good.” You feel like you need a little stroking. And they were very sweet. I got to bring my dog. It was a nice ambiance.

We Love Soaps: And then on ALL MY CHILDREN you played a slightly amoral judge.
Louise Sorel: Yes. I think that was first done by Holland Taylor [on THE PRACTICE]. It’s funny, you know, you go away for awhile, which I’ve done a lot, and I’ve been doing with my writing. What I’d love to do is get help with a website, maybe with the fans or the people that I talk to so that I can get my writing out. So I can share my writing, that is so important to me. It’s not about soaps. It’s about my life, sort of a memoir. Not that I think I’m that interesting. It’s not so much me, it’s the places that this person ends up. When I was doing a play on Broadway, in 1963, in November, on the day of [John F.Kennedy’s assassination]. My anger was so profound. And I had to get to the theater that night, it had happened too late in the day for the theater to go dark. I was on stage with Charles Boyer. I’ll never forget it.

INTERVIEW: Lunch with Louise Sorel, Part Three

In this part of my lunch with Louise Sorel, the actress shares her experience working on DAYS OF OUR LIVES, burying Carly alive, and a day in the life as a box of french fries.

We Love Soaps: When Vivian began on DAYS OF OUR LIVES, for the first year she seemed pretty down-to-earth, well grounded in her motivation, and clear about what she wanted and didn’t want. And then came Dr. Wu and the herbs.
Louise Sorel: It got a little wacky.

We Love Soaps: And Vivian burying Carly alive during the summer of 1993 ended up being one of the most famous and beloved story lines in soap opera history. When you learned that Vivian was going to be responsible for trying to pull of one of the most grisly and cruel murders on daytime, how did you respond?
Louise Sorel: Well, I didn’t murder her! She did have some air. All I could think of was Stephen King. You know, I was constantly surprised. Particularly with James Reilly [head writer of DAYS from 1993-98], nothing was out of bounds. Anything went. Because Crystal [Chappell] committed to it, I just went in and did it. I tried to make it kind of Noel Coward-ish. I mean, I would dial her, I gave her a phone. I’d say, “Hello Darling, did I wake you from your nap?” It was just ridiculous. I thought, “What am I doing?” But then I thought, “Don’t think about it, just do it.” And I think that part of that is why it worked, because we committed to it. I mean, we thought it was funny, but at the same time when you’re doing it you have to do it.

INTERVIEW: Lunch With Louise Sorel, Part Two

In Part One of my lunch interview with Louise Sorel, the actress discusssed her early career, her relationship with Dame Judith Anderson, and the unfortunate (yet ambivalent) fate of Laken Lockridge's pet pigeon. In this part, Ms. Sorel shares receiving a letter from President Reagan, the end of Augusta Lockridge, and the beginning of Vivian Alamain.

We Love Soaps: SANTA BARBARA debuted in 1984, became critically acclaimed, and Augusta Lockridge had a certain fan in the White House.
Louise Sorel: Albeit demented. I mean, Alzheimer’s you know.

We Love Soaps: So you actually received a letter from President Reagan [in 1985] wishing Augusta to get well soon. Any idea how that came about?
Louise Sorel: I nearly fell on the floor. I thought my friends had done it. I have friends in Washington. I thought it was a joke. I called them and said, “Very funny.” They said, “What?” “You sent that letter, that was very hysterical.” My friend’s husband was Reagan’s photographer. I said “Come on you guys.” They said, “We didn’t do anything.” And they didn’t. So it’s a mystery.

We Love Soaps: Did you ever hear from him or anyone from the White House again?
Louise Sorel: No, but I went to NBC and I told them about it. I said, “You can have it, I don’t know what you want to do with it.” They said, “We don’t want to embarrass the White House.” But it did get out there.

INTERVIEW: Lunch with Louise Sorel, Part One

It was my profound delight to have lunch with Louise Sorel in Manhattan last week. I found her incredibly articulate, hysterically funny, and an inspiration for anyone who stands up for what they believe. Sorel has played memorable roles in several daytime and primetime television shows and is best remembered by soap opera fans for stints as Augusta Lockridge on SANTA BARBARA and Vivian Alamain on DAYS OF OUR LIVES.

In Part One of our interview, Ms. Sorel discussses her early career, her relationship with Dame Judith Anderson, and the unfortunate (yet ambivalent) fate of Laken Lockridge's pet pigeon.

We Love Soaps: Ms. Sorel, it is so nice to meet you. I've been a fan of your work since...
Louise Sorel:1900! [Laughs]

We Love Soaps: Actually, since CHARLIE'S ANGELS. There was an episode you were on where you played a particularly vicious prison...
Louise Sorel:...Unpleasant. How do I get those? You know what, it's so much fun to play that. Most people I find who play those roles are antithetical to that and you get paid to be obnoxious. It's kind of fun because we all have that in us. It's just that some choose to act it out in real life and some don't. I don't. But I love to do it [on TV] where I can get away with it.

We Love Soaps: It seem like that's the type of role that's attracted to you throughout your career.
Louise Sorel:I don't know if it's attracted me, or... I played Don Rickle's wife. It's not like I've always been this evil thing. I don't see it, but I think I'm strong and that works for those roles. I'm not a victim person. Although right now I feel like one, but I'm not. [Laughs]