Brandon's Buzz

NBC's classic soap "Days of Our Lives" hit the airwaves in November 1965, and forty-five years later, the show is still cooking with gas, and to help mark the soap's landmark anniversary, a quartet of the series' stars --- JAMES REYNOLDS (Salem's top cop Abe Carver), ARIANNE ZUCKER (scheming bad girl Nicole Walker), JUDI EVANS (family gal Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis), and SUZANNE ROGERS (heart-of-gold grandmother Maggie Horton) --- are stopping by the Buzz to reminisce about the show's glorious past, and to offer a sneak peek at the next forty-five years in the life of Salem, U.S.A.!

As an Emmy-winning daytime writer, she helped create and write for some of the most iconic characters and couplings --- Luke and Laura, Shane and Kim, Patch and Kayla, Jake and Vicky --- in soap history. Now, the spectacular SHERI ANDERSON is heading back to the suds scene with a trilogy of novels based on former characters from the rich forty-five-year history of "Days of Our Lives." Book one --- "A Secret in Salem" --- is due in bookstores on November 9, and in the runup to its release, the amazing Anderson is stopping by the Buzz to give us an exclusive sneak peek at the action, as well as to reminisce about the days of her life behind the soap scenes!

November 1, 2010 is the third annual "Give Up Your Shoulds" Day, and We Love Soaps' divine Damon L. Jacobs is continuing his crusade to convince us all to live a "should-less" life! The recent rash of gay-related teen suicides has alarmed a great many of us, and Damon is returning to Brandon's Buzz for a very special LIVE event to give us an exclusive sneak peek at his plan of action, as well as to dish about all the hot topics in soapland (including "One Life to Live's" quasi-renewal and Stephanie Forrester's brave battle with stage four cancer!) and whatever else crosses our crazy minds! Tired of thinking you SHOULD join a gym, you SHOULD look for a better job, you SHOULD be a better person, you SHOULD be a positive example in today's world? Ditch the "shoulds" and come join us as a true master teaches us how to take the first step toward a happier existence!

Still fondly remembered for her legendary, Emmy-garnering seventeen-year run as wacky, wonderful Felicia Gallant on NBC's classic soap "Another World," she left daytime behind to return to her first loves --- decorating and design --- and on the eve of her return to QVC with her first-ever collection of Christmas collectibles, the extraordinary LINDA DANO returns to the Buzz to give us an exclusive sneak peek, as well as to reminisce about how it felt to win that elusive Emmy, and to explain why she almost turned down the role that made her a globally-beloved superstar!

Regular listeners of Brandon's Buzz know that I got my start working on Stardish Radio, a BlogTalkRadio show hosted by my good pal JoAnn Kubasek. I still work with JoAnn often, and occasionally, I even pop in and guest-host Stardish. And with JoAnn's very generous blessing, I am presenting a compilation of conversations I have conducted over the past couple of years on Stardish with four of our favorite soap stars past and present, including: "One Life to Live" hunk MATT WALTON (who discusses how he nabbed the role of Llanview legal eagle Eli Clarke); former "General Hospital" star MICHAEL SUTTON (who talks about his recent return to the show as tragic hero Stone Cates); former "Another World" heroine SANDRA ROBINSON (who recalls working opposite daytime legends like Doug Watson and Victoria Wyndham, who portrayed her character Amanda Cory Fowler's parents); and legendary "One Life to Live" returnee KIM ZIMMER (who discusses the turbulent final days of "Guiding Light," as well as how thrilled she is to return to Llanview after nearly three decades). The best of the best, in a Brandon's Buzz special presentation!

His fabulously infectious 1980 smash "Steal Away" earned him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and has become one of the most enduring, most popular hit singles of the past three decades. He has just released his latest album, "Time and Tide," and to mark the event, acclaimed singer/songwriter ROBBIE DUPREE is stopping by the Buzz to discuss his career, to tell the story behind his most famous hit, and to explain precisely why Katy Perry beats Lady GaGa in his eyes!

He shot to fame in the late '60s as romantic werewolf Quentin Collins on the beloved daytime soap "Dark Shadows," and later became a global television icon as charming rogue Richard Channing on CBS' classic prime time drama "Falcon Crest." Now, he is front and center among the ensemble of fall's most talked about film "The Social Network," and the incredible DAVID SELBY is stopping by the Buzz to discuss his staggering career and his role in the year's hottest movie!

The "World" turns no more, but Marlena remembers: we sent "As the World Turns" off to soap heaven last week, and the peerless CONNIE PASSALACQUA HAYMAN --- Marlena De Lacroix herself --- is making her sixth appearance on Brandon's Buzz to help me put the iconic series' 54-year run in proper perspective, to discuss her memories of and experiences with folks like Douglas Marland, Liz Hubbard, and Eileen Fulton, and to offer her exclusive thoughts regarding the noteworthy developments on the six remaining daytime soaps!

No second acts in American lives? Don't tell that to this guy: he rose to fame playing alcoholic rich kid A.J. Quartermaine on ABC's "General Hospital," and lost that job under --- to say the least --- tough personal circumstances. But he picked himself up, dusted himself off, and landed the star-making role of bona-fide bad boy Deacon Sharpe on "The Bold and the Beautiful," and never looked back. He crossed Deacon over to "The Young and the Restless" last year, and in his spare time, he produces and stars in independent films, performs stand-up comedy, and tries to instruct young men across the world how to become 21st century gentlemen, and now the amazing SEAN KANAN is stopping by Brandon's Buzz to discuss all of this and so much more!

She first broke through in the early '80s as a superstar in the burgeoning contemporary Christian music movement, then crossed over to the pop world in the '90s with a massive radio hit called "Everything Changes." She still moves back and forth between the genres with relative ease, and she has just released her latest album --- a collection of classic pop covers entitled "Heartsongs," on which she tackles legendary tunes from the likes of The Beatles, Elton John, Jim Croce, and others --- and now, the captivating KATHY TROCCOLI is coming by the Buzz to discuss the highs and lows of her triumphant career, and to reveal what she REALLY thinks of the state of pop music today!