The night the lights went out in New York, William de Vry (Michael) barely missed getting trapped in an elevator and ended up passing the time with a couple of co-stars instead.

"I probably would have got caught in an elevator had I not run into a director/producer by the name of John Corso," says de Vry (Michael, ALL MY CHILDREN). "We stopped to chat." And that delayed the actor just long enough to miss an elevator that soon got stuck.

"The power went out and I ended up having to go back to my apartment and climb nine flights of stairs in a pitch-black stairwell," recalls de Vry, who had to find his door and keyhole by touch. After he received a call informing him of the seriousness of the blackout, he decided he couldn't stay where he was.

"I grabbed my camera and a few things, put my Rollerblades on and decided to skate the city and make my way to Rebecca Budig's (Greenlee) place, where I knew that Rebecca and Alicia Minshew (Kendall), who stay together once in a while, would be together on such an event."

Sure enough, de Vry ran into his co-stars at a corner market, waiting in line to get water and food. "We ended up getting a loaf of bread and some cheese and a bottle of wine and ended up having a little slumber party at her house," he relates. "It's a great opportunity to get to know each other and gossip and talk about life." The actor says Budig lives in a brownstone that was built before the days of air conditioning, so it was well designed for cross ventilation.

"It was a fantastic night, talking and walking through the city, exploring it," de Vry says. "As we walked around, we could see that everybody was sort of having a good time with it. Everyone seemed to be on their best behavior. It was fantastic, being in the city, being able to see the stars in downtown Manhattan."

Earlier, while he was skating around, de Vry says he had a flashlight, but the instant he turned it on it ran out of juice -- and replacement D batteries were nowhere to be found. In contrast, "Rebecca had every emergency contraption that you could possibly need, right down to the battery-powered radios and flashlights and gas stoves. She was decked out," de Vry notes. "I know where I'm going if anything else happens." One thing that didn't happen -- de Vry didn't get photographic memories of the night's events. "I completely forgot that I had my camera in my bag and I didn't take any pictures!" de Vry laments. "It was such a perfect opportunity, and I just blew it. Unless I go hire some extras and recreate the scene, I'm out of luck."