Catching Up With Diana Barton (ex-Mari Jo Mason, 1994-96)
Soap Opera Digest: What made you get into making skin-care products?
Diana Barton: I was out of everything else and I was already combining different products to create different textures. For years and years I’d been mixing face creams and scrubs. I thought that maybe I would try to create something myself. I was in Morocco in the kitchen of a friend’s house and I put a few things together in a bowl and started jumping up and down and realized I’d invented something I’d never felt before. After I refined the recipe, I realized I’d created something that wasn’t on the market. I’ve been fascinated with cosmetics for years. It’s a lot like cooking. Digest: Are you still acting?
Barton: Oh, no, not at all. When I felt the consistency of my scrub, I knew it was time to retire and quit acting, to quit thinking of doing anything else other than this. I was getting an overwhelming response from people in my own life. When you hear from perfect strangers that the product is changing their lives, it’s time to move on. I left acting behind a number of years ago. The invention happened to me. Now the emphasis is totally on running Diana B. I have a wonderful team to work with me; actually, I’m really working for everyone else. Every time I pitch to a new department store or chain, I get the same butterflies I did when I was auditioning. I didn’t ever want to audition again. Ever! By the time I got done with Y&R, I was so through with that feeling. I did a few other things after Y&R, but I didn’t really want to do that anymore.
Digest: Do you keep in touch with anyone from Y&R?
Barton: I still talk to almost the whole cast. The character’s still locked away in the psych ward. What’s funny is, she was the art director for a cosmetics company, for Jabot. I became very friendly with all of my co-stars and had a very good time. One of the interesting parts of being on Y&R was that you were always directed by different people, so the interpretation changed on a daily basis. That’s very much like real business. On any day, the presentation that worked yesterday will not work today. It’s also an incredible discipline … I learned about showing up, being on time, being focused. Digest: Do you have a favorite storyline of Mari Jo’s?
Barton: The last one, where she ended up in the psych ward. The one I went out on was the most intense. Overall, it was a great run. I got to go on two location shoots, to St. Thomas and Pennsylvania, where we shot a car chase. I went with Eric [Braeden, Victor], Peter [Bergman, Jack] and Doug [Davidson, Paul]. I was the only girl [laughs]. They toughened me up a lot! They’re great. I learned quite a lot about what I’m doing now from those experiences. I run a company and work with wonderful people and it’s very political. It’s good to come from a background where you learn to deal with people on a professional level.Digest: What was your most interesting real-life experience in relation to being on the show?
Barton: One of the most interesting experiences I ever had was when the entire nominated cast walked to Radio City Music hall together for the Emmys and I sat right behind Oprah. It was a powerful time and show which transformed the complexion of my life for years. For as long as eight years after I left, I would go anywhere and people would stop me. It’s good, hard work and teaches you professional ethics.
Digest: Would you consider returning to Y&R for a guest visit?
Barton: I would have to be approached in a way that’s both a service to the people I work with now and the people who run the show.Digest: Jabot could do a real-life crossover with your products.
Barton: I’ve never seen them use a real-world product and wouldn’t expect that. That would never happen!
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