Marla Gibbs On Her DAYS Run
For longtime DAYS fan Marla Gibbs, getting cast on the show was like a dream come true. “DAYS OF OUR LIVES is one of my favorite shows,” she begins. “I do tape it and I do watch it every day, so it’s wonderful getting the opportunity to be on it. It’s everything I thought it would be. Everyone there is so nice and loving. And watching the scenes, I already know what they’re doing and who they are. They’re all beautiful, just like they are on TV.”
Reteaming with Jackée Harry (Paulina), with whom she toiled on 227 and THE FIRST FAMILY, was also a joy. “It was very good,” she smiles. “She was my daughter on THE FIRST FAMILY and now she’s my daughter again. She’s very talented. When we did THE FIRST FAMILY, they allowed her to direct one and she acted in it and directed it. She’s very good.”
Because she’s a regular viewer, Gibbs knew what to expect when she stepped on set for the first time. “I saw the characters I look at every day,” she says. “They were all amazed that I watch the show and I knew all the characters, of course, by their names.” She discovered that some of the actors were also fans of hers. “Eric [Martsolf, Brady] said, ‘I heard you watch the show and I’ve watched you.’ So that was very fun. The one that plays Rafe [Galen Gering], he and I were on PASSIONS together [where he played Luis and she played Aunt Irma from 2004-05]. We didn’t have any scenes together, but I remember him very well.” Working in scenes with Lamon Archey (Eli) and Sal Stowers (Lani) was a treat for Gibbs. “Well, I’ve been watching Eli and Lani for the longest and of course I love seeing them in person. They were just the cutest things,” she raves. But she didn’t interact with her other favorite duo. “I didn’t get to meet Ben and Ciara,” Gibbs laments. “I told them at the show, ‘I almost gave up watching this show because if you don’t let Ciara come back, I’m not watching.’ So I’ve been waiting for Ciara to come back. And now she’s back.”
Airing on DAYS isn’t the only excitement Gibbs has had this summer: She marked her 90th birthday in June, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in July. As for what keeps her in the business, she muses, “I’m still 30. Doesn’t make any difference what anyone else says. I don’t pay attention. We’re all spiritual beings as well as physical beings, and as spiritual beings, we have no tie, we have no age, so I choose to vibrate on 30 because 30-year-olds only think about what they’re going to do next or what’s in front of them. They don’t think it’s too late for anything. If I was 90, I’d be saying something else [laughs].”
Which is why if she was asked back, she’d be there in a heartbeat. “Most definitely,” she declares. “As a matter of fact, because Olivia was on her way to do something when I ended it, I want to know how it turned out, so I want to come back and do that!”
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