In the new issue of Soap Opera Digest, William deVry (Julian) offers fans a personalized tour of his dressing room. Here’s some additional insight into his decor.
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Photo credit: JPI
In the red frame is a shot from deVry’s first acting job, on WELCOME FRESHMAN. "I made friends with Howie D of the famed Backstreet Boys as he was a regular on the show. Later in life when he was in Vancouver for a concert and I was a young actor working up there, I busted through thousands of screaming girls and he saw me, grabbed my arm and pulled me into his fold of security. We went to lunch later that day like normal people at some franchise restaurant like TGI Friday's. Of course, we had a few bodyguards come along, but it was a pretty cool weekend.”
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Photo credit: JPI
"Here is a picture of Jackie Robinson getting congratulated at home plate after hitting a home run for the Montreal Royals, the farm team of the Dodgers at that time. Jackie is, bar none, the most courageous ball player to have ever played the game and he is one of my all-time favorites. To the right of Jackie is the famous WWII Air Squadron of the 'The Memphis Belle’, a Boeing B-17 Bomber dubbed 'The Flying Fortress'. The ‘Belle' was one of the first to complete a required 25 flying combat missions mostly over France and Germany. It's now on display in Dayton Ohio. A national treasure.”
3 of 7
Photo credit: JPI
"Next to Memphis Belle is a group of military pilots from the famous WWII Black Squadron The Tuskegee Airmen. The crap these men put up with is shameful. But their service was anything but. As a combat unit the achieved many firsts. For one, they got an entire island of garrisoned Italians and Germans to surrender in the Mediterranean. From the AIR!! Their record for bombing escorts was almost pristine, losing half the bombers than regular squadrons not from Tuskegee. In all only 922 were trained. 355 were deployed overseas. 84 lost their lives. 32 were captured as POW. Truly as heroic group. Next to the Airmen is Myrna Loy. An amazing actress from the ’30s and ‘40s who I think is just drop-dead sexy. She did one of the first franchise films in history, all successions to The Thin Man. To the right of Myrna are Babe Ruth and his teammate Lou Gehrig, two of the greatest ball players to play the game. The is an argument to be made for both men being #1 of all time. Under the Memphis Belle pic is an early team picture of the Montreal Canadiens. Probably about 1919. Love the lighting in that pic. Wow. To the right of the Canadiens is an early Navy Picture of Lt. John F. Kennedy. A true WWII hero in the Pacific. During nighttime patrols in the Pacific fighting the Japanese their PT-109 boat was cut in half, killing two men from Kennedy's boat. Kennedy swam 3 miles to a nearby island dragging one of his injured men through the water along the way. The remaining men were rescued shortly after. Not too many men have the intestinal fortitude to accomplish that. To the right of Kennedy is probably football's best player and athlete of all time, Jim Brown. He was like a man playing with high school players in the NFL. A truly powerful man, he left a bit too early, but felt under-appreciated by his boss at the time and felt he could make more money in Hollywood. And he was right. Another American hero. He too dealt with a lot of BS. Sad.” Next to his fire extinguisher lamp is a rocking chair with some special decor: “a tiny ‘Julexis’ pillow made by a fan."
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Photo credit: JPI
"The Life Magazine from the 1940s is of Ted Williams on the cover and it was a gift from one of our lovely camera operators, Barbara Langdon. Ted Williams is one of my favorites; I think he is the best ball player to have played the game. It's incredible, the stats he was able to achieve while still serving his country as a Marine pilot for over five seasons during his prime. He served in both WWII and Korea. To the right of Ted Williams is silent film star Rudolph Valentino, who fought with Douglas Fairbanks as the biggest mail box [office] star at the time. Rudolph is one of my mom's favorites. His film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is still the 6th highest-grossing film of all time (adjusted for inflation). Amazing. But he is most well known for The Sheik. He died at aged 31 after a surgery for a missed diagnosis. Very sad. To the right of Rudolph is a picture of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Joe's brother Dom DiMaggio. To the right of that is a picture of my Rebecca [Staab, ex-Elizabeth, PORT CHARLES, et al] and me. A painting I found at an antique store (nothing special, but the painting spoke to me). Under Rudolph is Elvis Presley in cowboy gear, then Nick Nolte to the right of him. To the right of Nick is a picture of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. Ty Cobb, a notorious racist, wouldn't sleep in the same hotel as the Babe as he wasn't sure of Babe's ethnicity. Crazy times. To the right of Cobb and Ruth is a picture of one of my all time favorite Dodgers, Duke Snider, the all time home run leader for the Dodgers. That photo of Hudson West [Jake] front and center on my fridge/side table is from the [2018] Daytime Emmys. We had a little moment at the Emmys that night after another winner had been declared. I honestly felt that Hudson's work was outstanding and authentic. I did feel that despite his age, he should have won. He certainly had a very good chance. He was obviously a little upset and I just told Hudson that he shouldn't let that moment define him. In fact, it's imperative he doesn't. He will have many more moments in his life that will paint a larger, richer painting. He should be proud of his accomplishment. Not many his age can take credit of an Emmy nom."
5 of 7
Photo credit: JPI
"Some of my all-time favs are in this pic. Top left: Rita Hayworth, the top pin-up girl during WWII as the press coined her 'The Love Goddess’. She was voted the 25th female film star of all time, but was one of the best in the '40s. She died of Alzheimer's at aged 68. Middle left, a small poster from the famous Italian Fellini movie La Dolce Vita, which means ‘the good/sweet life’, which I think we all need a reminder of once in awhile. Then under the poster is one of my all-time favorite movie stars, Robert Mitchum. To the right of Mitchum is a young Gary Cooper with the silent movie star of the time, Clara Bow. Clara was the hugest star on the planet for four years, a flaming star to be sure.”
6 of 7
Photo credit: JPI
"My clock. Can't miss it. Very important to know what time it is there. Haha. But I love the Francais vibe to it!! So I bought it. The little soap dish with cup was bought in Italy. I just love old enamel. Love the old cowboy cups and coffee pots. All of it. And here was a little cup and soap dish. Bought it. I use the cup for my espresso at work when I need a pick-me-up.”
7 of 7
Photo credit: JPI
“This one needs almost no introduction: The famed Montreal Canadiens hockey team pennant. No team has won more Stanley Cups than Montreal. 24. Although, the Cup, ahem, has run a bit dry as of late. And yes, that's an ‘IE' in Canadiens for the hockey team.”
In the red frame is a shot from deVry’s first acting job, on WELCOME FRESHMAN. "I made friends with Howie D of the famed Backstreet Boys as he was a regular on the show. Later in life when he was in Vancouver for a concert and I was a young actor working up there, I busted through thousands of screaming girls and he saw me, grabbed my arm and pulled me into his fold of security. We went to lunch later that day like normal people at some franchise restaurant like TGI Friday's. Of course, we had a few bodyguards come along, but it was a pretty cool weekend.”
"Here is a picture of Jackie Robinson getting congratulated at home plate after hitting a home run for the Montreal Royals, the farm team of the Dodgers at that time. Jackie is, bar none, the most courageous ball player to have ever played the game and he is one of my all-time favorites. To the right of Jackie is the famous WWII Air Squadron of the 'The Memphis Belle’, a Boeing B-17 Bomber dubbed 'The Flying Fortress'. The ‘Belle' was one of the first to complete a required 25 flying combat missions mostly over France and Germany. It's now on display in Dayton Ohio. A national treasure.”
"Next to Memphis Belle is a group of military pilots from the famous WWII Black Squadron The Tuskegee Airmen. The crap these men put up with is shameful. But their service was anything but. As a combat unit the achieved many firsts. For one, they got an entire island of garrisoned Italians and Germans to surrender in the Mediterranean. From the AIR!! Their record for bombing escorts was almost pristine, losing half the bombers than regular squadrons not from Tuskegee. In all only 922 were trained. 355 were deployed overseas. 84 lost their lives. 32 were captured as POW. Truly as heroic group. Next to the Airmen is Myrna Loy. An amazing actress from the ’30s and ‘40s who I think is just drop-dead sexy. She did one of the first franchise films in history, all successions to The Thin Man. To the right of Myrna are Babe Ruth and his teammate Lou Gehrig, two of the greatest ball players to play the game. The is an argument to be made for both men being #1 of all time. Under the Memphis Belle pic is an early team picture of the Montreal Canadiens. Probably about 1919. Love the lighting in that pic. Wow. To the right of the Canadiens is an early Navy Picture of Lt. John F. Kennedy. A true WWII hero in the Pacific. During nighttime patrols in the Pacific fighting the Japanese their PT-109 boat was cut in half, killing two men from Kennedy's boat. Kennedy swam 3 miles to a nearby island dragging one of his injured men through the water along the way. The remaining men were rescued shortly after. Not too many men have the intestinal fortitude to accomplish that. To the right of Kennedy is probably football's best player and athlete of all time, Jim Brown. He was like a man playing with high school players in the NFL. A truly powerful man, he left a bit too early, but felt under-appreciated by his boss at the time and felt he could make more money in Hollywood. And he was right. Another American hero. He too dealt with a lot of BS. Sad.” Next to his fire extinguisher lamp is a rocking chair with some special decor: “a tiny ‘Julexis’ pillow made by a fan."
"The Life Magazine from the 1940s is of Ted Williams on the cover and it was a gift from one of our lovely camera operators, Barbara Langdon. Ted Williams is one of my favorites; I think he is the best ball player to have played the game. It's incredible, the stats he was able to achieve while still serving his country as a Marine pilot for over five seasons during his prime. He served in both WWII and Korea. To the right of Ted Williams is silent film star Rudolph Valentino, who fought with Douglas Fairbanks as the biggest mail box [office] star at the time. Rudolph is one of my mom's favorites. His film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is still the 6th highest-grossing film of all time (adjusted for inflation). Amazing. But he is most well known for The Sheik. He died at aged 31 after a surgery for a missed diagnosis. Very sad. To the right of Rudolph is a picture of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Joe's brother Dom DiMaggio. To the right of that is a picture of my Rebecca [Staab, ex-Elizabeth, PORT CHARLES, et al] and me. A painting I found at an antique store (nothing special, but the painting spoke to me). Under Rudolph is Elvis Presley in cowboy gear, then Nick Nolte to the right of him. To the right of Nick is a picture of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. Ty Cobb, a notorious racist, wouldn't sleep in the same hotel as the Babe as he wasn't sure of Babe's ethnicity. Crazy times. To the right of Cobb and Ruth is a picture of one of my all time favorite Dodgers, Duke Snider, the all time home run leader for the Dodgers. That photo of Hudson West [Jake] front and center on my fridge/side table is from the [2018] Daytime Emmys. We had a little moment at the Emmys that night after another winner had been declared. I honestly felt that Hudson's work was outstanding and authentic. I did feel that despite his age, he should have won. He certainly had a very good chance. He was obviously a little upset and I just told Hudson that he shouldn't let that moment define him. In fact, it's imperative he doesn't. He will have many more moments in his life that will paint a larger, richer painting. He should be proud of his accomplishment. Not many his age can take credit of an Emmy nom."
"Some of my all-time favs are in this pic. Top left: Rita Hayworth, the top pin-up girl during WWII as the press coined her 'The Love Goddess’. She was voted the 25th female film star of all time, but was one of the best in the '40s. She died of Alzheimer's at aged 68. Middle left, a small poster from the famous Italian Fellini movie La Dolce Vita, which means ‘the good/sweet life’, which I think we all need a reminder of once in awhile. Then under the poster is one of my all-time favorite movie stars, Robert Mitchum. To the right of Mitchum is a young Gary Cooper with the silent movie star of the time, Clara Bow. Clara was the hugest star on the planet for four years, a flaming star to be sure.”
"My clock. Can't miss it. Very important to know what time it is there. Haha. But I love the Francais vibe to it!! So I bought it. The little soap dish with cup was bought in Italy. I just love old enamel. Love the old cowboy cups and coffee pots. All of it. And here was a little cup and soap dish. Bought it. I use the cup for my espresso at work when I need a pick-me-up.”
“This one needs almost no introduction: The famed Montreal Canadiens hockey team pennant. No team has won more Stanley Cups than Montreal. 24. Although, the Cup, ahem, has run a bit dry as of late. And yes, that's an ‘IE' in Canadiens for the hockey team.”