Scene and Heard

Bryan R. Dattilo (Lucas, DAYS) gifted wife of almost 12 years, Liz, something special on May 14 to celebrate Mother’s Day and her birthday, which both fell on the same day. The actor turned to a fair trade company called Novica (novica.com). “A family member turned me on to Novica and I loved the idea that it creates opportunities for disadvantaged artists to sell directly to customers all over the world,” explains Dattilo. “They have teams of people who travel to emerging countries, seeking artisans who might otherwise only be able to sell their products locally. They make sure the artist earns fair pay, and the sales help uplift their small communities.” Dattilo searched their online catalogue and found the perfect gift. “This amazing silver and lapis necklace featuring a peacock, caught my eye,” he smiles. “The design resonated with me since I just celebrated 30 years on DAYS, which currently airs on Peacock. I also found it interesting that the artist, Neeru Goel, a 63-year-old woman from West Bengal, India, learned the craft from her grandmother, who taught her how to search for interesting gemstones and turn them into art.” The Dattilos are also celebrating recent medical reports that show no sign of the rare breast cancer Liz was diagnosed with a year and a half ago.

Judith Chapman (Gloria, Y&R et al) has shared scenes with some famous names through the years as a guest star on a plethora of prime-time shows. The actress recalls, “The fabulous people that I worked with include  Michael Landon on HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN [1987], Pierce Brosnan on REMINGTON STEELE [1983], Lee Majors on THE FALL GUY [four episodes, 1981-83], Bill Bixby on THE INCREDIBLE HULK [1980] and the late great Andy Griffith on MATLOCK [1991], just to name a few.” However, it was her 1981 appearances on MAGNUM P.I. with Tom Selleck (ex-Jed, Y&R) that recently impressed friends. “My neighbors, who are not connected to show business, said to me, ‘ We just saw you on a thing with Tom Selleck!’ ” Chapman recalls. “The husband goes, ‘You kissed Tom Selleck!’ I said, ‘Oh, no, no, no., Tom Selleck kissed me and then I kissed him back!’ ”

Charles Shaughnessy’s last day as GH’s Victor was oddly anticlimactic, the actor reports. “It was a bit strange because I sort of finished the day we did the scenes of dead Victor in the body bag, which was just before we had a two-week break [in production]. But that wasn’t my real good-bye, because I knew I was coming back to shoot Victor [reading his will]. So, everyone was, like, ‘Is this your last day?!’ And I was, like, ‘Well, actually, I’m coming back after the break.’ ‘Oh, good! Well, we’ll say good-bye then.’ But when I came back, my scenes were right at the end of the day, and it was just me in front of a camera reading my will. I wasn’t even called in until 6 p.m. So I got to say good-bye to a few people, but the vast majority had already left for the day!” Shaughnessy isn’t sweating the lack of closure with his co-stars, though. “I say that with daytime shows, it’s like bar mitzvah good-byes,” he grins. “It’s like you say good-bye and then everyone turns around and you’re still there two hours later! I expect I’ll be seeing everyone again before too long.

In honor of Father’s Day, B&B’s Kimberlin Brown (Sheila) has a memory to share of her husband, Gary Pelzer. “I went into labor with my daughter [Alexes] a week after the Northridge earthquake [in CA in 1994],” the actress recalls. “When Gary and I got to the hospital, they sent me back home saying I wasn’t ready yet. But, by the time we got to the top of Laurel Canyon, my husband made a U-turn. We went back to the hospital and my blood pressure had fallen so much that they wouldn’t let me go home, but they still wouldn’t admit me because I wasn’t dilated enough, and he had me walk around the hospital floor 20 times to induce labor. It was miserable. It was a miserable experience. But after my 20th lap, I was set to go and it was worth every minute.”