Erika Slezak's Special Day
by Allison Waldman
posted Mar 7th 2011


On March 17, "One Life to Live's" greatest star, Erika Slezak, will celebrate her 40th anniversary on the show. The on-air celebration will be on April 26, but it will NOT include flashbacks, believe it or not.




Slezak gave the inside scoop about the episode recently to Michael Logan of TV Guide.

"No flashbacks or anything. I think they're going to dredge up a lot of what's going on in Viki's life right now and how she's dealing with it.

When Frank [Valentini, OLTL executive producer] said, 'We're writing a show for you,' I was so touched I started to cry. It's so sweet. But I was kind of hoping it would all go by unnoticed."

http://www.tvsquad.com/2011/03/07/soap-news-general-hospital-star-vanessa-marcil-giovinazzo-rea/

Happy 40th Anniversary to Erika! :)

Happy 40th Anniversary to Erika! :)Happy Birthday Viki! I wish that ABC would air her debut episode from 1971. That would be great.

Some vintage Erika/Viki clips would be awesome. I don't know if her debut episode still exists, but there's a wealth of footage that can be used for flashbacks, but its too bad they're not going that route. In any case, I hope they pull out all the stops and give Ms. Slezak the props she deserves. She is now the longest-running performer in a soap if I'm not mistaken.

She is now the longest-running performer in a soap if I'm not mistaken.


Susan Lucci has her beat by a year.

Susan Lucci has her beat by a year.

Yes, you're right - thanks!!

I love her! I hope they give her the celebration that she deserves!

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700122083/Erika-Slezak-marks-40-years-on-ABCs-One-Life-to-Live.html

By Terry Morrow, Scripps Howard News Service

Published: Sunday, March 27, 2011 4:32 p.m. MDT


NEW YORK — When actress Erika Slezak landed the role of Viki Lord on ABC's "One Life To Live" 40 years ago, she was a fish out of water.

"When my agent said, 'You've got the part,' I thought, 'Oh great! I probably have a week to prepare.' He told me I started the next day. I panicked," recalls Slezak, 64.

This month, she was honored with a surprise party, thrown by the cast and crew, to mark her 40th anniversary on the daytime drama (which can be seen at 2 p.m. EDT weekdays).

A tribute reel contained congratulations from Barbara Walters, Regis Philbin, "All My Children" star Susan Lucci and "General Hospital" lead Tony Geary, among others. A shocked Slezak exclaimed jokingly after seeing the reel: "You got Barbara Walters? She doesn't speak to me when she sees me!"

The tales of her first few days on set are now legendary to the cast and crew, most of whom weren't there then. Trained as a theater actress, Slezak projected her lines too much, mainly because she was not used to microphones. Since then, she's toned down.

Today, she's regarded as a daytime legend, creating one of the longest-lasting roles on television. "Erika never takes anything lightly," said executive producer Frank Valentini.

"She is always prepared. There's a tremendous reality to Viki that the audience can relate to."

Viki has had the typical soap-opera trials -- several marriages, a health crisis and even an ongoing bout with a split personality disorder. And all this time, Slezak remains on the forefront on "One Life," even as peers on other soaps are pushed to the background because of their age. She has won six Daytime Emmys for playing Viki.

An episode set to air in mid-April will feature Slezak in every scene. It's not a tribute to Viki or Slezak, but, rather, an opportunity to let Slezak shine for a full hour, said head writer Ron Carlivati.

"It was a way to show what she can do," said Carlivati. "It's really a tour de force for Erika."

Slezak, the daughter of the late actor Walter Slezak, has had such a day before. One storyline years ago sent Viki to heaven, where she met up with one of her husbands, her sister and even God (played by "One Life" creator Agnes Nixon, who also created "All My Children").

"I had 60 pages to learn every day for a week," Slezak said. "I would memorize all day long and then memorize and say my lines out loud on the train home that night.

"I know the other people (on the train) thought I was crazy."

Email Terry Morrow of The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee at morrow2(at)knews.com.

Dist. by Scripps Howard News Service

Erika Slezak/Viki through the years:

Here's a fun bit of trivia - she's exactly one week older than my dad. She is the all-time winningest actress at the Daytime Emmys (she has six). Plus, my all-time favorite outfit of hers is the green gown she wore to the Emmys a few years back. The color is perfect for her and she looked like a million bucks. Her young daughter, Amanda, played a young Viki in a "flashback" scene in 2003.

http://i54.tinypic.com/2qiojuf.jpg

Hard to believe, but for nearly three years, the role of Victoria Lord (insert current husband's surname here) wasn't played by Erika Slezak. She was a recast. Gillian Spencer originated the part in OLTL's debut episode in July 1968 and played it until October 1970. Joanne Dorian took over and portrayed Viki until March 1971. The day after her last episode was when Erika Slezak started airing - and has been on ever since. She had better be in the last scene of the last episode!!

Gillian Spencer went on to become well-known on other soaps (most notably as Jennifer Sullivan Ryan Hughes on As the World Turns and Daisy Murdock Cortlandt on All My Children) and eventually began writing for them. One of the soaps she worked on was OLTL, from 1999-2000. She was last seen onscreen as AMC's Daisy in April 2010.

Joanne Dorian didn't turn up on any other soaps, but was married to Michael Zaslow (who would join OLTL over a decade after she left in the role of David Reynolds) from 1965-1972. Still acting, mostly on stage, she appeared with ATWT's Ellen Dolan (Margo) in the play Cold Snaps, in December 2009 (to see larger images of her, click on this link - http://suecoflin.photoshelter.com/gallery/G0000dMiXmkvLfNE - I'm having trouble uploading them).

Here are the three faces of Viki, then and now:

I had no idea that Erika wasn't the only one to play Vicki. Interesting!

I know - she's so deeply ingrained in our minds as Viki, it's hard to believe that she was a recast!

Erika Slezak Looks Back on 40 Years As Viki on "One Life to Live"
by Michael Maloney
posted Apr 27th 2011


There really aren't words to describe what Erika Slezak must be feeling these days. The revered star, who has won six Outstanding Lead Actress Daytime Emmys for her iconic role as Victoria Lord Banks on "One Life to Live", is celebrating her 40th anniversary in Llanview this year.

Of course, like fans of the genre everywhere, the legendary actress is dealing with the news that ABC has canceled the long-running soap opera. "Please tell all our fans how deeply sorry I am to be losing this wonderful show that has so much heart and so much life," the actress said in a statement after the cancellation news was announced.

"I will miss my work, my friends, my 'OLTL' family so very much. I consider this to be a terrible loss to the television community and especially to the New York community."





Today, the soap is honoring Slezak's 40 years of service with a special Viki-themed episode. It's one that fans will want to record and keep forever.

AOL TV spoke with the actress about her anniversary shortly before the cancellation news was announced, and she joyfully reflected on what "OLTL" has meant to her. For starters, it certainly doesn't seem like 40 years have gone by.

"I sometimes still feel the same way that I did when I first walked into the studio 40 years ago -- young and not knowing what I was doing," she said. "Now, I know what I'm doing, but I can not believe that amount of time has gone by. There have been so many stories and so many people I've worked with."







Do fans tell you what was going on in Viki's life when they started watching?By the way, I started watching just before Joey was born.

[Laughs] Yes. They do. Generally, that happens.











What is it about serialized storytelling that creates that sense of intimacy?

People watch us because they want to see how the lives of these characters will unfold. I, myself, got hooked on "General Hospital" years ago. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next to Tracy or Luke and Laura.

It's like when you're reading a well-put-together novel. You don't want it to end. ["OLTL" creator] Agnes Nixon created a core group of wonderful, warm and interesting people.











Different writing regimes come in and tinker with history.
Fans recall Dorian [then played by Nancy Pinkerton, now Robin Strasser] watch Victor Lord die in the mid-'70s.

She did! She watched him -- a la The Little Foxes -- until he was so far gone that she knew there was no saving him.

I think he had a stroke, a heart attack, and then a stroke and then was in a coma and then died. So yes, it was her fault.











And then, head writer Michael Malone came in almost 20 years later and re-wrote that one of Viki's alters actually killed Victor.

How do you handle that?

You go along with it. There's nothing in my contract that says I have a say in story. I'm hired to play what they write. What Michael actually did was he had Tori, Viki's alter, go in and smother Victor with a pillow with Dorian watching from the bathroom.

The weird thing was when Victor popped up alive [in 2003] wanting Jessica's heart.











Viki's scariest alter has to be icy, emotionless Jean Randolph.

Oh, yes. Jean has no emotion. She's practical. She's the one who says, "Yes, we will do this. No, we will not do that." She's the part of all of us that puts aside emotion and puts aside any kind of feelings.

She has no guilt, no regrets. She does what needs to be done. That's fun to play because you can say the most horrible things to people. She doesn't care!











The show recently threw a surprise party on set to celebrate your anniversary. Were you surprised?

Yes. I had no idea. There was a notice at the studio saying there was a St. Patrick's Day party. I thought, "That's really nice." David Coleman, our guard and "mayor of Llanview," said, "Oh, that's interesting. A party on your anniversary." I said, "No, David. They'd tell me."

Later I saw everyone standing there. I was speechless, which for me is kind of unusual. It was incredibly sweet. I was more than touched. I was in tears. So many people were in a video tribute to me in including Agnes, Bob Woods and Nathan Fillion [ex-Joey].











[B]Nathan always speaks fondly of his time on daytime and, sadly, you don't always get that from alumni.

No, you don't. He's a lovely guy. He always comes by to say hello when he's in New York. He's a super guy.











The actors who play your children must learn a great deal from you.

I hope so. I know that we get along brilliantly. I love them dearly. I wish Dan Gauthier would come back permanently as Kevin.

Now we have Tom Degnan playing Joey. Melissa Archer [Natalie] and Bree Williamson [Jessica] are wonderful young actresses and so completely different, which is great. They're all terrific.











Creatively, the show is in such great shape right now.

Frank [Valentini] is awesome. He cares so much and he does so much. He goes home with mountains of scripts. He's on conference calls. I don't know when he sleeps!

He understands the business of television. He knows what people want to see and knows how to present it to them. He is very smart.











College kids used to schedule their classes around their favorite soaps and gather in student unions to watch them together.

Today's "OLTL" is just as great as ever. Where has the audience gone?

When I started on the show, we had four or five channels. We now have 500. Our whole world has become so fickle. People have so many choices.

Ours is a very special medium. People will say they didn't watch for a while and then they come back and it doesn't take long to get caught up again. It's very hard to tell who's watching because of all the recording and people who watch on SOAPnet.





It's unfortunate they can't seem to accurately record who's watching because I suspect the numbers are much higher.

I think so. A lot of people watch, but they don't have Nielsen boxes.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2011/04/27/erika-slezak-one-life-to-live-40th-anniversary/

^ Thanks for posting that. Erika Slezak is one class act. :cool: :D

^ Thanks for posting that. Erika Slezak is one class act. :cool: :D


She is, isn't she? I saw her episode last week where she was Viki and two of her other famous alters. She provided intensity, suspense and humor within that episode. That woman rocked it totally! Congrats to ES for her 40 years of work on the show.

She is indeed. Is it any wonder why she has 6 Emmys to her credit? :cool: