About
"Serials have been around forever. It's impossible to imagine life without them. Serial existed in newspaper form before it existed on the radio, and it existed when people sat around the campfire thousands of years before that and told stories. I can't imagine that soap operas won't continue in some form or another. It will be fun to see what those forms are."
In her two-and-a-half-hour interview, Ellen Wheeler talks about her early years growing up in Utah, where her parents ran a local theater. She speaks about her first jobs in television, culminating in her role as "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon" on the soap opera Another World. She recalls the rigors of working on a soap opera and her later role on All My Children as "Cindy Parker," one of the first characters on television to battle AIDS. Wheeler discusses her transition to directing soap operas, which ultimately led to her being named executive producer of Guiding Light. She concludes the interview by discussing a typical production day, the actors and writers she works with, and the legacy of the series. Karen Herman conducted the interview on September 15, 2006 in New York, NY.
Highlights
Ellen Wheeler on being cast as "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon" on Another World
Ellen Wheeler on working with All My Children creator Agnes Nixon
Ellen Wheeler on becoming executive producer of Guiding Light in 2004
Ellen Wheeler on the social relevance of Guiding Light and then-recent storylines
Ellen Wheeler on daytime drama getting a bad reputation
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On her early life and influences; on television she watched as a kid; on her first jobs in television
On being cast as "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon" on Another World; on her first days on the set of Another World; on her early storylines as "Marley" on Another World and playing her own twin "Vicki"
On leaving and returning to Another World; on the changes to her Another World characters over the years; on the cancellation of Another World; on her Another World castmates
Chapter 2
On her Another World co-stars; on what she learned from acting on Another World and making the transition to behind-the-scenes work; on being cast as "Cindy Parker" on All My Children
On her All My Children character "Cindy Parker" and her AIDS storyline; on working with All My Children creator Agnes Nixon; on winning a Daytime Emmy for All My Children; on once again playing twins on All My Children
On leaving and returning to All My Children; on appearing on Dark Shadows, As the World Turns and The Bold and the Beautiful; on how she came to be a producer on Guiding Light
Chapter 3
On her duties as line producer on Guiding Light; on becoming executive producer of Guiding Light in 2004; on the town of Springfield in Guiding Light; on the audience of Guiding Light
On the day-to-day production of Guiding Light; on the budget and sets for Guiding Light; on what makes a great story and her favorite Guiding Light storylines
Chapter 4
On the social relevance of Guiding Light and then-recent storylines; on dealing when an actor leaves the show; on Kim Zimmer as "Reva Shayne" on Guiding Light
On the then-current cast of Guiding Light; on working with new actors on Guiding Light; on Guiding Light's Emmy nominations and wins; on keeping Guiding Light's storylines from getting out
Chapter 5
On "Inside the Light" and the use of music on Guiding Light; on the then-new opening titles for Guiding Light and the title of the show; on Guiding Light's 70th anniversary
On how emerging technology changed the way Guiding Light is produced; on the then-future of the soap opera genre; on her daughter appearing on Guiding Light and her possible return to acting
On her proudest career achievement; on her mentor; on advice to aspiring daytime producers
Shows
All My Children
Ellen Wheeler on being cast as "Cindy Parker" on All My Children
Ellen Wheeler on her All My Children character "Cindy Parker" and her AIDS storyline
Ellen Wheeler on working with All My Children creator Agnes Nixon
Ellen Wheeler on winning a Daytime Emmy for All My Children
Ellen Wheeler on once again playing twins on All My Children
Ellen Wheeler on leaving All My Children
Ellen Wheeler on returning to All My Children
Another World
Ellen Wheeler on being cast as "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon" on Another World
Ellen Wheeler on her Another World character "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon"
Ellen Wheeler on her first days on the set of Another World
Ellen Wheeler on her early storylines as "Marley" on Another World and playing her own twin "Vicki"
Ellen Wheeler on winning a Daytime Emmy for playing "Marley" and "Vicki" on Another World
Ellen Wheeler on leaving Another World
Ellen Wheeler on returning to Another World
Ellen Wheeler on the changes to her Another World characters over the years
Ellen Wheeler on the cancellation of Another World
Ellen Wheeler on her Another World castmates
Ellen Wheeler on her Another World co-stars
Ellen Wheeler on what she learned from acting on Another World and making the transition to behind-the-scenes work
Ellen Wheeler on directing As the World Turns and Another World
As the World Turns
Ellen Wheeler on appearing on As the World Turns
Ellen Wheeler on directing As the World Turns and Another World
Bold and the Beautiful, The
Ellen Wheeler on appearing on The Bold and the Beautiful
Dark Shadows
Ellen Wheeler on appearing on Dark Shadows
Emmy Awards, The (Primetime and Daytime)
Ellen Wheeler on winning a Daytime Emmy for playing "Marley" and "Vicki" on Another World
Ellen Wheeler on winning a Daytime Emmy for All My Children
Ellen Wheeler on Guiding Light's Emmy nominations and wins
Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on the tradition of Guiding Light and soap operas in general
Ellen Wheeler on how she came to be a producer for Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on her duties as a line producer on Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on a typical week as a line producer on Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on becoming executive producer of Guiding Light in 2004
Ellen Wheeler on her vision for Guiding Light as executive producer
Ellen Wheeler on the town of Springfield in Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on the audience of Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on the day-to-day production of Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on the budget for Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on the sets for Guiding Light and on location shooting
Ellen Wheeler on working with Guiding Light head writer David Kreizman
Ellen Wheeler on what makes a great story and her favorite Guiding Light storylines
Ellen Wheeler on the social relevance of Guiding Light and then-recent storylines
Ellen Wheeler on using stories from her own life on Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on then-current Guiding Light storylines
Ellen Wheeler on dealing with an actor's departure from the show
Ellen Wheeler on Kim Zimmer as "Reva Shayne" on Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on the then-current cast of Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on casting Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on working with new actors on the show
Ellen Wheeler on Guiding Light's Emmy nominations and wins
Ellen Wheeler on keeping Guiding Light's storylines from getting out
Ellen Wheeler on the Guiding Light series of episodes "Inside the Light"
Ellen Wheeler on the use of music for Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on the then-new opening titles for Guiding Light and the title of the show
Ellen Wheeler on Guiding Light's 70th anniversary
Ellen Wheeler on how emerging technology changed the way Guiding Light is produced
Ellen Wheeler on the then-future of the soap opera genre
Ellen Wheeler on her daughter appearing on Guiding Light and her own possible return to acting
Topics
Advice
Ellen Wheeler on advice to aspiring daytime producers
Characters & Catchphrases
Ellen Wheeler on her Another World character "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon"
Creative Influences and Inspiration
Ellen Wheeler on her mentor
Emmy Awards
Ellen Wheeler on winning a Daytime Emmy for playing "Marley" and "Vicki" on Another World
Ellen Wheeler on Guiding Light's Emmy nominations and wins
First Big Break
Ellen Wheeler on being cast as "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon" on Another World
Health and Medicine
Ellen Wheeler on working with All My Children creator Agnes Nixon and public reaction to the AIDS storyline
Ellen Wheeler on working with All My Children creator Agnes Nixon and public reaction to the AIDS storyline
Historic Events and Social Change
Ellen Wheeler on the social relevance of Guiding Light and then-recent storylines
Pivotal Career Moments
Ellen Wheeler on being cast as "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon" on Another World
Pop Culture
Ellen Wheeler on her Another World character "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon"
Technological Innovation
Ellen Wheeler on how emerging technology changed the way Guiding Light is produced
Television Industry
Ellen Wheeler on the then-future of the soap opera genre
Ellen Wheeler on advice to aspiring daytime producers
Professions
Producers
Ellen Wheeler on her duties as a line producer on Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on the day-to-day production of Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on advice to aspiring daytime producers
Genres
Daytime/Primetime Serials
Ellen Wheeler on playing "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon" and "Vicki" on Another World
Ellen Wheeler on playing "Cindy Parker" on All My Children
Ellen Wheeler on appearing on Dark Shadows
Ellen Wheeler on appearing on The Bold and the Beautiful
Ellen Wheeler on appearing on As the World Turns
Ellen Wheeler on directing As the World Turns and Another World
Ellen Wheeler on how she came to be a producer for Guiding Light
Ellen Wheeler on executive producing Guiding Light (Part 1)
Ellen Wheeler on executive producing Guiding Light (Part 2)
Ellen Wheeler on executive producing Guiding Light (Part 3)
People
Agnes Nixon
Ellen Wheeler on working with All My Children creator Agnes Nixon and public reaction to the AIDS storyline
Kim Zimmer
Ellen Wheeler on Kim Zimmer as "Reva Shayne" on Guiding Light