Ellen Wheeler

Producer / Actress

View Full Interview

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

Tab

About

About this interview

In her two-and-a-half hour Archive interview, Ellen Wheeler talks about her early years growing up in Utah, where her parents ran a local theatre. 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 discuses 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 City, New York.

"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."

Highlights

Ellen Wheeler on being cast as "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon" on Another World

00:49

Ellen Wheeler on working with All My Children creator Agnes Nixon

02:29

Ellen Wheeler on becoming executive producer of Guiding Light in 2004

04:30

Ellen Wheeler on the social relevance of Guiding Light and then-recent storylines

07:40

Ellen Wheeler on daytime drama getting a bad reputation

01:05

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

02:31

Ellen Wheeler on her All My Children character "Cindy Parker" and her AIDS storyline

05:21

Ellen Wheeler on working with All My Children creator Agnes Nixon

02:29

Ellen Wheeler on winning a Daytime Emmy for All My Children

01:30

Ellen Wheeler on once again playing twins on All My Children

00:54

Ellen Wheeler on leaving All My Children

01:01

Ellen Wheeler on returning to All My Children

00:32

Another World

Ellen Wheeler on being cast as "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon" on Another World

00:49

Ellen Wheeler on her Another World character "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon"

01:25

Ellen Wheeler on her first days on the set of Another World

01:44

Ellen Wheeler on her early storylines as "Marley" on Another World and playing her own twin "Vicki"

03:06

Ellen Wheeler on winning a Daytime Emmy for playing "Marley" and "Vicki" on Another World

01:20

Ellen Wheeler on leaving Another World

02:06

Ellen Wheeler on returning to Another World

01:23

Ellen Wheeler on the changes to her Another World characters over the years

02:27

Ellen Wheeler on the cancellation of Another World

01:27

Ellen Wheeler on her Another World castmates

02:56

Ellen Wheeler on her Another World co-stars

01:33

Ellen Wheeler on what she learned from acting on Another World and making the transition to behind-the-scenes work

04:12

Ellen Wheeler on directing As the World Turns and Another World

04:07

As the World Turns

Ellen Wheeler on appearing on As the World Turns

00:37

Ellen Wheeler on directing As the World Turns and Another World

04:07

Bold and the Beautiful, The

Ellen Wheeler on appearing on The Bold and the Beautiful

00:55

Dark Shadows

Ellen Wheeler on appearing on Dark Shadows

00:37

Emmy Awards, The (Primetime and Daytime)

Ellen Wheeler on winning a Daytime Emmy for playing "Marley" and "Vicki" on Another World

01:20

Ellen Wheeler on winning a Daytime Emmy for All My Children

01:30

Ellen Wheeler on Guiding Light's Emmy nominations and wins

01:36

Guding Light

Ellen Wheeler on using stories from her own life on Guiding Light

02:53

Ellen Wheeler on dealing with an actor's departure from the show

01:35

Guiding Light

Ellen Wheeler on the tradition of Guiding Light and soap operas in general

00:38

Ellen Wheeler on how she came to be a producer for Guiding Light

01:13

Ellen Wheeler on her duties as a line producer on Guiding Light

02:43

Ellen Wheeler on a typical week as a line producer on Guiding Light

01:24

Ellen Wheeler on becoming executive producer of Guiding Light in 2004

04:30

Ellen Wheeler on her vision for Guiding Light as executive producer

02:55

Ellen Wheeler on the town of Springfield in Guiding Light

01:08

Ellen Wheeler on the audience of Guiding Light

00:57

Ellen Wheeler on the day-to-day production of Guiding Light

02:39

Ellen Wheeler on the budget for Guiding Light

01:38

Ellen Wheeler on the sets for Guiding Light and on location shooting

02:39

Ellen Wheeler on working with Guiding Light head writer David Kreizman

05:16

Ellen Wheeler on what makes a great story and her favorite Guiding Light storylines

02:37

Ellen Wheeler on the social relevance of Guiding Light and then-recent storylines

07:40

Ellen Wheeler on then-current Guiding Light storylines

00:55

Ellen Wheeler on Kim Zimmer as "Reva Shayne" on Guiding Light

02:30

Ellen Wheeler on the then-current cast of Guiding Light

07:10

Ellen Wheeler on casting Guiding Light

01:29

Ellen Wheeler on working with new actors on the show

00:40

Ellen Wheeler on Guiding Light's Emmy nominations and wins

01:36

Ellen Wheeler on keeping Guiding Light's storylines from getting out

00:47

Ellen Wheeler on the Guiding Light series of episodes "Inside the Light"

07:07

Ellen Wheeler on the use of music for Guiding Light

01:45

Ellen Wheeler on the then-new opening titles for Guiding Light and the title of the show

02:39

Ellen Wheeler on Guiding Light's 70th anniversary

00:56

Ellen Wheeler on how emerging technology changed the way Guiding Light is produced

05:41

Ellen Wheeler on the then-future of the soap opera genre

01:11

Ellen Wheeler on her daughter appearing on Guiding Light and her own possible return to acting

01:56

Topics

Advice

Ellen Wheeler on advice to aspiring daytime producers

01:13

Characters & Catchphrases

Ellen Wheeler on her Another World character "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon"

01:25

Creative Influences and Inspiration

Ellen Wheeler on her mentor

01:17

Emmy Awards

Ellen Wheeler on winning a Daytime Emmy for playing "Marley" and "Vicki" on Another World

01:20

Ellen Wheeler on Guiding Light's Emmy nominations and wins

01:36

First Big Break

Ellen Wheeler on being cast as "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon" on Another World

09:39

Health and Medicine

Ellen Wheeler on working with All My Children creator Agnes Nixon and public reaction to the AIDS storyline

02:29

Ellen Wheeler on working with All My Children creator Agnes Nixon and public reaction to the AIDS storyline

02:29

Historic Events and Social Change

Ellen Wheeler on the social relevance of Guiding Light and then-recent storylines

07:40

Pivotal Career Moments

Ellen Wheeler on being cast as "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon" on Another World

00:49

Pop Culture

Ellen Wheeler on her Another World character "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon"

01:25

Technological Innovation

Ellen Wheeler on how emerging technology changed the way Guiding Light is produced

05:41

Television Industry

Ellen Wheeler on the then-future of the soap opera genre

01:11

Ellen Wheeler on advice to aspiring daytime producers

01:13

Professions

Producers

View Profession

Ellen Wheeler on her duties as a line producer on Guiding Light

04:07

Ellen Wheeler on the day-to-day production of Guiding Light

12:12

Ellen Wheeler on advice to aspiring daytime producers

01:13

Genres

Daytime/Primetime Serials

Ellen Wheeler on playing "Marley Love Hudson McKinnon" and "Vicki" on Another World

19:45

Ellen Wheeler on playing "Cindy Parker" on All My Children

14:17

Ellen Wheeler on appearing on Dark Shadows

00:38

Ellen Wheeler on appearing on The Bold and the Beautiful

00:54

Ellen Wheeler on appearing on As the World Turns

00:37

Ellen Wheeler on directing As the World Turns and Another World

04:07

Ellen Wheeler on how she came to be a producer for Guiding Light

01:13

Ellen Wheeler on executive producing Guiding Light (Part 1)

28:26

Ellen Wheeler on executive producing Guiding Light (Part 2)

28:16

Ellen Wheeler on executive producing Guiding Light (Part 3)

21:16

People

Agnes Nixon

View Interview Page

Ellen Wheeler on working with All My Children creator Agnes Nixon and public reaction to the AIDS storyline

02:29

Kim Zimmer

View Interview Page

Ellen Wheeler on Kim Zimmer as "Reva Shayne" on Guiding Light

02:30