Days of Our Lives Casting News and More

RENTON REDUX

Kristen Renton (Morgan) is being written off "Days" due to storyline purposes. Morgan will move to Chicago in the near future. Her last airdate is Friday, October 3.

WHITESELL NAMED CO-HEAD WRITER

Four-time Daytime Emmy Award winner Christopher Whitesell has been named the new co-head writer of "Days of Our Lives", effective immediately. Whitesell has a long history in daytime, beginning in 1984 with "Guiding Light." He was on the writing staffs of "Guiding Light", "As the World Turns", "Another World" and "One Life to Live" before being named to his first co-head writing position, on "General Hospital", in 1997. From 1998-1999, he was the co-head writer on "Sunset Beach." Whitesell then was a staff writer at "Days" from 2000-2001. He later was co-head writer on "One Life to Live" from 2001-2003 and "As the World Turns" from 2003-2008. Whitesell has been nominated for ten Daytime Emmy Awards, winning four times (in 1986 for "Guiding Light"; 1994 for "One Life to Live"; and 2004 and 2005 for "As the World Turns"). Christopher Joseph Whitesell, 51, was born on January 17, 1957 in Iowa Falls, Iowa. In other changes, Rick Draughon has been reassigned to Associate Head Writer and former "Days" casting assistant Linda Poindexter-Brown and current "Days" writer's assistant Ryan Quan will be writing some scripts. Here is the current "Days" writing staff:

Head Writer Dena Higley

Co-Head Writer Christopher Whitesell

Associate Head Writer Rick Draughon

Script Editor Victor Gialanella

Outline Writer Renee Godelia

Dialogue Writers Cydney Kelley, John Newman, Jodie Scholz, Linda Poindexter-Brown, Ryan Quan

CORDAY/TOMLIN STATEMENTS

Here is executive producer Ken Corday's statement on the change in co-executive producers: "I have decided that it's in the best interest of the show's future to make this change in order to improve "Days" both visually and emotionally. We at "Days" are grateful to Ed Scott for all of his contributions and amazing energy over the past year. Gary Tomlin brings a long successful history of being an actor's producer and a writer's producer to our cast and crew and I know the viewers will see the immediate results of this change for the better."

Here is co-executive producer Gary Tomlin's statement on his hiring: "I'm very happy to be back at "Days" where I began behind the scenes in the early 80's. It's wonderful to be given the opportunity to work with Ken Corday."

ROSCOE, WE HARDLY KNEW YE

Roscoe Born (Trent Robbins) will be departing the cast of "Days of Our Lives" in the near future. His character will be killed off as part of a murder mystery.

GARY TOMLIN TAKES OVER AS CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

"Days of Our Lives" co-executive producer Edward J. Scott was relieved of his duties on Friday, August 15, 2008. Scott had been with "Days" since August, 2007. New co-executive producer Gary Tomlin was the co-head writer of "Days of Our Lives" (along with Michelle Poteet-Lisanti) for 256 episodes from October 20, 1980-October 20, 1981. A few events during his tenure included the aging of Hope Williams to a teenager and the arrivals of Renee Dumonde and Jake Kositchek (the Salem Strangler). Tomlin began his career as an actor on such shows as "Search For Tomorrow", "The Waltons" and "Another World". He switched to writing in 1980 with "Days of Our Lives" and later with "Texas", "Search For Tomorrow", "Another World" and "Santa Barbara" (where he won an Emmy in 1989). Tomlin switched to producing in 1995 and had stints at "All My Children", "Sunset Beach" and "One Life to Live" (where he won an Emmy in 2002). From 2003-2008, Tomlin began the next phase of his career, as a director on "Passions." Tomlin, 58, was born March 6, 1950 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

MAYOR MATT

Matthew Borlenghi is joining the cast of "Days of Our Lives" on Thursday, September 18 as Anthony Marino, the mayor of Salem. He will be involved in Abe and Roman's storyline. Borlenghi has had series regular roles on "All My Children", "Pig Sty", "The Jeff Foxworthy Show", "Party Girl" and "Police Academy: The Series." In recent years, he has formed his own production company, Black Hat Productions. Matteo Andrea Borlenghi was born on May 25, 1967 in Los Angeles, California. He has been married to real estate agent Heather Nygren since 2003.

FRANCES REID UPDATE

Frances Reid (Alice) had lines written for the Thursday, August 7 Bo/Hope wedding episode, but she was unable to attend the taping. She previously had to miss tapings in April and June (for Bo's hospital visit and the July 4 picnic). Here's hoping that Mrs. Horton will be back in Salem soon, perhaps for the Christmas episode. Ms. Reid turns 94 on December 9.

COUNTDOWN TO 11,000

Barring any unforeseen preemptions, "Days of Our Lives" is set to air its milestone 11,000th episode on Wednesday, January 21, 2009, the day after the new President of the United States takes office (with a preemption for Inauguration Day on January 20). "Days" will become only the 4th scripted series in American television history to air 11,000 episodes (along with "Guiding Light", "As the World Turns" and "General Hospital"). For the complete airdate schedule through January 2009, click here.

DENA HIGLEY'S DAUGHTER GUESTS

Jensen Higley, the 18-year-old daughter of head writer Dena Higley, appeared as Susie, the friend of Melanie's, on the Monday 8/4 episode. This was her acting debut. A picture of her is available in the Guest Star Gallery.

ALI'S FAMILY EXPANDING

Alison Sweeney (Sami) has announced that she and husband Dave Sanov are expecting their second child, a girl. No word yet if the pregnancy will work its way into Sami's storyline, but having just had twins on the show, the show might decide to hide Sweeney's pregnancy. Congrats to Ali & Dave!

STEVE FOR HIRE

Steve Blackwood (ex-Bart) wants to let fans know that he is available to perform his music at parties/weddings/etc... If you'd like to hire Steve for your event, please contact Newborn Jazz at 818-562-6806.

"DAYS" HAIRSTYLING TEAM WINS DAYTIME EMMY!

Congratulations to the "Days of Our Lives" hairstyling team, which won a Daytime Emmy at the Creative Arts portion of the 35th Annual Daytime Awards on Friday, June 13. This is the fifth time "Days" has won in this category, having previously received the honor in 1988, 1995, 1997 and 1999. Garry Allyn has won his second Daytime Emmy, previously winning in 1999. Matthew Holman, Margaret Puga, Monica Sabedra and Kimberly Salvatore all have won their first-ever Daytime Emmy. This is the 26th overall Daytime Emmy that "Days of Our Lives" has received in its history. Four "Days" actors (Darin Brooks, Judi Evans, Rachel Melvin and Thaao Penghlis) are up for Daytime Emmys on the televised portion on ABC the evening of Friday, June 20

HIGLEY WRITES ABOUT PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH AUTISM

The growing autism crisis � which has recently drawn increasing national attention -- is addressed in a personal manner beginning on the Tuesday, June 24 episode of "Days of our Lives" in an insightful story based on the experiences of the series' head writer, Dena Higley, who, with her husband Mark, has raised an autistic child of their own. NBC joins with Autism Speaks, the nation's leading autism advocacy organization, to help convey a message of hope and useful information during the course of the storyline. In the creative arc to continue through the summer, Lexie and Abe Carver are told their 3-year-old son, Theo, has autism. The news of Theo's diagnosis is understandably hard for the couple to comprehend, but through the love and support of family and friends, and the love for their son, they learn a lot about their family and how to cope with this tremendous, new challenge. The Higleys' son, Connor, was diagnosed at age three. Now 19 years old, he recently graduated from high school. Higley and her husband's personal struggles and triumphs of raising a son with autism, plus three other children, are why she is so passionate about sharing her story -- one that hundreds of thousands of other American parents are also currently experiencing. "We're telling the profound and life-altering story of a child with autism from his parents' point of view," said head writer Higley. "Their pain, their struggle -- and ultimately, their ability to find life-affirming hope in the midst of learning how to live day to day with this disability. This is a personal story for me...as my husband and I have walked in the shoes Abe and Lexie are now about to walk in." I am thrilled that 'Days' has decided to take on this very important topic," said Bruce Evans, NBC's Senior Vice President of Daytime and Drama Programming. "We are hopeful that this storyline will serve as a resource for our viewers, many of whom have already been touched by this critical issue." "This storyline realistically portrays the emotional trauma that every family faces when a child is diagnosed with autism, yet it also opens a window for viewers to see the hope and achievements that are possible as a family pulls together," said Alison Singer, Executive Vice President of Communications and Awareness for Autism Speaks. "We are honored to work with 'Days of our Lives' and applaud the show's commitment to shine a bright spotlight on the autism crisis and its effects on the whole family." In order to share the storyline responsibly, "Days of our Lives" has joined with Autism Speaks, the nation's leading nonprofit organization devoted to autism. The partnership between "Days of our Lives," whose loyal audience extends across generations for over 42 years, and Autism Speaks will help promote awareness about a disorder that is diagnosed in one in every 150 children in the United States.

WRITERS GUILD VS. CORDAY PRODUCTIONS

The Writers Guild of America, East, has filed an arbitration case against Corday Productions for allegedly violating the guild�s strike termination agreement by retaining writers hired during the writers strike earlier this year. The WGAE alleges that Corday Productions, which produces �Days of Our Lives�, hired replacement writers during the 100-day WGA strike and has not terminated these employees. Instead, the replacement writers are preventing striking guild writers from returning to their positions, the WGAE said. �The strike termination agreement does not allow the retention of replacement writers in lieu of allowing striking writers to return to their jobs. Corday Productions is clearly violating this agreement,� said Ira Cure, senior counsel for the Writers Guild of America, East. �They have left us no other option but to file arbitration to ensure our members will be afforded their rights outlined under this agreement.� The company has 10 days to respond to the case. Representatives of Corday were not available for immediate comment. NBC, which airs �Days of Our Lives,� had no comment. (from tvweek.com)

DUSTIN RETIRES FROM HIS LONG-TIME "DAYS" WEBSITE

Long-time "Days" fan site owner Dustin Cushman, who ran one of the most famous "Days of Our Lives" fan websites, has retired and sold his soap websites in order to focus on his grad school work. Congratulations to one of the pioneers of "Days" fan sites for such a long run, one of the few sites that were around when I started my original site in 1998. Dustin also ran sites for two other NBC soaps, "Another World" and "Passions." All the best in his future endeavors! For more information, check out his blog at: http://www.thatguysblog.com/

10,000TH EPISODE TRIVIA

"Days of Our Lives" aired its 10,000th episode on February 21, 2005. "Days" became just the fourth daytime drama to reach the 10,000 episode mark. In honor of this historic event, here's a look at when the other current soaps reached their latest milestone episode, plus an estimate on when they will reach 10,000 episodes:

Show AIRDATE EPISODE #

Guiding Light 10/86 10000 [14000 aired in 9/02]

As the World Turns 5/12/95 10000 [12000 aired on 5/6/03]

General Hospital 4/17/02 10000

Days of Our Lives 2/21/05 10000

One Life to Live 9/23/03 9000 (10000 in fall 2007)

All My Children 12/16/04 9000 (10000 in late 2008)

The Young & the Restless 11/1/04 8000 (10000 in winter 2012)

The Bold & the Beautiful 3/7/03 4000 (10000 in spring 2027)

Passions 6/10/03 1000 (10000 in summer 2039)





	RENTON REDUX *Kristen Renton (Morgan)* is being written off "Days" due to storyline purposes. Morgan will move to Chicago in the near future. Her last airdate is Friday, October 3. WHITESELL NAMED CO-HEAD WRITER *Four-time Daytime Emmy Award winner Christopher Whitesell* has been named the new co-head writer of "Days of Our Lives", effective immediately. Whitesell has a long history in daytime, beginning in 1984 with "Guiding Light." He was on the writing staffs of "Guiding Light", "As the World Turns", "Another World" and "One Life to Live" before being named to his first co-head writing position, on "General Hospital", in 1997. From 1998-1999, he was the co-head writer on "Sunset Beach." Whitesell then was a staff writer at "Days" from 2000-2001. He later was co-head writer on "One Life to Live" from 2001-2003 and "As the World Turns" from 2003-2008. Whitesell has been nominated for ten Daytime Emmy Awards, winning four times (in 1986 for "Guiding Light"; 1994 for "One Life to Live"; and 2004 and 2005 for "As the World Turns"). Christopher Joseph Whitesell, 51, was born on January 17, 1957 in Iowa Falls, Iowa. In other changes, Rick Draughon has been reassigned to Associate Head Writer and former "Days" casting assistant Linda Poindexter-Brown and current "Days" writer's assistant Ryan Quan will be writing some scripts. Here is the current "Days" writing staff: Head Writer Dena Higley Co-Head Writer Christopher Whitesell Associate Head Writer Rick Draughon Script Editor Victor Gialanella Outline Writer Renee Godelia Dialogue Writers Cydney Kelley, John Newman, Jodie Scholz, Linda Poindexter-Brown, Ryan Quan CORDAY/TOMLIN STATEMENTS *Here is executive producer Ken Corday's statement on the change in co-executive producers:* "I have decided that it's in the best interest of the show's future to make this change in order to improve "Days" both visually and emotionally. We at "Days" are grateful to Ed Scott for all of his contributions and amazing energy over the past year. Gary Tomlin brings a long successful history of being an actor's producer and a writer's producer to our cast and crew and I know the viewers will see the immediate results of this change for the better." *Here is co-executive producer Gary Tomlin's statement on his hiring:* "I'm very happy to be back at "Days" where I began behind the scenes in the early 80's. It's wonderful to be given the opportunity to work with Ken Corday." ROSCOE, WE HARDLY KNEW YE *Roscoe Born* (Trent Robbins) will be departing the cast of "Days of Our Lives" in the near future. His character will be killed off as part of a murder mystery. GARY TOMLIN TAKES OVER AS CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER "Days of Our Lives" co-executive producer *Edward J. Scott* was relieved of his duties on Friday, August 15, 2008. Scott had been with "Days" since August, 2007. New co-executive producer *Gary Tomlin* was the co-head writer of "Days of Our Lives" (along with Michelle Poteet-Lisanti) for 256 episodes from October 20, 1980-October 20, 1981. A few events during his tenure included the aging of Hope Williams to a teenager and the arrivals of Renee Dumonde and Jake Kositchek (the Salem Strangler). Tomlin began his career as an actor on such shows as "Search For Tomorrow", "The Waltons" and "Another World". He switched to writing in 1980 with "Days of Our Lives" and later with "Texas", "Search For Tomorrow", "Another World" and "Santa Barbara" (where he won an Emmy in 1989). Tomlin switched to producing in 1995 and had stints at "All My Children", "Sunset Beach" and "One Life to Live" (where he won an Emmy in 2002). From 2003-2008, Tomlin began the next phase of his career, as a director on "Passions." Tomlin, 58, was born March 6, 1950 in Indianapolis, Indiana. MAYOR MATT *Matthew Borlenghi* is joining the cast of "Days of Our Lives" on Thursday, September 18 as Anthony Marino, the mayor of Salem. He will be involved in Abe and Roman's storyline. Borlenghi has had series regular roles on "All My Children", "Pig Sty", "The Jeff Foxworthy Show", "Party Girl" and "Police Academy: The Series." In recent years, he has formed his own production company, Black Hat Productions. Matteo Andrea Borlenghi was born on May 25, 1967 in Los Angeles, California. He has been married to real estate agent Heather Nygren since 2003. FRANCES REID UPDATE *Frances Reid (Alice)* had lines written for the Thursday, August 7 Bo/Hope wedding episode, but she was unable to attend the taping. She previously had to miss tapings in April and June (for Bo's hospital visit and the July 4 picnic). Here's hoping that Mrs. Horton will be back in Salem soon, perhaps for the Christmas episode. Ms. Reid turns 94 on December 9. COUNTDOWN TO 11,000 Barring any unforeseen preemptions, "Days of Our Lives" is set to air its milestone 11,000th episode on Wednesday, January 21, 2009, the day after the new President of the United States takes office (with a preemption for Inauguration Day on January 20). "Days" will become only the 4th scripted series in American television history to air 11,000 episodes (along with "Guiding Light", "As the World Turns" and "General Hospital"). For the complete airdate schedule through January 2009, click here. DENA HIGLEY'S DAUGHTER GUESTS *Jensen Higley, the 18-year-old daughter of head writer Dena Higley, appeared as Susie, the friend of Melanie's, on the Monday 8/4 episode. This was her acting debut. A picture of her is available in the Guest Star Gallery. ALI'S FAMILY EXPANDING* *Alison Sweeney (Sami)* has announced that she and husband Dave Sanov are expecting their second child, a girl. No word yet if the pregnancy will work its way into Sami's storyline, but having just had twins on the show, the show might decide to hide Sweeney's pregnancy. Congrats to Ali & Dave! STEVE FOR HIRE *Steve Blackwood (ex-Bart)* wants to let fans know that he is available to perform his music at parties/weddings/etc... If you'd like to hire Steve for your event, please contact Newborn Jazz at 818-562-6806. "DAYS" HAIRSTYLING TEAM WINS DAYTIME EMMY! Congratulations to the "Days of Our Lives" hairstyling team, which won a Daytime Emmy at the Creative Arts portion of the 35th Annual Daytime Awards on Friday, June 13. This is the fifth time "Days" has won in this category, having previously received the honor in 1988, 1995, 1997 and 1999. *Garry Allyn* has won his second Daytime Emmy, previously winning in 1999. *Matthew Holman,* *Margaret Puga, Monica Sabedra and Kimberly Salvatore* all have won their first-ever Daytime Emmy. This is the 26th overall Daytime Emmy that "Days of Our Lives" has received in its history. Four "Days" actors (Darin Brooks, Judi Evans, Rachel Melvin and Thaao Penghlis) are up for Daytime Emmys on the televised portion on ABC the evening of Friday, June 20 HIGLEY WRITES ABOUT PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH AUTISM The growing autism crisis � which has recently drawn increasing national attention -- is addressed in a personal manner beginning on the Tuesday, June 24 episode of "Days of our Lives" in an insightful story based on the experiences of the series' head writer, Dena Higley, who, with her husband Mark, has raised an autistic child of their own. NBC joins with Autism Speaks, the nation's leading autism advocacy organization, to help convey a message of hope and useful information during the course of the storyline. In the creative arc to continue through the summer, Lexie and Abe Carver are told their 3-year-old son, Theo, has autism. The news of Theo's diagnosis is understandably hard for the couple to comprehend, but through the love and support of family and friends, and the love for their son, they learn a lot about their family and how to cope with this tremendous, new challenge. The Higleys' son, Connor, was diagnosed at age three. Now 19 years old, he recently graduated from high school. Higley and her husband's personal struggles and triumphs of raising a son with autism, plus three other children, are why she is so passionate about sharing her story -- one that hundreds of thousands of other American parents are also currently experiencing. "We're telling the profound and life-altering story of a child with autism from his parents' point of view," said head writer Higley. "Their pain, their struggle -- and ultimately, their ability to find life-affirming hope in the midst of learning how to live day to day with this disability. This is a personal story for me...as my husband and I have walked in the shoes Abe and Lexie are now about to walk in." I am thrilled that 'Days' has decided to take on this very important topic," said Bruce Evans, NBC's Senior Vice President of Daytime and Drama Programming. "We are hopeful that this storyline will serve as a resource for our viewers, many of whom have already been touched by this critical issue." "This storyline realistically portrays the emotional trauma that every family faces when a child is diagnosed with autism, yet it also opens a window for viewers to see the hope and achievements that are possible as a family pulls together," said Alison Singer, Executive Vice President of Communications and Awareness for Autism Speaks. "We are honored to work with 'Days of our Lives' and applaud the show's commitment to shine a bright spotlight on the autism crisis and its effects on the whole family." In order to share the storyline responsibly, "Days of our Lives" has joined with Autism Speaks, the nation's leading nonprofit organization devoted to autism. The partnership between "Days of our Lives," whose loyal audience extends across generations for over 42 years, and Autism Speaks will help promote awareness about a disorder that is diagnosed in one in every 150 children in the United States. WRITERS GUILD VS. CORDAY PRODUCTIONS The Writers Guild of America, East, has filed an arbitration case against Corday Productions for allegedly violating the guild�s strike termination agreement by retaining writers hired during the writers strike earlier this year. The WGAE alleges that Corday Productions, which produces �Days of Our Lives�, hired replacement writers during the 100-day WGA strike and has not terminated these employees. Instead, the replacement writers are preventing striking guild writers from returning to their positions, the WGAE said. �The strike termination agreement does not allow the retention of replacement writers in lieu of allowing striking writers to return to their jobs. Corday Productions is clearly violating this agreement,� said Ira Cure, senior counsel for the Writers Guild of America, East. �They have left us no other option but to file arbitration to ensure our members will be afforded their rights outlined under this agreement.� The company has 10 days to respond to the case. Representatives of Corday were not available for immediate comment. NBC, which airs �Days of Our Lives,� had no comment. (from tvweek.com) DUSTIN RETIRES FROM HIS LONG-TIME "DAYS" WEBSITE Long-time "Days" fan site owner Dustin Cushman, who ran one of the most famous "Days of Our Lives" fan websites, has retired and sold his soap websites in order to focus on his grad school work. Congratulations to one of the pioneers of "Days" fan sites for such a long run, one of the few sites that were around when I started my original site in 1998. Dustin also ran sites for two other NBC soaps, "Another World" and "Passions." All the best in his future endeavors! For more information, check out his blog at: http://www.thatguysblog.com/ 10,000TH EPISODE TRIVIA "Days of Our Lives" aired its 10,000th episode on February 21, 2005. "Days" became just the fourth daytime drama to reach the 10,000 episode mark. In honor of this historic event, here's a look at when the other current soaps reached their latest milestone episode, plus an estimate on when they will reach 10,000 episodes: Show AIRDATE EPISODE # Guiding Light 10/86 10000 [14000 aired in 9/02] As the World Turns 5/12/95 10000 [12000 aired on 5/6/03] General Hospital 4/17/02 10000 Days of Our Lives 2/21/05 10000 One Life to Live 9/23/03 9000 (10000 in fall 2007) All My Children 12/16/04 9000 (10000 in late 2008) The Young & the Restless 11/1/04 8000 (10000 in winter 2012) The Bold & the Beautiful 3/7/03 4000 (10000 in spring 2027) Passions 6/10/03 1000 (10000 in summer 2039)