Jerry verDorn, a talented, outstanding and successful actor is best known for his role as Ross Marler on ‘Guiding Light’ and Clint Buchanan on ‘One Life to Live’. verDorn became one of Guiding Light’s longest-running cast members, having debuted in the role on March 23, 1979 and playing the character for over 26 years. His outstanding work didn’t go unrecognized and he won the Daytime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in 1995 and 1996. He made his last appearance as Ross on ‘GL’ on October 11, 2005 and thereafter debuted as Clint Buchanan on ‘OLTL’ on October 25, 2005 playing the role until the show was cancelled by ABC in 2012. He then became the first actor to sign for the revival of OLTL on The Online Network which ran for a few months in 2013. In real-life, verDorn has been married to Beth verDorn since June 4, 1977 and together they have two children. Soap Opera News caught up with him to discuss life after ‘OLTL’, what he would do next and much more including the fact that he had to turn down playing the role of Rebecca Budig’s (Hayden Barnes) father.
So, what has life been like for him since the end of ‘OLTL’ you may wonder. verDorn shares, “Life since the end of the second coming of OLTL online has been wonderful. Sorry ABC was less than helpful for Prospect Park doing a second season and beyond but I guess that network did not want to look bad if OLTL had a successful post-ABC life. The Revolution (the show that replaced OLTL on ABC) lasted 4 months. OLTL lasted over 40 years. Do you ever hear a viewer saying “Gee, I sure miss watching The Revolution.” Don’t think that person exists. I do run into hundreds of people who say we “really miss OLTL and AMC.” What can you say except “enjoy another talk show and the bad actors on The Chew.”
While many daytime fans may have known him for his daytime roles and would have assumed that’s what his entire acting career was all about, verDorn shared a little bit more about his career: “Actually, most of my career was spent doing plays and that is what I was trained for. Broadway, off-broadway, regional theatre, guest artist gigs at various colleges, etc. But I did do a lot of soaps which I liked because they remind me of doing summer theaters in that they go very fast,” he shared as he added a little tidbit, “I recently had to turn down a part on GH (medical reasons) playing Rebecca Buddig’s father, a Bernie Madoff type guy.”
Fans are still hopeful that a reboot of both defunct soap operas: “AMC” and “OLTL” could happen and verDorn apparently shares the same sentiment. Here’s what he had to say about it: “A re-boot on ABC could happen in a variety of possibilities,” adding “Shows combined shows mixed with existing ABC shows on different platforms like Hulu or Netflix. The shows have name recognition so anything could happen. Yes, I would like to play Clint Buchanan again. Nice, evil, misunderstood guy who has daddy issues.”
In closing, he had a few words for his fans: “I miss everybody on Guiding Light and One Life to Live. It is good to see GH’s ratings are up as well as the other shows! Love to all. jerry verDorn.” So, fans would you like to see a reboot happen? Do you want to see him return as Clint Buchanan? Which other soap would you like to see him join? And, which character would you like to see him play?
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