Emmy-Award nominated actress Kassie DePaiva has played Blair Cramer on ABC’s ‘One Life to Live’ for more than 19 years. When ABC stunned viewers by cancelling ‘One Life to Live’ and ‘All My Children' in April of last year, it looked like we had seen the last of Blair, but staying true to the kind of news that has come out since the shows were cancelled, it seems Kassie DePaiva is not done with Blair yet. She is heading over to ABC’s last remaining soap ‘General Hospital’ as her 'One Life to Live' character Blair Cramer. She will join three of her former ‘One Life to Live’ co-stars (who will also portray their 'One Life to Live' characters) and the show's former Head Writer and Executive Producer, who have now taken the reigns at 'General Hospital'.
Now, as DePaiva prepares to move the character of Blair from Llanview, Pennsylvania to Port Charles, New York (in reality the move will be from New York, New York to Los Angeles, California) she talks to me about the shock of hearing ‘One Life to Live’ had been cancelled, her favorite moments, co-stars, her future at ‘General Hospital' and more.
Jonathan Harris: I have actually been a fan of ‘One Life to Live’ for many years and so it is great to be interviewing you, although I wish it was under better circumstances.
Kassie DePaiva: It’s just terrible, I can’t believe it’s over Jonathan.
JH: Me either.
KDP: I’m sitting here at 2 o’clock in the afternoon going, ‘well I guess I don’t have anything to do now’.
JH: That is what everyone has been saying on Twitter, they’re pretty much saying, ‘I went to turn on One Life to Live and it’s not there’.
KDP: It’s sad.
JH: It’s so bizarre. For me growing up watching the show, it’s always been something I watched when I came home in the evening, kind of like a little short movie when I’m eating dinner or doing work or whatever it is and it not being there is so strange.
KDP: Yeah, because you fall in love with these characters and their stories and where they are and what they’re having to overcome or get through and it’ a great escape for your life yet you begin to care about these people and then now it’s kind of an empty void. I get it I’m a fan too. I was a fan before I joined the cast and I am very, very proud to have been a part of something that has lasted so long. I still can’t believe it’s over.
JH: When I first started watching ‘One Life to Live’ in the early 90s when I was a little, you were coming between Max and Luna’s marriage. What were fan reactions to you back then compared to now, when you’re not such a contemptible character?
KDP: It was interesting to come on and be the immediate bad girl. Because of the recast, I had no prior relationship with these actors and so when I came on I just pretended Blair’s M.O. was the fact that Max used to be hers and therefore he was hers and she felt that she deserved Max and Luna didn’t and she had him first so too bad Luna. (laughter)
JH: (laughter)
KDP: That’s kind of how I played it and I played it with a lot of fun, so I think as much as you hated Blair for breaking Max and Luna up, you still loved her because she broke them up for a good reason and that was to make her happy. And she felt that she deserved Max because she lost her virginity to Max so he belonged to her. Blair always had justifications for everything.
JH: (laughter) Yes she did. So who would you say is the true love for Blair then, Todd or Max... or Tomas or Asa or whoever?
KDP: I would say it’s Todd. Max was her first love but Todd really blew her away because he really understood her and loved her for who she was, as broken as she was and I think in turn they were two lost souls that completed each other.
JH: So is Blair a villain or is she not a villain? Because you have these moments where she’s stealing Max from Luna, she’s pushing somebody out of a window but then you also have her as the consoling mother, her and Tea’ fought like cats and dogs but then you have her consoling Tea’. So is she a villain or is she not a villain or is she a little bit of both?
KDP: Blair is a… passionate woman, determined to find her way, whatever it takes and if somebody gets in her way and she needs to mow them down, she will. But if it’s about her children and about her love she will do everything she can to lift them up and she’ll do whatever she has to do to take care of herself and her children. If that makes her bad, she’s bad to the bone. (laughter)
JH: (laughter) I think one of the viewer’s favorite character interactions with Blair has obviously been Tea’. You two have had this initially adversarial relationship that has turned into a great 'frienemy' type of situation. I’ve thought for a while that in many ways Tea’ and Blair are like Dorian and Viki, right down to the hair color. What has it been like to have the on-screen character relationship with Tea’ and to work with Florencia Lozano as an actress portraying that relationship?
KDP: Well Florencia Lozano is a fierce actress and to be in that kind of relationship on-screen, you have to completely trust eachother and I trust her so much and I adore her as a person. She was my dressing-room roommate for six years. We’re very, very, very close and you know, it’s not about winning, it’s just about doing the best scene possible to tell the best story. I salute her and I think she’s an awesome fierce actress.
JH: Did you two ever get hurt filming some of those fight scenes? Some of them were pretty intense. At different points each of you went through a window, I think one of the fights at Todd’s house one of you had a golf club?
KDP: It was a cane.
JH: It was a cane, that’s right.
KDP: Tea’ broke a cane. Those can be tedious, we don’t have a lot of time for rehearsal but the time we do have in those situations we really utilize and have a stunt coordinator on set with us. There have been times when I’ve flown out the window, when she’s flown out the window, when you just have to be very, very careful. Florencia is fiery so you have to keep her under control, I had to keep a fire extinguisher around when I worked with her. (laughter)
JH: Can you walk us through the rollercoaster that, really, both the viewers and the actors went through, finding out in April ‘One Life to Live’ had been cancelled and would end in January 2012, then in July finding out that the show was going to be saved by Prospect Park and would become a web-series, finding out in November that those plans had fallen through and then it being reported in December that they are still kind of working on things behind the scenes?
KDP: Well I think the first cancellation from ABC in April was a shocker. You know, of course there had been rumors for a couple of years, but we were doing so well in the ratings, so I was personally shocked that we were getting our pink slip. And then in July, out of nowhere, we all find out through, I think it was a Daily News article, that Prospect Park had licensed ‘One Life to Live’ and ‘All My Children’ and it was going to go to the internet. Then in September, they reached out to actors to sign deals and coordinate things with them for contracts, only to find out in November, that they couldn’t come up with the funds. How that felt, is truly being on the emotional rollercoaster – I wanted nothing more than to continue playing Blair on 'One Life to Live', working with the people that I adored, doing the same thing that I had been doing for the last 19 years. It didn’t matter to me whether we were going to air on network television or on the internet. I just felt that it’s such a wonderful show and so many great people make that show happen, from Ron Carlivati our Head Writer to Frank Valentini our Executive Producer and so much work went behind getting that done, that if we could continue that on in some capacity it was great. So when the final day, when we were told that we were not going to go on the internet it was really really sad and it took me at least – it was the day before Thanksgiving and it’s taken me up until now to actually get over it.
JH: The viewers have been feeling the same way.
KDP: It was very painful.
JH: Yeah and it wasn’t the greatest day to find out about it either.
KDP: Uh-uh.
JH: Now you are going to ‘General Hospital’ and the question has been, how long will you be there? Is it a short term thing, is it a long term thing? I think that’s what people have been kind of confused about.
KDP: I’ve been invited to come over and play on the show for a while and then we’ll see what happens. We’ll see what happens. I’m really thrilled to come back because it’s, you know, a little piece of ‘One Life to Live’ that lives on. Kristin Alderson and Roger Howarth and Michael Easton and myself. I think it was a really smart move by ABC to bring the fans from 'One Life to Live' that maybe didn’t watch ‘General Hospital’ over and maybe we’ll keep ‘General Hospital’ on the airwaves for a while.
JH: Are you concerned about the future of ‘General Hospital’? I know a lot of people have been concerned that the arrival of Katie Couric’s show may mean the end of ‘General Hospital’. Are you concerned about that at all as you bring Blair to Port Charles?
KDP: Because of the year that we’ve gone through, the ‘One Life to Live’ actors, I think we’re just grateful for what we’re doing today because you just don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. I’m just going to go over there and be the best Blair I can possibly be and – just somebody needs to warn Carly…
JH: (laughter) That’s what the viewers have all been saying! I’ve watched ‘General Hospital’ intermittently over the years and that was the first thing I thought, I was like ‘I can’t wait to see how Blair and Carly interact’.
KDP: I love Laura Wright (the actress who portrays Carly on ‘General Hospital’), I’ve known her forever, when she was on ‘The City’ when she was on ‘The Guiding Light’, so I’ve known her a long, long time and she’s lovely and she tweeted that she was very happy that I was coming over and I said somebody better warn you about high windows. (laughter)
JH: (laughter) That’s awesome.
JH: How was filming ‘The View’ tribute to ‘One Life to Live’, seeing the show kind of culminate, being surrounded by fans of the show and watching the history of the show be honored? How was that?
KDP: ‘The View’ was so much fun. So much fun because the audience was 85-percent fans that wanted to be there celebrating ‘One Life to Live’ and the other 15-percent were crew members from ‘One Life to Live’. It was just really, really wonderful and the clips were wonderful. I thought it was a wonderful celebration and I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it. And I thought they gave it a really proper send-off. I thought it was a very enjoyable show to watch after I came home and watched the tape.
JH: It was great watching it.
KDP: I thought it was really enjoyable.
JH: Was there any storyline that you would have liked to see wrapped up or characters that you would have liked to see return for the finale that didn’t make it back?
KDP: Well there were definitely some open things that, you know, because these stories are set up to go on and on for ever and ever, there’s always questions that never get answered, but somebody personally that I would have liked to see come back? I would have liked to have seen Max come back, because he’s such a fan favorite.
JH: Yeah that was great when he came back during Asa’s funeral.
KDP: I don’t know what I would have had him do (laughter), but I would have had him come back.
JH: (laughter) You would have cheated on Todd.
KDP: There you go!
JH: You were one of the first actors to sign on for Prospect Park’s web-series continuation of ‘One Life to Live’ along with a lot of the other actors. Prospect Park owns the licensing rights to ‘One Life to Live’ for a year and according to reports they are still trying to figure out a way to get things off the ground. If you’re available, if they’re able to pull it out of the fire, would you still be on board to stay with ‘One Life to Live’?
KDP: Oh, wow. That’s a tough question. I’ll have to answer that when the time comes. You know what I mean? I could not answer that question now.
JH: Yeah I can imagine it’s probably hard.
KDP: It’s been such a tough… it’s been tough. I’d have to really think long and hard about that one.
JH: Yeah. If you were available, if you were able to, if you maybe hadn’t signed on to do another project, then would you be up for it?
KDP: Here’s what I would do, if it all worked out the way it’s supposed to work out, I’d be glad to continue to do it. They have a lot of work ahead of them (to relauch the show).
JH: You’ve had a great relationship with your on-screen daughter Starr played by Kristen Alderson. Now 20, she has portrayed Starr Manning since she was eight years old. How has it been for you literally watching her grow up on the show?
KDP: Kristen is such a special young woman. I just text messaged her a little while ago saying, “I can’t wait to see you!” So we talk about every other day. I adore her. She is so talented and she has such a wonderful, strong fan base for younger women and I just think she is going to light up the screen at ‘General Hospital’. I’m so proud of her and it’s been a delight watching her grow up, I feel like she’s my daughter.
JH: Oh that’s awesome. It comes across like that when the two of you have scenes together. It’s very genuine.
KDP: It’s bizarre, it’s very bizarre but I feel like she’s my daughter.
JH: On ‘The View’ you called Blair an ‘aging slut’. (laughter)
KDP: (laughter) Yes.
JH: Which was awesome. Blair has been with, just a couple of guys in Llanview.
KDP: (laughter)
JH: Do you have a favorite guy that Blair has been with and do you have a favorite storyline?
KDP: I loved the Max gambling storyline. Max was addicted to gambling and Blair was addicted to Max. Those scenes and the ark of that story were extremely painful because he was married to Luna and she would have sold her soul to be with this man and it was so dark and dysfunctional for her as well as the dark path that Max went down. I loved that story. But I have really loved the final days of Todd and Blair becoming reunited again. I found them to be really honest and more honest and truthful than they’ve ever played before and I thought it gave some closure that the fans needed and that they both needed.
JH: What would you say to the viewers of the show, who have been watching for several years and are now finding it a bit difficult, having the show gone?
KDP: Ah. I would say, take a deep breath and hold on to the memories and during that time frame, just go watch your old memories on YouTube. Hopefully ‘One Life to Live’ will live on in their hearts but unfortunately, the curtain has gone down.
JH: How are you different from Blair?
KDP: Come on now Jonathan, I have never bitch-slapped a woman, ever. (laughter)
JH: (laughter)
KDP: I haven’t slutted around that many guys and I don’t throw on a red dress when the husband pisses me off and go out on the town looking for a good time. (laughter)
JH: (laughter)
KDP: (laughter) Okay?
JH: So you’re pretty different from Blair then?
KDP: Oh yeah. And I don’t wear those beautiful clothes and I don’t put on make-up everyday.
JH: Is that what you enjoy about playing the character, that she’s so different from you?
KDP: Um, I love Blair because she’s courageous and she’s strong and she’s every woman’s woman. And she might be a little broken, a little rough around the edges but that’s why you love her. And I know every woman would die to wear the clothes that she wears and to be with the men that she’s with and, you know, it’s fun. It’s been really, really fun.
JH: I have to say you’ve been great. I started watching the show about 19 or 20 years ago.
KDP: Right when I started.
JH: Exactly, and I didn’t even realize that she had been portrayed by anyone else. I only knew because they would make comical references to the contrast between you and the other actress that portrayed Blair (Mia Korf)’s appearance, otherwise I wouldn’t have known.
KDP: I know isn’t that funny?
JH: It is. I mean for me growing up you were the only Blair that I saw.
KDP: Well of course and I am the only Blair that you know Jonathan, you always remember that now. (laughter)
JH: Yes! Kassie DePaiva is the only Blair. (laughter)
KDP: (laughter)
JH: You’ve also performed music on ‘One Life to Live’ on numerous occasions, will we see more from you in the way of music?
KDP: Music has always played a big part in my life and believe it or not, in my soap opera career. I was hired as Chelsea Reardon on ‘The Guiding Light’ as a singer and that was what she did and then when I went over to ‘One Life to Live’, they used my music and my ability to sing in storylines, to tell stories and also ‘One Life to Live’ always did a great job with bringing in musical talent and doing those musicals and I was always involved in that, which was nice.
JH: Should we expect more music from you? I know that in addition to your solo music you’re in a musical trio with two other soap actresses.
KDP: I think you should expect a lot of things from me in the future but don’t rule out the music because it’s definitely a part of my life and will continue to be and hopefully The Divas (the singing trio), now that we have more time on our hands, we will be able to travel and do some concerts.
JH: I received quite a bit of questions that people wanted me to ask you from Twitter, one of the questions was, what is your favorite memory from your time on 'The Guiding Light?
KDP: Wow. That’s a long time ago. I think it was the opportunities that I had to sing on that show all the time. I enjoyed that.
JH: Another question I received from Twitter was, who did you enjoy working with most on ‘One Life to Live’ and on ‘The Guiding Light’?
KDP: Gosh, I enjoyed working with a lot of different actors. Of course, who I was paired with romantically ended up being who I worked with most. I thoroughly enjoyed working with both Todds, Roger (Howarth) and Trevor (St. John). I loved working with David Fumero. Christian was fun. I loved working with Robin Strasser. Always fun. Gina Tognoni was great. Heather Tom was awesome. There have been some great actors I’ve had a chance to work with. My husband Jim (James) DePaiva was fun to work with. On ‘The Guiding Light’ I enjoyed working with Jamie Goodwin and Ellen Parker who played my sister. I loved working with Jerry Ver Dorn and Jay Hammer. I mean there’s some great fun people that I’ve really enjoyed.
JH: One more question from Twitter for you, I know a lot of people have wondered this, who does your hair? You’ve changed it so many times over the years and I remember it was like you used to cut it almost all off every summer, but it always looks incredible and I’m actually curious too, who does your hair?
KDP: Believe it or not my hair gets more press than I do. (laughter)
JH: (laughter)
KDP: This recent hair cut - a woman named Anna who works at Hoshi Coupe up on 108th Street in New York City, does my hair and cuts it. I have always done my own hair and make-up on ‘One Life to Live’ but that is my stylist and she’s awesome.
JH: After nearly 20 years, what do you take away from your experience on ‘One Life to Live’ and what is next for you, other than ‘General Hospital’?
KDP: I walk away with a grateful heart. Grateful for the friends that I’ve met, for the money that I’ve made and for the career that I’ve built, and it was a wonderful opportunity and I am most grateful for it. Regarding the future, I am just going out there with guns loaded and we’ll see what happens. I’m just going to see where I land. I’m going to audition for nighttime television, I’m going to hopefully audition for some plays and, you know, I’m ready to do anything.
JH: So there’s no taking a break and relaxing?
KDP: Yeah, I don’t really know how to do that. (laughter)
JH: (laughter) Ms. Depaiva thank you so much for your time and we look forward to seeing you in whatever other projects you become involved in.
KDP: You’re the best, thanks so much.
JH: Thank you.
If the last 19 years of Blair on ‘One Life to Live’ are any indication of what we can expect from Blair on ‘General Hospital’ then we are eagerly awaiting her arrival in Port Charles.
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