Fans speak out for Strasser, Against Sexism and Ageism

July 12, 2:24 PMOne Life to Live ExaminerJennifer Snelling

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On Thursday, July 9, Robin Strasser, One Life to Live's Dorian, spoke to her fans (on her hotline), who were anxiously awaiting news on her decision of whether or not to take the contract and pay decrease that ABC was not negotiating with her on.

Photo Courtesy ABC

Fans who called were not encouraged. She had been told to wait 24 hours before announcing the outcome, and was worried that someone at ABC would break the news before she was allowed to reveal it to her fans as promised. The glimmer of hope was mention of a possible hero who would be going to bat for her.

Then, someone stirred up the beehive and the buzz began.

The word "quit" seemed to come up a lot.  “Breaking News: Is Robin Strasser Quitting One Life to Live?” read Jamey Giddens’ headline at Daytime Confidential on July 10.  “Breaking news: Robin Strasser to quit ‘One Life’ today?” asked Nelson Branco of TV Guide Canada.  

It was a strong word, and it got strong reactions.

All of a sudden, even fans of other daytime television shows started shouting out for the actress. Comments ranged from anger and sadness at the possibility of losing her on One Life to Live to glee and amusement at the prospect of seeing her on other daytime shows.

“Robin Strasser is absolutely fabulous,” commented one fan. “There is no excuse for letting her leave the show. I am beyond angry with this news. She is as important to OLTL as Erika Slezak. There is no one else who can play this role. If she is indeed leaving, she takes this viewer with her.”

Many fans felt that Robin Strasser, who had already accepted less pay than her veteran counterparts upon returning to the show in 2003, was being disrespected, and more than one comment alluded to disrespect for the fans themselves. Suddenly, fans of all the ABC Daytime shows who were commenting on Internet articles, blogs and comment boards were making it clear to ABC Daytime President Brian Frons that they felt their wishes were being ignored and they weren’t happy. (see “Fans still want their favorites”)

Robin Strasser’s hotline went crazy. Her fans, fans of One Life to Live, fans of other shows, the press, and presumably her bosses, were calling to hear the big announcement she promised to be the first to make.

It didn’t come. “I have been asked to make no announcement – to say nothing,” she said, explaining that the network was certainly paying attention to the reactions the fans were having on the comment lines and the Internet, and that she never meant to give anyone the impression that she was leaving. “I am not refusing to negotiate,” she said.

“I have been asked to take a time out, okay? To wait until a certain high p… till Brian Frons gets back from his vacation. That would be another… eight days.”

Fans who felt as if they were watching an acrobat on a tightrope breathed a careful sigh of relief as someone hit the pause button. The anxiety was not over – simply on hold.

That didn’t stop the buzz, however.

Daytime fan support and reporters went so far as to speculate upon what roles she would be playing in what shows should she resign rather than re-sign. The Young and the Restless fans left comments that they would like to see her cast as Julia Newman Martin or Phyllis’ mother, Lydia Callahan Summers.  Days of Our Lives fans were interested in the prospect of seeing her play Vivian Alamain if Louise Sorel wasn’t available. A General Hospital fan suggested the idea of her doing a stint as Domenica Zacharra, Claudia's mother.

In his article on July 11, Jamey Giddens offered up his inspiration to see her as Erica Kane’s sister (on All My Children), Maria Zacchara (Johnny's mother), Adela Corinthos (Sonny's deceased mother), or Olivia Falconeri’s unnamed mother (on General Hospital), Margo Lynley (on The Bold and the Beautiful), and Anjelica Deveraux (on Days of Our Lives), to name a few.

This topic of conversation was not just wishful thinking on the parts of fans that knew they could appreciate Strasser in any role. In another article for Daytime Confidential – “Nelson Branco Clarifies Strasser’s Contract Drama” on July 10 - Jamey Giddens reported, “Branco continues on to say, other soaps have contacted him already to find out if Strasser is truly about to become available. ‘In her own words, Robin says she is a “bargain basement diva” meaning she is affordable and a team player,’ says Branco.”

“If other soaps are interested in her, I'm standing up and cheering. Not because I want her to go to another show, but because that shows [the powers that be] that she is in demand, wanted, and they better take notice!!” said a devotee on a message board dedicated to supporting the actress.

In the meantime, a poll at Daytime Confidential gave some insight as to who fans would like to see in the role of Dorian if Robin Strasser was not playing her. The majority - 40 percent of voters (as of the time this was published) - said, “No one. Absolutely no one can play Dorian like Strasser and if she leaves I will stop watching OLTL!”

The rest of the votes were split between eight other choices, the next most popular having nearly 20 percent less votes.

While her fans worried that there would be a misunderstanding about the situation of an actress walking away from a job over a pay cut in a financially tough times, daytime fans all seemed to be aware that she was already making less money than her counterparts and rallied behind her. Articles reported on her refusing to be “a partner in devaluing her own self,” a concept many fans could easily identify with.  (“The Suds Report: July 10, 2009” by Nelson Branco)

“The whole country, the whole economy, is in this situation of crisis,” she told Gabrielle Winkel in her article “A Closer Look: Robin Strasser” for Soap Opera Weekly a few months ago. “Of course I’m worried that I could be one of the people cut from the cast. I’m concerned because I took an enormous pay cut in 2003 to come back, and I was never one of the heavy-hitters anyway. There is a bit of self-congratulatory pride because I don’t think anybody could tell I’d become a bargain-basement diva.” Attentive fans have also been aware that she encourages support of daytime television in any form, so that her fellow New Yorkers can keep the jobs the shows provide.

On Sunday morning, July 12, the One Life to Live diva updated her hotline with her thoughts, assuring everyone that she is aware of the passion fans have been putting into supporting her on the Internet. "It's a validation in the fact that you watch me on television and you can tell that I come on board fully loaded." She expressed her appreciation to fans for their support, but said she was going to pull away from the hype for her own sake.

"I'm not quitting. I will not say that. 'I quit.' In take it or leave it, let me be truthful, I am declining to sign my name to something that devalues me - that does not recognize my worth or the fact that in 2003 I took a 63 percent pay cut in order to come back to the show after a three year exile."

She spoke about discrimination against African Americans, gays, and the monumental election of a Catholic to the White House. She remembers all those historic events and feels like she is now dealing with sexism and ageism.

It is a feeling that reflects what fans of any daytime drama have been speculating about for quite some time, as they feel they have seen a pattern of removing veteran favorites in favor of younger characters; and a deeper issue that resonates through Hollywood, the movie industry, and even across the pond in Great Britain -- that somehow actors - especially females - are less valuable the older they get.

"People might have thought ‘Who wants to see plays about older women?’ Well, the general public do. An awful lot of older women and gentlemen go to the theatre, and the population is getting older," Sir Ian McKellen is quoted as saying in an article at Women & Hollywood, dated June 8, 2009. The British actor and 4,000 other people signed a petition asking broadcasters in Great Britain to quit discriminating against women over the age of 45. ("Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Sir Ian McKellen" by Melissa Silverstein) "Plays about getting older are perhaps going to be more popular than they used to be and that should help playwrights think, well, we can find some fabulous parts for the fabulous actresses that are around. Everybody wants to see actresses like Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. It’s just up to people to provide them with the material to do so."

ABC Daytime fans are calling for the same treatment of the very talented actresses in their genre, and are hoping that soap operas will continue to provide that material.

"I know how blessed I am, but I am who I am," Strasser said.

Robin Strasser has insisted that she wants to stay at One Life to Live, and she loves her job. She continually asks her fans to express their gratitude to the producers and ABC in letters and on the comment lines, and encourages them to watch "the best" show, whether during the day or on SOAPnet in the evening.  While she has said that she does not want to go to another show and has in past weeks considered what she might do were she to leave, fans can be relieved to know that a publisher is interested in bringing the story of her life to print.

It should be a very inspiring read! For now, though, everyone is waiting for someone to hit the play button so the tightrope walker that is Strasser's "big announcement" can make it safely to the platform, and they're hoping for more chapters about her very wonderful career.