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| James E. Reilly has passed away; From We Love Soaps | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 14 2008, 12:47 PM (7,446 Views) | |
| Keith | Oct 14 2008, 04:57 PM Post #61 |
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I will be the asshole and say the obvious, from my own perspective; I am thankful that he will not be returning to daytime. This is not to say I wished death upon him. I did feel that his time had passed in that role. He needed to find his creativity again. His writing had never been as purposeful as it seemed in the 90s. Maybe that was the people on his writing team more than him. I cannot say. And for the record, I don't think any writer can helm a soap and be its savior anymore. RC did great things for OLTL, yes, and Sheffer may be doing things for Y&R (or not, I've barely paid attention) but these are the rare occasions when the stars, or in this case the creative minds of the right people, foudn just that right alignment. There are many fans of Passions. I understand its appeal, though I never bought into it myself. From my perspective, Reilly never really hit the gold again. He had his hits and his misses, but even the hits did not shine like they did in the 90's on Days. And again, I think that's all about the entire process and not just him. Though my initial reaction was sadly (and I'm not proud of this) a sigh of relief for Days, he was way too young and it is shocking because we just never hear about these people like we do the actors. As a whole, the daytime genre can't continue to recycle the same writers and hope for new results. I'm glad he got to see his baby to its end. I do not think he's the same writer he once was, and there are many things many of us could never begin to know about him. He once was the writer I most admired in the genre and has suffered a great fall from grace. Thus is the way of things in a decadent age. May he RIP, forever immortalized as the man who brought The Exorcist into Daytime. |
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| Mitchapalooza | Oct 14 2008, 05:04 PM Post #62 |
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^ My face watching DAYS
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OMG this is HEARTBREAKING! He was still so young! 60 is WAY to young to die. Despite some of the things I have said about James E. Reilly over the years, there is no denying the truly legendary impact that he has had on my favorite soap DAYS OF OUR LIVES. I will forever be greatful to him for all the wonderful storylines that I enjoyed under his writing tenures. May he RIP and my thoughts and prayers go out to his friends, family and colleagues! :( Edited by Mitchapalooza, Oct 14 2008, 05:06 PM.
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| daysfan | Oct 14 2008, 05:10 PM Post #63 |
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Hmm. SC posted an article on this...and apparently there are no plans of a funeral for him. Thats sorta sad, but also its whatever his family prefers. |
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| annalee003 | Oct 14 2008, 05:12 PM Post #64 |
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This is so sad. Here today and gone tommorrow. News like this make you think of your life. |
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| downwhtone | Oct 14 2008, 05:13 PM Post #65 |
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^He was always such a private person. I'm not really that surprised about that. I just am so shocked by this. So very unexpected. He sure had many ups and downs during his career. But I'll never forget the great stories he told on Days during the early to mid 90's. RIP JER. |
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| DrewHamilton | Oct 14 2008, 05:17 PM Post #66 |
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Yes, he was very private. He barely ever came to the studio at DAYS, and never met with the actors. In his mind, he only wanted to know the characters, not the actors and how they were out of character. |
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| Q Steph | Oct 14 2008, 05:19 PM Post #67 |
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Put your hands up for Obama
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Rest in peace. |
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| daysfan | Oct 14 2008, 05:21 PM Post #68 |
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I can understand what you're saying, but here's how I see it: This isn't necessarilly about the good or bad stories that he wrote, what he did to Daytime whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, or him possibly returning to Days. Its about the fact that a man who really made a huge mark on Daytime(partially good partially bad) has passed on, its sad when any person passes on. I'm not saying you don't know that and this is NOT meant to stir the pot at all so to speak, I'm just saying how I feel when it comes to that. JER's passing isn't going to make me suddenly think of him as a soap god, or on the level of William Bell or Agnes Nixon, but, I'd rather remember the good things that he did rather than the bad things. |
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| Q Steph | Oct 14 2008, 05:38 PM Post #69 |
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Put your hands up for Obama
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I agree with you daysfan. I'm not going to venerate Reilly simply because he passed away when yesterday I believed he was a hack. But a man has lost his life. For better or worse, he did contribute to the soap landscape and does deserve simple respect. I'm not surprised he won't have a funeral. He did seem like a loner. |
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| Courtaney | Oct 14 2008, 05:39 PM Post #70 |
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Awww, this is such sad news. :( May he rest in peace. He could create with the best of them, better than the best at times. Some of his stories on Passions and Days were my favorite soap stories ever. It's so sad he's gone. |
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| GatsbyGirl | Oct 14 2008, 06:04 PM Post #71 |
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Oh my God! Wow! This is a shocker. :OhMy: Rest in peace, JER. :( |
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| ~bl~ | Oct 14 2008, 06:44 PM Post #72 |
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From the reports, it sounds like they may have a memorial service later on, which some people prefer to have instead of a funeral. Hopefully that will give people who were his co-workers and friends a chance to say goodbye. I feel for James Reilly's family, friends and fans. While I ran hot/cold with his stints at Days, I did watch Passions early on and loved GL during the time frame that he was part of a three person head writing team. |
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| DAYSisHOT | Oct 14 2008, 06:46 PM Post #73 |
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This is horrible. I loved days of our lives during his time, and I loved passions. If it wasn't for him, I doubt I would have ever became a fan of days. He was brillant. Rip |
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| PhoenixRising05 | Oct 14 2008, 06:59 PM Post #74 |
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His sister was said to be by his side when he passed so it must be going with his wishes if there isn't going to be a funeral or service right now. Sometimes that happens. It's whatever the deceased or the family wants. We knew so little about him. As Drew said, the cast pretty much never knew him as he never wanted to associate the actor with the character and was never around the studio. I think he felt it stood in the way of writing for the characters for whatever reason. That may play a role in his not having a service. He was a bit of a recluse. I do recall his going to an event at the NBC Experience store in New York and Juliet Mills, Josh Ryan Evans, and I believe Galen Gering and Mackenzie Westmore actually got to meet him. I think some fans did too. That is the only time I can remember that he met anyone from Passions or Days or any of the fans. I can't remember how his first Days run went either in that regard but Deidre Hall and Peter Reckell spoke very highly of him when he returned to Days in 2003 so I have to think maybe he was around the studio a little bit during his first Days run unless they both simply based their praises on story alone. |
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| Rakesh198 | Oct 14 2008, 07:01 PM Post #75 |
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Prolific soap writer James E. Reilly dead at 60 Posted Sunday, September 28, 2008 10:33:49 AM by Dan J Kroll The soap opera world has lost another of its big talents. Legendary head writer James E. Reilly died this weekend. The scribe, who most recently wrote for Days of our Lives and Passions, was 60. Prolific writer James E. Reilly passed away unexpectedly this week. Reilly, who is known as the former head writer of Days of our Lives and Passions, had been recovering from cardiac surgery in the hospital. He was 60. "James Reilly was one of the most profoundly lovely human beings in our industry. He was a towering person in our industry who had a tremendous faith in God and Catholicism, as anyone who watched Passions knows. Everyone will miss him," said Reilly's long-time friend and agent, Jonathan Russo. Born July 15, 1948 in Bountiful, Utah, Reilly's career in daytime television spans more than three decades. His career began as a staff writer for the soaps General Hospital and The Young and the Restless. In 1990, Reilly was named head writer of Guiding Light. He remained in the position for two years before moving to NBC's Days of our Lives. During his five years at the helm of Days of our Lives, Reilly crafted stories that would go down as some of the show's most memorable storylines. Among those plots is the satanic possession of DAYS heroine Marlena Evans. In 1999, NBC green-lighted the production of a campy, supernatural-twinged soap opera known as Passions. The show became one of the most popular daytime drama series among the younger viewers craved by advertisers. Though ratings-challenged, Passions remained on NBC for eight years. When NBC announced the cancellation of the soap in 2007, satellite television provider DirecTV announced that it had acquired the rights to the show and would spare the show from cancellation. Less than a year later, the axe again fell on Passions, as DirecTV decided not to pick up an additional season of the soap. During the work stoppage by the Writers Guild of America earlier this year, Reilly opted to invoke the financial core "fi-core" status and continue working during the strike. The decision put him on the Guild's so-called black list. In an odd twist, soap gossip columns have recently bandied about a rumor that Days of our Lives might have been interested in rehiring Reilly as its head writer. There are no funeral plans, though a memorial service may be held at a later date. http://www.soapcentral.com/days/news/2008/1013-reilly.php |
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| daysfan | Oct 14 2008, 07:09 PM Post #76 |
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Oh yes you make a very good point. In the 2000's, the majority of them anyway, he was definately reclusive and possibly even during the 90's. Peter Brash has said that in the 80's he did attend some parties and stuff so its possible that as he got earlier he got more reclusive. But, I'd say its very possible he didn't want a funeral. |
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| KristianFanForever | Oct 14 2008, 07:17 PM Post #77 |
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Shove your crappy show where the sun don't shine, Corday!
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Wow! I did not see this coming! I wasn't his biggest fan but may he R.I.P and my condolences to his family and friends. |
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| Mateo | Oct 14 2008, 07:41 PM Post #78 |
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Punk Cabaret is Freedom
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Wow, just saw this. Definitely shocking. RIP |
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| Rakesh198 | Oct 14 2008, 08:07 PM Post #79 |
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Soaps Scribe James E. Reilly Dies at 60 James E. Reilly, a sometimes controversial soap scribe who twice served as Days of Our Lives' headwriter and created the supernatural-themed Passions, passed away over the weekend, at age 60, Soap Opera Digest reports. Reilly was recovering in the hospital from cardiac surgery when he died. "James Reilly was one of the most profoundly lovely human beings in our industry," his agent and longtime friend Jonathan Russo tells Digest. "He was a towering person in our industry who had a tremendous faith in God and Catholicism, as anyone who watched Passions knows. Everyone will miss him." Reilly ruled the bible at Days from 1992 to 1997 (during which he gave us Marlena's possession) and again from 2003 to 2006, at which time he set loose the "Salem Stalker" in a bid to boost ratings. The serial slayer appeared to snuff veteran characters such as Abe, Roman, Doug and Alice (god bless her donuts), but ultimately the "deceased" were revealed to be held captive on island replica of Salem called Melaswen (read the name backwards). Between his Days gigs, Reilly created for NBC a new soap named Passions, and served as headwriter until its cancellation earlier this year. As headwriter of Guiding Light, Reilly's staff won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series Writing in 1993. http://www.tvguide.com/Soaps/James-Reilly-dead-26497.aspx |
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| hops | Oct 14 2008, 08:29 PM Post #80 |
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That is very sad. He wrote some of my favourite storylines. Before I started watching Days I remember the buzz about Carly being buried alive and wondering who would want to watch that...then I got hooked on J&M and was taken by how much fun watching a soap could be. |
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