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James E. Reilly has passed away; From We Love Soaps
Topic Started: Oct 14 2008, 12:47 PM (7,445 Views)
skiman1208
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I am truly saddened by this news. It feels almost surreal. I think he was an amazing writer and like so many have said I am really glad he got to finish his creation Passions. Everything he wrote wasn't perfect but I believe he wrote from his heart. His genius will be forever missed. RIP .
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psychofan
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#1 Fan of Daytime Psychos!

I can't believe that this is happening. My favorite writer EVER...I...I'm heartbroken. We'll never get another great story from him. No writer can ever be like him. It...it's impossible. I'm so sad!
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Drew
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Wow. I cant pretend I admired his work, but I feel for his family and am sorry he's passed.
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Kenny
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WOW!

I'm stunned by this! The name "James E. Reilly" comes with a very strong punch, and to know that he's gone is sort of unbelievable. This almost seems like a JER plot where we'll find out tomorrow that he's actually alive on an island somewhere.

Whether you loved his writing or absolutely hated it, one can't deny his influence on daytime. He wrote some of the most infamous plots in daytime history, and he wrote my favorite stories in Days history. Without him, I wouldn't be a soap fan today. Without his writing, I never would've started watching soaps to begin with, so I credit him for getting me hooked.

I once read an interview in which JER said that he loved writing for daytime because he loved the idea of "neverending stories." His love of the art was very apparent, and I'm glad that he was able to fulfill his passion by penning his own creation for nearly ten years. His work was very polarizing, but one can't deny that he was a daytime icon. I just can't believe that he's gone! It's just... WOW.

I bet Toups is crushed. :(

RIP, JER.
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Mason


Damn, this is surreal. I keep noticing peoples JER avatars with RIP under them and remembering. JER just seemed so larger than life, it's hard to realize that he actually is gone.
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King
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Oh My god.


He inspired me to be a writer.


I am speechless.

I am speechless!
Edited by King, Oct 14 2008, 09:32 PM.
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Kenny
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Mitchapalooza
Oct 14 2008, 05:04 PM
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!

:(
I just can't believe we'll never again see a JER story again on daytime.

Yes, his writing pretty much bit the big one for the last eight years, but when he was on top of his game, you just couldn't beat it. You KNOW a JER story when you see it, because a JER story has his fingerprints all over it. He's not like so many of the other writers whose hack stories are interchangeable. JER's signature was all over his stories, and there was never any denying it.

To know that we'll never see a JER story again in daytime is just unbelievable. It's like the equivalent of trying to imagine the talk show market without Oprah Winfrey. It's just so hard to wrap my brain around!
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King
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I am really proud to say that I met him at the NBC Universal event in 2000 with Juliet Mills, Liza Huber, and Travis Schuldt. It was rare for him to make public appearances, but he did that day, and I was pretty much the only person to recognize him.

I even took pictures with him, and it might be time to take those out and put those online.

He was so nice in person and so full of life and jolly.

I absolutely cannot believe this.
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Kenny
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Rakesh198
Oct 14 2008, 07:01 PM
"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.
This doesn't surprise me. There were elements of religion and Catholicism all throughout his stories.
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King
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He's even the reason for my DR/SON name - King Reilly!


:(


This won't hit me for weeks.
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Mason


I wish Sony were smart enough to release popular DAYS stories on DVD, so that I could have myself a nice best-of-JER nostalgia marathon tonight.
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King
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I would be doing that right now, if I could.


Maybe I will watch classic clips on youtube all night.


He really just was one of those people in my mind who was an impenetrable force of nature. To think of him as not being alive is...not right!
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Rakesh198
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He inspired me to write too.
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sungrey


Mason
Oct 14 2008, 09:50 PM
I wish Sony were smart enough to release popular DAYS stories on DVD, so that I could have myself a nice best-of-JER nostalgia marathon tonight.
Heck, let's petition Soapnet. A death like this has to be addressed, no matter how you felt about the guy.

I'll have some thoughts later on how I felt about his writing, both good and bad, and what his absence will mean for the daytime community. For now, I just need to think.

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mesagirl
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What sad news :frown:
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Rick
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Dreamlander

Not as good as some flashy ones but I tried.



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PhoenixRising05
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King
Oct 14 2008, 09:35 PM
I am really proud to say that I met him at the NBC Universal event in 2000 with Juliet Mills, Liza Huber, and Travis Schuldt. It was rare for him to make public appearances, but he did that day, and I was pretty much the only person to recognize him.

I even took pictures with him, and it might be time to take those out and put those online.

He was so nice in person and so full of life and jolly.

I absolutely cannot believe this.
Was that what it was? I thought the event was with JRE, Mills, Westmore, and Gering? Maybe there was two events. I know JRE and Mills met him at an event at NBC experience. A big deal was made about that. That is cool you got to see him. Must have been quite the experience.

Marlena de Lecroix talked in her tribute about knowing him personally and being one of the only people he seemed to interact with consistently. I agree with Kenny that it added a fascinating nature to him. The fact that he was so against the grain in being isolated from everyone. I think that just allowed his imagination to run wild and it prevented anything from interfering in his creative process. He never conformed to tradition or too the rules because he knew nothing of them. He lived on his own terms so he wrote on his own terms. That is what drove him to take risks and to do the unbelievable stories he did. He adored the genre and mixed what was so great about it with things that came from his own imagination. He wasn't afraid to "go there.' He re-invented the wheel without really re-inventing it. He simply took traditional soap and tweaked it to attract attention. That is what made him so unique. he took so much from his personal experience it seems too. Irish heritage, Catholicism, and de Lecroix suggests that JRE's Timmy was in a way Jim Reilly living out his dreams, imagination, past, etc. It makes sense when you read her tribute and read about his background.

The man will forever be remembered and whether you thought of his influence as good or bad, it's unlikely someone like him will ever step foot into this genre again. It's too bad because the genre needs more risk takers like him.
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Kenny
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Aww Rick, great video!

I still just can't believe this. I think I'm in shock.
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PhoenixRising05
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Kenny
Oct 14 2008, 09:32 PM
Mitchapalooza
Oct 14 2008, 05:04 PM
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!

:(
I just can't believe we'll never again see a JER story again on daytime.

Yes, his writing pretty much bit the big one for the last eight years, but when he was on top of his game, you just couldn't beat it. You KNOW a JER story when you see it, because a JER story has his fingerprints all over it. He's not like so many of the other writers whose hack stories are interchangeable. JER's signature was all over his stories, and there was never any denying it.

To know that we'll never see a JER story again in daytime is just unbelievable. It's like the equivalent of trying to imagine the talk show market without Oprah Winfrey. It's just so hard to wrap my brain around!
That is so true.

The one thing that always surprised me is that even with interference during his second run at Days he still was able to get his vision out there most of the time. The stories suffered but you still felt a direction, despite his not being allowed to write what he intended. The show never felt choppy. You still felt things were going somewhere. Things never lost a focus and that shows talent.

You could always tell when it was totally his work. During his second run, you lost that the work was totally his after Marlena was revealed as the SSK. After that, some ideas like Austin/Carrie/Lucas/Sami redux and Hope/Bo/Billie redux you felt were his but the stories were never completely his. During his first run, you could tell he was letting loose and having a good time. He had a very distinguishing style. You always felt a certain presence in his stories.
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PhoenixRising05
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Mason
Oct 14 2008, 09:50 PM
I wish Sony were smart enough to release popular DAYS stories on DVD, so that I could have myself a nice best-of-JER nostalgia marathon tonight.
Why that hasn't happened yet is beyond me considering how much of a pop-culture phenomenon Days became in the 90's.

I do think sungrey made a good suggestion. I doubt it would accomplish anything with Frons but maybe we should petition Soapnet to get some sort of tribute marathon or something. They showed some of Marlena's possession last year so maybe they could do something like that again. Maybe a little Buried Alive on Halloween or something.

Rick, that montage is very good. This is truly surreal. I always imagined JER as this person who would never go so quietly into the night so it's odd that he left us how he did although, in a way, it happened so out of the blue that it was a shock and that was in keeping with JER's writing.
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