DAYS' 40th Anniversary Roundtable at the Museum of TV and Radio

DATELINE -- November 3, 2005
By NAKITHA B.

On November 3, 3005, Kristian joined her fellow cast members and Ken Corday for a night of laughter, tears, and memories at the Museum of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills, California. Kristian, along with Peter Reckell, Bill and Susan Hayes, Jim Reynolds, Drake Hogestyn, and Deidre Hall, continued the show's month-long celebration of their 40th anniversary with a panel discussion for the fans and the press to enjoy. Once again, the fans were treated to seeing their favorites in person, ask questions, and listen to them reminisce about their time portraying their beloved characters in everyone's favorite fictional town, Salem. Of course, Kristian was on hand to celebrate her character's importance to the show.

Kristian arrived looking as if she stepped out of a fashion page, just as she always does. As someone said, "That jacket makes her eyes sparkle even more." Personally, I loved the jacket; she was definitely a hit with her ensemble. She came in and everyone oohed and aahed and commented on how beautiful she was. She is always stunning. She was escorted right away to take pictures for the press. Someone ran to the back and grabbed Peter because he just had to take pictures with her. He peeped around the backdrop where she was standing and joined her, saying, "Cheese!" It was really cute. The photographers kept trying to direct their pictures, but Kristian and Peter are professionals -- they knew exactly what to do.

When the presentation began, the fans were treated to a montage of Days' greatest moments from the past 40 years. The audiences oohed and aahed again when some of their favorite moments were shown. There was plenty of laughter as well. After the clips, the moderator first introduced executive producer Ken Corday, followed by Kristian and Peter, and then the rest of the cast. They were asked a lot of different questions about their tenure on the show. Kristian was asked what her audition was like when she first joined the show. She said it was "awful," and recalled her screen test with her on-screen mother and sister, Julie, played by the lovely Susan Hayes. "I don't know why they hired me!" she said.

Peter was then asked about his audition and Peter wanted Kristian to talk about it, but she refused, so Peter filled everyone in: "I was supposed to audition with her but she wouldn't do it." Kristian piped up with her rationale: "I thought they would figure out they shouldn't have hired me." Well, we all know they would have been crazy not to hire her.

The cast chatted about being a big, happy family and sharing so much of their lives with each other. And Deidre Hall recounted how being in the work environment that they are in, their lives become each other lives. She said to Kristian, "You did something for me once."

"I did?" Kristian replied.

Deidre went on to tell everyone that on the day her second son was born [by surrogate], she got the call at work to tell her the baby was on his way. Of course she reacted and ran out with her wardrobe on. She said that Kristian was the only one who understood what was happening and was right there for her. For that, she was grateful.

"You are so nice," Ken Corday told Kristian. "You are nice to everybody." Indeed, she is!

Toward the end, the actors were asked about their favorite storylines. Peter and Kristian both agreed that the New Orleans storyline was among their favorites. Peter also said that reuniting with Kristian onscreen as Bo and Hope in 1995 was another favorite period of his. He loved the emotion in that storyline. Kristian, as usual, couldn't nail it down to just one.

"I can't choose one," she said. "I am having so much fun and I have done it all. I have done everything. But if I had to pick one, right now, it would have to be Princess Gina. It wasn't supposed to be a storyline. It was supposed to be a few flashbacks and it turned into a storyline. It was such a challenge. It was fantastic." She recalled at one point that Ken told her that she would have to play the piano. "I told him, 'I don't know how to play the piano, but I can act like I do. Just don't have me sing. You will lose ratings for sure. I know I can't sing.'" Fortunately, they listened! But she certainly tackled that challenging storyline with great success!

When the panel was over, the actors were taken into a reception hall to meet and greet the fans and be treated to a delicious spread of gourmet cheeses, desserts, and flavored coffee. All of which is a favorite of our girl; as we know, she loves to eat! She made sure to get a nibble of everything the spread had to offer.

Before I knew it, the night was over, but the memory is there and will be in the museum for years to come because the panel was preserved on videotape and will be housed in the museum's archives. If you live in southern California, or if you ever come to visit, you can swing by the museum and relive the actual event. You can see our favorite girl and all the night had to offer.

Stay tuned because the celebration continues! Next up: The 40th Anniversary Party at the Palladium in Hollywood.