Soaps On The Entertainment Shows Last Night

In Italy, a voice (Ridge Forrester) has been stilled When Claudio Capone died of a stroke a week ago, actors John Travolta, Don Johnson and Ronn Moss all lost their voice -- in Italian. The 55-year-old Mr. Capone was a towering figure -- a leading doppiatore, or dubber, in a land that has for decades shunned movies with subtitles in favor of Hollywood popcorn blockbusters buttered with rapid-fire Italian staccato. The best Italian dubbers are themselves actors who boast symbiotic relationships with Hollywood stars, mastering their verbal tics to the point that Italian audiences consider dubbers inseparable from the people they dub. "He is very much part of the character for me," said Mr. Moss, who plays the repentant playboy Ridge Forrester on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. Mr. Capone had dubbed Mr. Moss for Italian viewers since the show began more than two decades ago, and now producers are scrambling to find a replacement. Deep Soap: Feel Free To Skip The Boring Parts of This Column Sara A. Bibel blogs: "Many of us soap viewers share a dirty little secret -- the fast forward button. When that character you hate or the couple you find the opposite of romantic comes on screen, a simple press of the button and they’re gone – along with the commercials. It saves time, it lowers blood pressure, and makes the viewing experience more pleasurable." BLOG UPDATE: Lynn Liccardo "...my little ten-minute plays bear little resemblance to today’s plot-driven soaps, they do evoke Amherst professor William H. Prichard’s 1986 description of soap operas as 'a seemingly endless process by which people talk themselves into and out of happiness and misery.' Kind of like the lives we lead and the stories we tell." Local soap opera to debut from former soap writer SO YOU WANT TO LIVE IN THE COUNTRY is a soap opera billed as a humorous take on the daily interactions that take place in Rhinebeck between old-timers, weekenders and newcomers. The writer, Sam Hall, is a former writer for DARK SHADOWS and ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Both shows starred Hall's late wife, Grayson. The Halls bought a home in Rhinebeck in 1979, and began staying fulltime in the 1990s. So far, Hall has enough material for four episodes; he said the script is based on many of his personal experiences. The project came about when Hall approached Kathy Hammer, president of PANDA, local cable access Channel 23, with the idea of a soap opera-like program, involving local talent and residents. EVENT: Michael Damian in Clifton Park for the 4th of July In Clifton Park, join Ric Mitchell and Laura Daniels of B95.5 for the event at Clifton Common. Check out Sirsy, the Audiostars and a special appearance by Michael Damian from THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. His show begins at 4 p.m. BLOG UPDATE: Tom Casiello "Tom's Residual Religious Experience" thanks to the WGA. Today's OTLL like the glory days of GL? Patrick Erwin writes: "I watched OLTL a bit here and there (especially during the first Malone years), but I am really drawn to the quality of the show now. What could I possibly say about OLTL that has not been said before — about the writing, the characters, the pacing? Nothing, that’s what. So instead of trying to recap OLTL, I decided I’d try to tell you why I’m loving OLTL so much … by talking about GUIDING LIGHT."