The Locher Room is celebrating Black History Month by paying tribute to late trailblazer Ellen Holly.
A Much-Needed Discussion
The One Life to Live alumna, and her lasting legacy, will be reflected upon by soap stars, past and present, who are pioneers in their own right.
Joining host Alan Locher will be Mariann Aalda (ex-Didi Bannister, The Edge of Night; Violet Givens The Bay), Joenelle Allen (ex-Doreen Jackson, Generations), Iona Morris Jackson (ex-Fiona Griffin, As the World Turns; ex-Kenisha Collins, Passions), Phil Morris (ex-Tyronne Jackson, The Young and the Restless), and James Reynolds (Abe Carver, Days of our Lives).
Holly cemented her place in the daytime TV history books when she made her OLTL debut in October 1968 and played out a most controversial storyline in which her alter-ego “passed” as Caucasian while courting both a white and black doctor.
At the time of Holly’s passing late last year, Aalda took to X (formerly Twitter) to honor the talent that had come before her. She wrote in part:
“It’s a very sad day for the soap opera world, at the passing of the iconic Ellen Holly who was an African-American daytime pioneer. I started watching ONE LIFE TO LIVE in college and when the character of “Carla Benari” was introduced as a black woman passing for white, I was hooked! This was a pretty provocative storyline for its time (the late 1960’s)… how far was ABC going to go with this? They went all the way! And the success of that story and the popularity with audiences opened doors for other Black actors to walk through. I was fortunate to be one of them, beginning with the fact that seeing her on that show made me believe that it would also someday be possible for me…It is a small community of Black actresses who did “the soaps” and we all owe a big debt of gratitude to Ellen Holly. She wasn’t the first, but she made an impact that couldn’t be ignored…no matter how hard some folks tried.”
It’s a very sad day for the soap opera world, at the passing of the iconic Ellen Holly who was an African-American daytime pioneer. I started watching ONE LIFE TO LIVE in college and when the character of “Carla Benari” was introduced as a black woman passing for white, I was… pic.twitter.com/yue6qpHGXF
— Mariann Aalda: AgeingShamelessly (@mariannaalda) December 7, 2023
Be sure to tune in to The Locher Room on Thursday, February 22 at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST to watch the roundtable discussion and interact with host Alan Locher. If you’re lucky, your question/comment will be read aloud during the proceedings. To get a jump start, be sure to bookmark the stream below.
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