Kim Zimmer - Im Just Sayin!: Three Deaths, Seven Husbands, and a Clone! My Life as a Daytime Diva

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Table of Contents

My mothers favorite song was Memory from the Broadway
musical Cats. She loved to make memories, so in her honor,
and with love and appreciation to my dad, Jack; my sister,
Karen; my husband, A.C.; and my beautiful children, Rachel,
Max and Jake, I dedicate this book.

Dear Friend,

I thought many times about writing a firsthand account of life as a daytime diva, but, as with many things, procrastination set in and my schedule was substantially full and eventually the desire faded. However, all that changed on the morning it was announced that Guiding Light, the oldest show in broadcast history, was being canceled after a seventy-two-year run!

Writing this book was so therapeutic for me. It gave me the chance to really contemplate my years spent playing Reva Shayne. It also gave me the opportunity to put a period on this chapter of my life so that I could start anew. That might sound easy, but after twenty-six years playing the same part, it was anything but!

I wanted to have something that I could share with the lifelong and devoted followers of Guiding Light. You are the generations of viewers who got to share our stories with us. There were times when I was honored to meet as many as four, or occasionally even more, generations of viewers at an event, all of whom were so proud to tell me about passing this show down from generation to generation within their family! I was a fan of the show too, and as you will read, just as hurt and confused by its cancellation as everyone else. Writing this story has given me the chance to revisit in my heart the many times I got to meet you, the fans, who are really the people responsible for keeping this show on the air for seventy-two glorious years! We are going to take a peek behind the curtain and get a real birds-eye view of what my life was really like on the set, and off.

Many very talented actors got their start on Guiding Light and went on to make amazing careers for themselves. Among them are Kevin Bacon, Allison Janney (The West Wing), Melina Kanakaredes (CSI:NY), Emmy winner Tammy Blanchard, Tony nominee Laura Bell Bundy, Billy Dee Williams, JoBeth Williams, Ian Ziering (Beverly Hills, 90210), Nia Long, Taye Diggs, Victor Garber...and many, many more.

And a lot of good actors came there and stayed. Michael Zaslow was the best villain ever on soaps until the producers fired him when he was in the early stages of ALS, after hed played Roger Thorpe on and off for twenty-five years. Jordan Clarke played a gynecologist on Guiding Light several years before taking on the role of Billy Lewis, whom he ultimately portrayed for twenty-five years! Frank Dicopoulos was another quartercentury man. And Tina Sloan held the record for the longest continuing character on Guiding Light when the show went off the air.

And then there were all of the actors who started on the show as young adults, left for a number of years, and then returned to the show later, including Michael OLeary, Grant Aleksander, Robert Newman, and yes, even me.

It was the cancellation of Guiding Light that finally motivated me to drive to my local Staples and purchase a stack of legal pads so I could begin the process of putting all of my thoughts, memories, and emotions on paper. My brain was flooded with fond memories of my years at Guiding Light, but those were quickly overshadowed by my sadness, which then turned toward anger and frustration, as you might expect after such a heavy and unexpected blow.

How did the powers that be allow this to happen? I found myself spewing venom with my mighty pen about this event I had no control over, and as cathartic and therapeutic as it was for me to write, it was way too angry to be enjoyable or amusing to a reader. Oh, yeah, I wrote some letters that, looking back, I am really, really happy I never sent. Still, it felt good to get it all out, even if mine was the only set of eyes to ever read what I had to say.

As I continued to write, however, something wonderful happened. My bitterness and anger began to give way to thoughtful and meaningful reflection. That mental shift started me down a whole new pathone where I could look back and revisit the absolutely amazing journey Ive had throughout my life.

The purpose of this book isnt to take you through a step-by-step account of my life, but instead to give you a chance to walk with me as we revisit the ups and downs, the highs and lows, the peaks and valleys that Ive experienced both on-screen and off. Together, well chronicle the career of this ol gal from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who was lucky enough to snag the greatest role in the history of a daytime serial drama!

At least, I think it was the greatest.

And there are about 1.7 million others, maybe even you, who Im sure would agree!

I have spent a large portion of my professional career as Reva, and in those years Ive gathered many stories I think youll enjoy. When you spend as much time together as the cast and crew of Guiding Light did, you experience it all: the good, the bad, and the ugly!

So its with great pride and appreciation that I present this book to all of you who stuck with us through thick and thin, eighteen presidents, five major wars, innumerable marriages, divorces, births, deaths, and so much more. My admiration and appreciation for all of you is endless! Please enjoy this fanciful and thoughtful journey through the parallel lives of Kim Zimmer and Reva Shayne!

Love,

Kim

INTRODUCTION

I woke up on a cold concrete slab with no idea of where I was or why. The glaring starkness of the room was blinding. I struggled to focus my eyes through the horrific nonstop pounding in my head. When I finally sat up and got my bearings, I noticed what appeared to be a one-armed hooker sitting on the same concrete slab staring back at me.

What are you in for, honey? she asked.

In for?

What was she talking about?

And why didnt I know my next line? I have never forgotten a single word in any of my scripts, but this time, I had no idea where to go with this scene. I was blank and confused but, strangely, not panicked.

My professional integrity and experience allowed me to patiently wait for the director to call, Cut, but his command never came. When I looked above me, I began wondering why the usual and familiar theatrical stage lighting was absent, and why there were only harsh flickering tubes of fluorescent lights overhead. The one thing I knew for sure was that no one looked good in lighting that severe. I was certain someone had made a horrible mistake.

Where are the director and the rest of the crew? I asked the hooker, who, remarkably, remained in perfect character. She looked at me like I was crazy and never uttered a single word.

Someone yell, Cut! I shouted.

An officer peered through the thick iron bars. Quiet, Zimmer, or Ill take you to isolation.

Wait a minute.

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