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John Callahan Articles 1997-2000 |
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The Single Guy, SOD 12/23/1997 |
"Imagine having John Callahan's (Edmund Grey's) job. Every day, he gets up, goes to the All My Children
studio... and pretends he has a dead wife, a hateful brother and a daughter who's missing more often than not. It's harrowing work, drumming up all that
sorrow, but Callahan's not complaining.'Would I like to be happy for a while?' he chuckles. "Well, yeah. But what's most important to me is that the writers stay true to the character. Edmund was based on the bastard son in King Lear. And his life,' he notes wryly, 'was not one of gaiety and frivolity.'
True to destiny, Maria's death in August set Edmund on a tragic trajectory of near-Shakespearean proportions. But it also spawned significant distress in the actor's personal life, given that it facilitated real-life wife Eva LaRue Callahan's temporary
departure from their home in New York to seek other opportunities. Her joining the now-canceled, Hollywood-based UPN sitcom Head Over Heels not only made Edmund a virtual widower, it turned the Callahan's relationship into a long-distance marriage that
keeps them more frequently apart then together- and Callahan admits that commuter arrangements are hard.
'In two words, it stinks,' he sighs, adding that they fly across the country as often as possible to be with one another. 'We try not to have more than two weeks apart, but it's still a strain and emotionally draining. Between jet lag and getting out of your routine and just missing each other...it's hard.'
Temporary bachelorhood has necessitated changes in Callahan's routine; he's alone a lot more now and has more time to fill. 'I have friends who I go out with, but I keep to myself, too,' the actor says. 'You learn to make use of the time that your different life now offers you. Maybe you read more, or work out more, or do projects that you've been putting off for a long time. You may enjoy some of the quiet, turn the isolation into something positive. But overall, it stinks,' he repeats. 'If you have to do it, you have to do it. But I don't recommend it to anybody.'
Of course, he knew the lengthy separations wouldn't be a barrel of laughs; Eva's first mentions of it stirred up emotions so conflicting, they were all canceled out. 'You want to know the definition of ambivalence?' he asks rhetorically. 'It's how I felt when she said she wanted to try something new. I supported her, but I knew I was going to miss her.'
He means that both as a husband and as a co-star. Personal considerations aside, Maria's death threw Edmund's life into a tailspin, and Callahan wasn't really sure how the writers would bring him out of it. 'Storyline-wise, there was a little nervousness,' he confesses. 'I figured that when you have a popular couple and one personal leaves, the other may lose some popularity, and that's not a good thing. But on the other hand," he continues, "I felt in my gut that Maria's death would spin off into some really good story, and that turned out to be true. My nervousness was pretty quickly dissipated by the way the writers handled things.'
Today, five months after Maria's death, the actor remains impressed by the writing- and, in particular, by the fact that the
producers have so far resisted the temptation to throw their main romantic hero into a new affair. 'Edmund's a man, and in real life, he would eventually recover,' says Callahan, who thinks he would probably fight anything less than a full six months of celibate grieving. 'Edmund can certainly have friends, but a romantic involvement? No. It hasn't been that long since Maria died. And remember, the never found Maria's body.'
Which brings us to the question he gets asked a hundred times a day: Now that Head Over Heels is no more, could his wife possibly be on her way back to AMC? 'That's not happening in the immediate future,' he reports. 'Eva didn't leave to do a sitcom; she left to spread her wings and try other things. She just wanted to get some comedy under her belt; now she has. And in a way, it's a blessing that the show was canceled, because I think she got the hang of [doing comedy] and I'm not sure if that's what she wants to do. Now, she's sampling other types of acting and other projects, and I support that 100%.'
Putting his money (and time and career) where his mouth is, Callahan recently signed a one-year contract extension with AMC, even though it meant being separated from Eva for even longer. 'It's always nice when somebody's got a job,' Callahan explains. 'For me to leave at the time she was trying to figure out what she wanted to do was not a smart thing. We talked about it. You take
turns supporting each other; sometimes, one will work while the other takes chances and looks for work and maybe turns down certain things and has the freedom to do so because the other person is working. And other people in other circumstances might no have the liberty to do that, or the luxury. Believe me, Eva turns down more than she accepts.'
But good, challenging jobs in Hollywood are elusive; it can take actors years to book decent projects. That said, Callahan maintains that after a finite period of time agreed upon by he and he wife, Eva will return, if not to AMC, then at least to New York, regardless of what happens in California. 'She's coming back,' he says adamantly. But what if she gets a really great show? 'Then she'll get it in New York. Or if she does a movie, she'll be based here. She might go on location, but that's just work.' Of course, a permanent return to New York could seriously hamper her career, given that most opportunities exist in Los Angeles. To take advantage of them, an actor has to physically live out there. Says Callahan: 'There are sacrifices on both sides.'
There sure are- and one, admittedly, is pesky reporters constantly asking Eva about John, and vice versa. 'We aspire to a fifty-fifty world,' he laughs, 'so we even have to share interviews. Which is fine, because I get pretty bored talking about myself after a while.'
The Greenhouse Effect
Being a celebrity couple has its perks- and its pitfalls, like the tabloid photographer who crashed the Callahan’s' wedding in Hawaii on November 30, 1996. 'That was the one time that we just wanted to be John and Eva, so I took a little umbrage,' recalls Callahan, who was nevertheless prepared for the uninvited guest. 'One doesn't normally put security into the budget of a wedding,' he deadpans, 'but, well, it's better to err on the side of caution. I mean, why do people get homeowner's insurance? Why do people insure things at all? The odds are greatly against a negative event happening. But I didn't want anything to ruin that day, so I got wedding insurance.' After the guards apprehended the intruder, he was detained, Dimitri style. 'He spent the entire wedding locked in the greenhouse, so he got a great shot of orchids.'
Boys Will Be Girls
Believe ir or not, Tad and Edmund weren't the only ones crossdressing this year on AMC. Also guilty? Baby Maddie, played by Jordan Vance. 'Jordan's the best baby in the whole world,' Callahan enthuses. 'I love that kid. Unfortantely, she's a he. He's definitely a boy, and they can only put him in dressed for so long, because he's starting to look like a linebaker.'"
Just The Facts:
Birthday: December 23
Born in: Brooklyn, New York
Previous Soap Roles: Eric, Falcon Crest - Leo, General Hospital - Craig, Santa Barbara
Alma Mater: U.C. Berkeley
Lost In Space: 'I don't know what planet each sex is from. But we're both here on Earth right now, you
know?'"
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Two Wild and Crazy. . .Gals |
"The first thing that went through John Callahan's (Edmund) mind when he heard that he and Michael E. Knight (Tad) would be
doing drag was: 'Are we going off-the-track or are we going designer?' Seriously, the scenes gave the AMC costume department
a unique challenge. How do you convincingly dress 2 six-foot-tall actors so they both
look like woman?'We started with the logistics. They really coundn't do a sull clothing change,' custome designer Charles Schoonmaker says. 'That wouldn't make sense. Tad and Edmund are getting dressed at the airport. We sort of figured out they would just have coats. Then Francesca James (AMC's executive producer) said, "Have fun with it." So we ended up getting the shoes. We figured that they could roll up their pants, put on knee-highs, put on the shoes, they can put on the coats and hats, and mabye one of the ladies has a wig in the bag. That's how it sort of came together. Then we talked to Judy (Blye Wilson, casting director) and made it knows that we needed big gals to make it seem reasonable that these guys would be putting on their coats. It was all sort of a joint thing. Of course, the last ones to really know what was going on were the actors. But they were willing to go with the flow.'
'I ended up going to this big gal's shoe store near Macy's [and trying on the shoes myself], because my foot is a little smaller than John's and a little bigger than Michael's,' Schoonmaker continues. 'Meanwhile, Maggie (Delgaldo, costume designer) got the coats, I think, at Lord & Taylor. We thought that we might need doubles - one size for the real ladies and one size for the guys, but in fact, casting did such a great job that we were able to use one of each in both cases. You don't want to buy a lot of stuff for a one-time deal. Hair did the wigs - and came up with a very good color for John Callahan! It was very flattering.'
The actors agree. Knight adds, 'We fought over who got the red and blond wig,' he (pointing at Callahan) got the fur coat. 'But,' Callahan interjects, 'he got the regular platforms. I had sling backs, and believe me, I haven't worn sling backs since, what was it, Friday night?'"
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For the Love of the Game Whether playing golf or Edmund Grey, John Callahan approaches it all with passion, SID 6/27/2000 |
"'It's all
about those last few inches before contact... and the uncurling of the hip...'
No, John Callahan isn't detailing the secrets behind Edmund's AMC love scenes.
Rather, he's in the midst of a minitutorial on golf, one of the few things-
including wife Eva La Rue Callahan (ex-Maria), of course- possibly to elict the
passion he feels for performing. And if you've ever ably swung a 5-iron, you
know firsthand the addictive quality of the sport that often beckons the actor.
'Once you hit that first shot on the sweet spont,' the celebrity duffer warns,
'you'll be hooked.'
The Spy Who
Loved Me
Callahan's Pine
Valley persona is in a sweet spot himself: Not only is Edmund entrenched in the
kind of mystery which bedevils an investigative reporter, he is also ankle-deep
in a love affair with Alex, the beauty at the puzzle's vortex- and
not-so-late half brother Dimitri's widow. 'Your typical story is the couple
falls in love, walks down the aisle, then so-and-so comes back,' he notes. But
since Dimitri's emergence will come in the early stages of Alex and Edmund's
romance, 'this... represents a challenge which I bet is unique for all three
actors.'
Yet the key, Callahan impresses, is that the story honors the newness of Edmund's relationship. 'If they write as if Edmund and Alex have been together for a year, that's a problem. But if they write as if we've been together for a month... you've got an interesting story that can be based on reality.'
Tales from
the Crypt
That's not to
say that Callahan doesn't appreciate the occassional flight of fantasy, at least
when it comes to the action-adventure material which recently found his
character infilitrating Bryn Wydd, only to be blown away later by the ominious
facility's explosion. 'It's a blast!' he appropriately notes, likening it to a
grown-up playground fare. 'When you're a kid playing "Capture the
flag," what do you do when you get shot? You do your big dying scene, like
Cagney on the steps [in Public Enemy].'
Further upping the ante, raves Callahan, is the introduction of Oscar nominee Samantha Eggar as Charlotte. 'This story is like The Manchurian Candidate,' he points out, 'in which Angela Lansbury was chillingly good. I think Samantha is mining that same vein.'
Right Where
He Belongs
Although
co-star Michael Nader (Dimitri) has said that he is less embracing of the
current cloak-and-dagger material, Callahan won't let himself be fazed. 'I still
look at acting as fun,' he says. 'The day I don't is the day I hang it up.'
Yes, as stated before, acting is a game which Callahan relishes on a par with, well, golf, although it's hard to imagine that he's as adept on the fairway as he is with the engrossing performances which have won him mobs of AMC fans. And though his better half has settled into primetime on NBC's Third Watch, the Falcon Crest alum is most content with his current digs.
'I enjoy Eva's successes for her,' the proud husband states. 'But at a time when a "happy" actor is almost a contradiction in terms, I must say that I am happy doing what I'm doing. The fans and the show are two things that I am blessed with.'
How Do You
Solve a Problem Like Maria?
AMC has worked
hard to find a follow-up to Edmund's dearly-departed lady doctor. Can Alex fit
the bill?
On August 11, 1997, Edmund's wife, Maria, teetered over a cliff trapped in the wreckage of TGA Flight 149, and for a while thereafter, it seemed like any future romantic prospects for the widower had perished in that tragedy as well. AMC's first attempt to succeed Maria came with the 1998 arrival of con artist Kit Fisher. Alas, Kit didn't make Edmund fans purr. 'She falsely accused two men, Tad and Ryan, of rape, and she also was Jackson's [presumed-dead] sister, so... there were a lot of things to make fans says, "No, no matter what," recalls John Callahan. 'I don't know if they've ever had a story where the woman did not have a lot of baggage that might have hindered the fans' acceptance of them.' Once Kit packed up her troubles and left, AMC tapped a proven powerhouse to warm up Edmund's ardor, casting Emmy-winning soap favorite Finola Hughes in the role of Alexandra Devane Marick. 'This [love interest], ironically, is my brother's wife,' Callahan notes with amusement, 'but I think that some fans are now ready to let Edmund move on, and their numbers are increasing with time.'
FYI
Born: December 23 in Brooklyn,
NY
The couple that plays together... Along with wife Eva La Rue Callahan, John has hosted several of Lifetime's Weddings of a Lifetime specials, as well as the 1998 Miss America Pageant.
You Again? Callahan and Kelly Ripa (Hayley) appear as "Lance" and "Coral" in the soap watched by characters in the Meryl Streep drama Marvin's Room.
What would he improve about his golf game? 'I could probably use better erasers on my scoring pencils,' quips the modest duffer, who often tees up for charity. 'I have so many improvements that are needed.'"
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AMC's John Callahan gives us the inside scoop about his life on screen and off... It's a Great Life, SOW 7/18/2000 |
"John
Callahan is a man who knows his way around several entertainment mediums. He's a
veteran of primetime television, stage productions, and currently a major star
of daytime. Callahan is certainly an actor who can share his views about the ups
and downs of working in daytime and was willing to do so when Update asked him.
An eight-year veteran of AMC, Callahan's portrayal of Edmund Grey has earned him a huge following of loyal fans, and he admits that he loves many aspects of the job and the character.
Callahan, who is sitting in a makeup chair getting ready for a major photo shoot, points to the beautiful lady sitting next to him, Finola Hughes (Alex). 'The upside in daytime starts on my left. She's classy, strong and smart,' he says. 'And a thorn in his side,' Hughes teases. 'And she's a spur. She spurs me to do better,' he laughs. 'Basically, the beauty of daytime is that we get to do a show every day. We get to do a 75-page script five days a week, and as an actor, you get to do an arc that you would never have in any other medium,' he explains. 'The downside is that production is so fast, and the production values are so limited, relative to some of the other mediums, that you simply run up against time and money constantly. You have to make compromises, changes, and there are certain constrictions. You rarely get to go outside. You rarely get to shoot from across the plane, as it were. So you act in a style where you don't get to do a lot of vertical movement. There's a certain need for exposition that you have to repeat to yourself, and the challenge is to make that natural. So there are structural things within daytime that are confining, but on the other hand, once you have proven yourself in daytime, if you know your stuff, you can go many places. You can experiment within your character, because they know that you can do the job, and after several thousand performances of the same character, be it boredom or desire to be creative, or whatever muse strikes you, you can go places that you probably wouldn't have time or opportunity to do in another form of drama.'
Has Callahan been able to take his character above and beyond what's been written for him and is he satisfied with what he's done? 'I didn't say I could do it,' he laughs, 'I said, "You have the opportunity." I don't know how successful I've been,' he says. 'I don't know if I'm ever satisfied, but I've been reasonably challenged, and I always say that the reason why I'm so happy here is because the writers have created a really good character. It's also a great place to work and I've worked in a lot of places, but this is a great gig. Edmund's lost a wife, he's lost a brother, he keeps dropping off family members and forgetting where they are. But I've enjoyed where he's had to go and I look forward to further adventures.'
Further adventures for Edmund include working with his brother Dimitri (Michael Nader)- who everyone assumes is dead- in saving the woman that they both love, Alex. Callahan admits that he hopes the writers will have Edmund step aside once the mystery and adventures of Alex's past are revealed... and let her return to Dimitri. But until that actually happens, since Alex doesn't know Dimitri's back, Pine Valley viewers will be treated to an unusual triangle mixed with love, danger and much excitement.
On the personal side, AMC has also had a major influence in Callahan's private life. It was there that he met, fell in love with and married his co-star Eva La Rue (Maria). From the moment their characters became romantically involved, Edmund and Maria became one of the show's premier couples. Even though Maria 'died', fans are relentless in their quest to have her return and continually question Callahan as to when she's coming back. Right now, there are noplans for Maria's return as La Rue is happily pursuing other interests.
'Eva's wonderful,' Callahan informs. 'She's doing some work on a couple of shows now. She's doing a recurring role on Third Watch and she's also doing a recurring role on a new series for Showtime called Soul Food.
Callahan is grateful that both shows are done on the East Coast and not in LA, so the couple don't have to spend their time flying to be together. 'I got awfully sick of the bicoastal stuff- it's very wearing. So, Eva's doing fine,' he says, smiling.
Callahan would love to work with his wife again, but fans shouldn't get their hopes up that she'll be returning to AMC as Maria. 'Of course, we'd like to work together again, that goes without saying. But you know, but parties have to be ready, willing and able, and until that happens, I'm not entertaining it,' he says.
Callahan's plans include continuing his role as Edmund on AMC... and he's happy about it. 'I think that's obvious over the past few years. As long as it's on the page, I will be on the stage,' he says with a big smile."
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Soap's Sexiest Couples- Eva La Rue & John Callahan, SOU 12/19/2000 |
For La Rue and Callahan it was life imitating art. Their AMC characters fell in love and wed. And so did they. "I don't think anybody has ever understood me the way John does," says La Rue. "Our communication is fantastic and I've never been in such a growing, supporting relationship."
Callahan agrees. "We like each other, enjoy traveling and having a nice conversations. We don't need to list the things we have in common because we are happy and comfortable just sitting home in front of the fireplace and talking to each other," he says, adding, "just look at her and you'll know why I fell so hard."
Overcoming Changes
In 1997, La Rue left AMC to pursue
other projects, with her husband's blessing. La Rue spent time working on the
west coast, but she and Callahan made a pact never to be apart for more than 10
days at a time. At present, La Rue has a role on Third Watch which films in NYC.
Would she return to AMC?
"I always thing about coming back, but right now I'm enjoying my life as it is," she says. Callahan says, of course, they'd like to work together again. "But you know, both parties have to be ready, willing and able and until that happens I'm not entertaining it."
For now, the happy couple will continue to pursue their individual careers, but when the work day is over, they head home to be with one another and enjoy the love they share.
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Soap's Sexiest Couples- Eva La Rue & John Callahan, SOU 12/19/2000 |
"The arrival of the stork is
most often a joyous occassion. But what is common in everyday life, is never the
norm when it comes to soaps! For instance, when was the last time you heard of a
birth mother living with the couple who adopted her baby, after the baby
was born? On AMC, Kelsey has managed to do just that. She has pulled one stunt
after another, trying to get closer and closer to Edmund. 'Kelsey is a loose
cannon... and everyone has to realize that,' says AMC's outgoing executive
producer Felicia Minei Behr. 'Now that she realizes she has ammunition in the
form of a child, anything is possible.'
'This baby will deeply affect many, many lives- Edmund, Maria, Kelsey, Bobby, Palmer, Opal, Joe and Anita,' promises AMC headwriter Lorraine Broderick. 'Genetically speaking and via the adoption, (Sam) is connected to all of the major Pine Valley families. He will leave no lives untouched.'
As of yet, no one in Pine Valley other than Bobby and Kelsey know the identity of Sam's father. 'I can't wait for Bobby to be a factor,' says Brian Gaskill of his character. 'I think that eventually he will get a little territorial and say, "Hey, this is my kid."' To complicate things even further, there is always the possibility that Maria will conceive her own child. And if Kelsey succeeds in driving Edmund and Maria apart, who knows what could happen in the forseeable future! Ah, the joys of parenthood!"
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Fans are rejoicing that Edmund and Brooke have found their way back to each other- and so are the actors who play them, Julia Barr and John Callahan. |
"Brooke and Edmund have never lost each other," states Barr.
"They went their separate ways for a number of emotional reasons, and they
have come full circle. I think it has matured both of them in a huge way. When
you love somebody, that love can either change permanently or it can lie
dormant. We had both been emotionally and deeply in love at one point. So it’s
like you’ve been aware of this person all along, someone who’s been a huge
part of your life, and then all of the sudden you see them standing there and
you recognize them in an entirely different way."
It’s been a long time coming for poor Brooke. "Brooke has had a hard time having happiness," offers Barr. "She always felt guilty because she’s a survivor, not only of her daughter [Laura’s death], but with Maria. And I think Edmund had to go through a certain amount of time until they both could come to a place where they could recognize what they didn’t want to lose, which was the other person."
Barr is thrilled to be working with Callahan again. "In a medium like daytime, if you have a partner you work with regularly — especially someone who I think is wonderful like John — it’s like having a tennis partner who is really good, and I’ve missed that for a long time, so I could not be happier! I just hope they don’t make us all happy and goofy and you’ll see us once every two weeks and locked in some embrace but in no storyline."
That said, Barr is quick to point out the importance of reanimating the love lives of both Brooke and Edmund. "People love romance because it implies hope and a future," she says. "I think that’s true in life, and especially in an entertainment medium like daytime. I think the audience has wondered for a long time why this was so long in coming, but I think they tried a variety of stuff and sometimes you don’t look in your own backyard for what works." For more on Brooke and Edmund and the romantic Crystal Ball, check out the 1/1 issue of Soap Opera Weekly, on sale December 25.