European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 25, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Those bubbling daytime viewers Dpi pow Lothat no place like Ham Krystal and Alexi battling Ever Blake i affect int on Dyno Ity. By Mark Schwed United press International t hey griped when president Reagan was shot deluged the networks with Calls about egyptian president Anwar Sadat assassination and mildly complained about the challenger disaster. They Are soap Heads soap opera loonies perhaps the most feverishly Loyal fans in television s Eye. They Are not necessarily heartless As one network executive pointed out they Are just a quirk in the prime Lime world daytime viewers. Abc received 1.700 Calls the Day the challenger exploded in a fireball and 80 percent were about the soap operas being preempted. Abc received More than any other network because it has the most watched soaps coverage of a or breaking news events like those involving Reagan Sadat and challenger swallows up daytime hours. Most people Are at work away from the tube and so they crave the information on to. But to the daytime viewer the replays seem endless. They want their soaps. Even president Reagan bowed to the Power of soaps. His state of the Union address was moved from 9 . On a tuesday to 8 . So it would not conflict with soap Queen Joan Collins mini series sins on lbs the debut of the Colbyson Abc and Abc s mini series entry Peter the great. There Are signs the soap Bubble May be bursting at nighttime with ratings Lor such powerhouses As dynasty and Dallas on the slump but daytime soaps Are thriving. Daytime serials have come a Long Way since they began on radio in 1930. There Are currently 13 of them on the air 11 i hours of air time Dally with an audience of More than 73 million people. The time period accounts for 40 recent to so percent of the networks annual Revenue. That it Bubble in the Bath to Michael Leon a soaper supreme. Leon is better known As rough and ready Pete Jannings. The mean Macho machine on Abc s Days of our lives. If Pete Jannings wakes up in the morning and gets Back to bed at night without getting into trouble it s a great Day Leon said. I m not the hero of the show but i m getting More mail. They want to help me with my problems. They really believe i m having that much  judging by the mail Leon s character is doing just line in no immediate danger of being rubbed out by soap terrorists consumed in a fire that totals a town or gunned Down by a jilted lady. Indeed his character got hitched on Valentine s Day. Now there Are All sorts of possibilities divorce Wile cheating wife swapping the sudden illness of his Honey and the list goes on. Jannings May be mean and Nasty on the soap but get him Oil camera and he becomes Michael Leon the business Baron. He has starred in several to series Low budget films and plays and makes the rounds of shopping malls and car shows As a hired soap celebrity. I just stand up there and talk he said. I was booked 33 weekends last  that s when he formed Michael ii productions to produce inside soaps a new show designed to capitalize on the soap opera frenzy and to produce other television programs and movies. Inside soaps a syndicated show airing saturday or sunday in selected markets boasts a format similar to entertainment tonight hard news about soaps mixed with Luff about he stars. I do not want this show to be let s just talk about me As an actor or character we have hard Core news just about nighttime and daytime soap actors and weeks ahead of time we list personal appearances where certain actors will be Leon said. Some programs have included a horseback ride in Hollywood Hills with Dack Dallas rambo a stroll in the Park with Stephanie the Colby Beacham a visit to a los Angeles hospice with Susan Falcon Crest Sullivan a cab ride around Central Park with Kristin one Lite to live Meadows and spot coverage of cast parties. There Are also the mandatory outtakes and bloopers. As far As Leon is concerned there s no such thing As too much soap. The 03 i and Tot wife s boutique. His wife is named Candy. Statuettes of Judy Garland Al Jolson and Gene Kelly which Are really music boxes Are also on the table. I turn them on when everyone s running around screaming he says. Seventeen people meet Here every wednesday morning to talk about  spelling one leg draped Over a Wing chair takes a sip of Tea. He is smoking his Ever present pipe. My exclusive contract with Abc is up two years from  he says. Every three years when my contract comes up Abc asks me if i want to renew it and i think about it. It s not automatic on anyone s part. I think about it a lot. On the one hand. Abc s been Good Tor me and hopefully i be been very Good for them. But it is restrictive i have Only one buyer. I May like Blue and they May like Green. I can t shop it elsewhere. But the relationship has been personally rewarding. Obviously there is a commitment that they take some shows. Otherwise. I would t be exclusive. I Don t want to reveal the details. There has to be something in it for me. I m not in it for Good will. Spelling Aya he has not yet met the new management of Abc. I really want to know what i want to do with my life before i commit to another three year contract he says. I Don t want to quit television it s just hat 11 Don t know whether i want to be exclusive to Abc spelling began his career As an actor and writing for such shows As playhouse 90 and for such stars As Alan Ladd and Dick Powell. He says he misses writing. I still create Many things he says. I just created a Christmas movie we re going to make this year. A lot o the series ideas Are mine. And sometimes i la sit Down and Knock out a  spelling puts in 12-hour Days at his office but says i try to get Home in time to see the kids off to bed. I make my Telephone Calls at Home. I hate Telephone Calls but there s not enough time during the Day. I allot certain times during the weekend to Reading scripts. I Don t read them at night because your judgment in t Best when you re  his Success and his four shows on Abc generate a lot of flak from rival producers. Maybe it s time i judge myself by seeing How Many shows i d have without  he says. They always judge you by How Many hours you have on not by the longevity of those shows. That s not fair. I think a producer should be judged Only by How Many hits he has and How Long they be been on the  spelling has started production on a new theatrical movie that he believes is his shot for an Oscar. It s night. Mother from the pulitzer prize winning play by Marsha Norman and stars Anne Bancroft and Sissy Spacek. It s a very special piece of material that requires special handling he says. I wanted so desperately to prove to the critics that everything i do in t a fantasy or a so called Aaron spelling Type show i m really so anxious to show i m interested in that kind of material that my company put up some of the Money with Universal. We think it has Academy award  spelling was a student at Southern methodist University in Dallas when he began writing and directing. He was twice Winner of the Harvard award for Best original one act play. After graduation he directed plays at local Heaters. He moved to los Angeles in 1953 and worked As an actor on television and in the movies. But most of Al i wanted to write and Dick Powell took him on As a protege. His writing career took off alter that. He wrote a critically acclaimed script for playhouse 90 called the last Man that was subsequently made into a movie starring Alan Ladd. That began a Long association with Ladd. I be never won an emmy spelling says. My shows Aren t even nominated. I d love to win an emmy but i m proudest of my six a act awards and i can t Tell you How Many people s Choice awards. I d like to get Back to writing. I m planning a Tew things this year that won t be the usual action adventure shows. I want to do some comedies. I want to Spring a Lew  725, 1886 the stars and stripes Page 15