sing, act and dance. I was a triple threat. I was never in the chorus much; I was always in the lead, so I never got to dance as much as I wanted to. So DANCING WITH THE STARS allowed me to hone my dancing skills. It was also a great test for me.
Your B&B co-stars Ronn Moss and Katherine Kelly Lang competed in the Italian version of the show. Did you ask them for any advice?
I wasn’t aware that they did that!
What did your two sons (Peter, 21; Harrison, 17) and daughter think of you agreeing to do DANCING WITH THE STARS?
My daughter most certainly was happy because she likes to ballroom dance herself — and she’s a dancing instructor! My sons were sort of into it. It was hard for them to first lock into it. I remember first telling them that I was doing DANCING WITH THE STARS and they were like, “Oh, really? Dad, you forgot the cookies at the grocery store!” [Laughs]
What would your late father think of you strutting your junk on DWTS?
He would have questioned my outfits! [Laughs] Personally, I had no problem with the outfits because it’s ballroom dancing and I like to go bigger than most. But he would have been happy.
Did you make any friends on DANCING?
Everyone. I had so much fun. We got so tight with each other, which is why I wish my stint on there had lasted longer. We were all in the same boat so it bonded us organically and naturally. Everyone was so supportive. I also really bonded with the dancers as well as my co-stars.
What was the biggest lesson you learned about yourself from the experience?
For me, being outside my comfort zone on that nighttime platform in front of all those people was the biggest thing for me. I’ve played live golf and done live theatre and concerts but never in front of this kind of vast audience. This was the biggest test I’ve ever experienced professionally. I’m a hard worker anyway, but I really loved this process of focusing on one thing each week, pushing myself and relying on my dance partner, Anna, to be tough on me. And at the same time, it was working because I was progressing. I got to challenge and push myself in an area I really don’t have any expertise at all. I’m most proud of how I handled myself in defeat. That came from a power greater than myself… not to sound corny, but that’s my truth.
How did you handle the arduous schedule considering you’re a single parent?
You know what? My boys are older: they’re 21 and 17. We all come and go as we please. My kids aren’t as hands-on like before when they were younger. The timing was perfect: When B&B ended, DANCING called literally the next week.
And your family has expanded recently: tell me about your long-lost daughter, Kerry. What was going through your mind when you heard? How did it change your life?
Well, it’s just a miracle. I sort of knew she existed. I got a call from her mother in 1988 saying, “I had a baby, I put her up for adoption, and she’s gone.” That was pretty much it. I got a lawyer and he told me I had no rights. Fast-forward two decades later: Right before I was about to go on a stage in a concert in Boca Raton, Fla., November 4, 2011, my miracle happened. I knew it was her immediately. She started hysterically crying and told me she was my daughter. We did get a DNA test, but I automatically knew regardless.
It must be pretty cool to find out your long-lost dad is Jack Wagner!
Listen, I don’t know about that. It’s really about the individual. If you’re open, loving and accepting, that’s important. That was never a question for me. That’s why I felt it was important to talk about it because not every story has a happy ending. But if you have the courage and your emotionally stable in case you’re rejected, like my daughter says, then you’ll be fine.
How do your sons feel about their instant sister?
They were blown away in the beginning. But she came over to our house around Thanksgiving — and it was great to have her there. Once they saw that she was real and they touched her, it was easier.
And you’re also speaking out about being in AA for the first time with my readers.
Yes. I’ve been sober for six years. I’ve been in AA for four-and-a-half years. I didn’t want to talk about it on DANCING because I didn’t want to sway votes or anything like that. I felt after DANCING was over and, if people really want to get to know me, I wanted to show them this is who I am. I’m not going to preach or judge anyone but if anyone wants to share their struggles or problems, I want people to know I have experience in that area and will share what works for me with them. This is an opportunity for me to talk about recovery, lead by example, and prove there is no shame or there is nothing to hide because you’re in AA. I’m very grateful for where I am today.
Professionally, you’re unemployed now. But it’s perfect that DANCING WITH THE STARS re-introduced you to a larger audience. Many past contestants’ careers have been revitalized.
Any time you’re on a prime-time show, anything can happen. I had a couple of things in the works before DANCING, which I will know more about later this week or next week. DANCING can only help a person professionally. For me, it helped me personally. My daughter and I were guests on Anderson Cooper’s daytime talk show and that was a blessing to tell our story about finding a long-lost child.
I bet! You ended your engagement to Heather Locklear last year; are you dating at all or are you so overwhelmed with all the changes in your life….?
No. To be honest, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t even thought about it nor had time.
Finally, there are a lot of rumours swirling around that you are returning to the show that made you a superstar, GH, as Frisco Jones. Any truth?
I got a call from ABC two months ago but I haven’t heard anything back from them since. I would love to work with [my ex-wife] Kristina [Wagner] on the show again [who played his love interest, Felicia]. The last time I was back on GH was over 20 years ago. I have no idea what it would be like. All I know is the future is ahead of me and I’m looking forward to life more than ever.
Were you hurt when B&B let you go?
Yes, I was hurt. Most of all, though, I miss seeing all friends every day.
We miss you.
COVER STORY
ERIC BRAEDEN ON #OCCUPYING YOUR LIFE AND FINANCIAL WORTH
Superstar weighs in on the world’s hot topics
Anyone who watches “The Great Victor Newman” on hit soap opera, Y&R, knows no one bullies one of TV’s most ruthless villains. Nor do you go head-to-head with his Emmy-winning portrayer, Eric Braeden.
In an industry increasingly obsessed with youth, the 70-year-old German native has become an accidental yet tireless advocate for older people’s rights in show business.
In 2009, he infamously went up against the company, Sony Pictures, which produces the number-one serial after a much publicized contract showdown worthy of any TGVN corporate plot. He was asked to take a significant pay cut. In true Newman-style, Braeden walked and ratings nosedived. Fans were furious until CBS stepped in and mediated. A few months later, Braeden returned to reclaim what is rightfully his. Last year, his co-star and leading lady Melody Thomas Scott was also asked to take a pay cut or take a hike.
Braeden said at the time: “After all these years, to be treated in such an unprofessional manner, well, it doesn’t sit well with me. Considering I have always been willing to make financial concessions, this sledgehammer approach is simply unacceptable. After 30 years of loyal service, I was sent a cold email to my agent in very dry terms: ‘End of 20-week cycle. This is the pay cut, accept it because there is no negotiation.’”
If that wasn’t enough to curl Braeden’s trademark moustache, he also got into a heated public battle with sitcom star Neil Patrick Harris. When the soap star turned down an opportunity to reprise his role on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER due to recent surgery and exhaustion, Harris unfairly called him “a D-bag” on Twitter.
Braeden hit back immediately, saying “I have been in this business for 50 years, have seen so many actors come and go — most of them never to be seen or heard from again. I suggest whoever thi
s young fellow is that he enjoy his success and count his blessings and save his money.”
In honour of tax time, I sat down with the real-life titan to discuss the current global economic crisis, ageism in show business, why he’ll never retire, and the secret to his relentless passion, drive and energy.
What do you think of the Occupy movements currently enveloping the headlines and world streets?
It’s a very good thing. I’m outraged as the people are. This grass-root movement is democracy at work. The egregious at the top, the Wall Street executives, still receiving these obscene bonuses is an affront like no other. People are not stupid. I’m disappointed with President Obama for not standing up to these corporate bullies. The notion that if we lower taxes it will create more employment has proven not to be true.
Are you surprised at how mobilized and organized the movement became?
Credit social media. People are very upset. Unfettered, unregulated capitalism leads to the very antithesis of “ free enterprise.” Why? Because it leads to a monopolization of an economy by virtue of the fact that it’s Darwinian: The strongest survive. Power in fewer hands is the death knell of free enterprise, which cannot be totally free; it must be regulated. It’s a tricky,
Soap Opera Uncensored: Issue 26 Page 2
