Meeting all of you!

One of the best things about being an actor is meeting my fans. I have met so many over the years and it was always great to hear what you think, what you like and don't like, what you want more of. That's why I did a lot of appearances and events in my seven years at Guiding Light. I'd like to do the same with All My Children.

I'm thinking about teaming up with Beth Ehlers during Guiding Light's fan club weekend and inviting all of our "Gus and Harley" fans to meet us somewhere, for a lunch or drinks. To chat about what fun we had creating one of the top super couples of soaps. And there's no one better to do that with but all of you! So what do you say, are you interested? Do you have any ideas? I've been told it's in September this year, so mark your calendars and if I get enough responses, it's a date...

I'd also like to do something during the All My Children weekend in NYC. I have heard that is in August? Anybody been before? Are there any special events? If I were to put on one at night, with some of the other cast members from the show, who would you most like to meet? I've also been invited to join the "Soap Star" cruise in January 2009, so keep your eye out for details on that...

I've just been informed that my first official tape date for AMC is April 8th. I should be airing at the end of April, beginning of May. I don't know when my final air date is for Guiding Light, but I am going to find out! In my final weeks of freedom before I start my new journey, I plan to take my mother to Europe for a little shopping and relaxation. It won't be long before I'm thick into storyline and can't get away so easily.

That's it for now, let me know your thoughts on getting together, I want to spend some time with all my fans, old and new, very soon.

All my love,

Ricky

Thoughts from the top of a mountain...

Everybody tells me that I should take off to an island...clear my head out. My friends that know me well ask what I'm doing to get Gus out of my head, out of my body. I thought about it and actually would love nothing more than to escape off to Australia or Turks and Caicos, or to be walking on the topless beaches of St. Barts. But instead I decided to go to Arizona. That is where I am writing from right now.

This afternoon I went hiking to the top of a mountain, to sit up there and do some thinking. The name of the mountain was Squaw Peak. When I got up to the top, all I could think of was, How the f**k am I going to get down from here? Let's put it this way, I should have used sunscreen, I got burnt like a lobster. In all seriousness though, it is beautiful...I'm staying at the base of Camelback mountain.

Tomorrow, I'm jumping in the car and driving towards San Diego, and Capistrano, going to head up the coast finally towards Los Angeles, and end up in Hollyweird. I'm going to LA to see some old friends, and say goodbye to a few CBS executives and hello to a few ABC executives. I do have plans to have dinner with my agent and management team, to thank them for all their hard work these last few months. And I also have plans to sit down with a few ABC execs while in town to talk about other ways that I can bring value to their network. We'll discuss a few new show ideas, and although I'd love to tell all of you (my extended friends and family) what those ideas are, we have a few spies reading this blog.

Recently, I was told off by the publicity department from whence I came that I said too much in my blog last time. All that has done is make me want to tell you more. No disrespect to a certain magazine that I promised an exclusive to, because what I promised was not to talk about how I left Guiding Light, or what exactly happens to my character (although it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out), but as usual they always underestimate you, our audience. For example, continuity, character history, storytelling, ALL very important, good story and good writing being the most important of all. But getting back to what I was saying about the exclusive interview, I never not once ever spoke about or hinted about how I depart Guiding Light. I only talked about the future, the new show, the new network, the new gig, the new character. I only talked about the endless possibilities and my excitement, highlighting my new cast mates. So as far as I'm concerned, I really don't know what they're upset about. I honored my gentlemen's agreement because all you have at the end of the day is your word.

On that note, I will reach out to you next weekend, on Easter Sunday and check in with all of you. For those of you that watch The Young and The Restless, I am planning to have dinner with Christian LeBlanc tomorrow night in LA. And by the way, before I left New York, Beth Ehlers and I popped into Martha Byrne's (As The World Turns) going away party. Apparently she's going on to new adventures herself. By the way, I saw Michael Park there, and he was hounding me about our next gig, definitely something to think about.

So I'll talk to you all next weekend. I'm going to sign up for a gym in LA, so I don't show up looking like a porker in Pine Valley!

All my love,
Ricky

PS: Check out my new official fan site at http://rickypaullgoldinfans.yuku.com!

Goodbye Springfield, Hello Pine Valley!

Hello my faithful friends and extended family,

This is a time of great change, it feels like everything is changing, but only for the better. Last Thursday was my final episode of Guiding Light, my final scene as Gus, saying goodbye to Harley forever. Lunchtime at CBS felt like the last supper. All of our crew, production staff, cast, and security all gathered together in the rehearsal hall to break bread and say goodbye. It is hard to believe that I won’t be walking back into the Guiding Light studio or my old dressing room again, but life goes on….

I was and have been a fan of ABC Daytime Television for a very long time, they really seem to do an amazing job, and I’m thrilled at the opportunity to become a part of the ABC family. I’ve actually been watching all of their shows. This will be the first time that I will be re-creating a character as opposed to creating him from scratch, but I’m excited by that challenge. I have never seen any of Jake's previous portrayers and he hasn’t been on the canvas for over half a decade, so in actuality, the only thing that I will be working with that I’m not used to…is his onscreen history created by others before me. It’ll be my job to erase all those memories and "de"construct him in my own image. If that was hard to follow, what I’m saying is…he won’t be like any Jake Martin you’ve known before.

But I can’t and I don’t want to do it without YOU. I don’t want to go to Pine Valley by myself. I want to take you all with me. It’ll be like a road trip, it’ll be like us all jumping on a bus together or a ship, I just want us all to take the journey together. So I’m going to ask that you search within yourself, and start watching ‘All My Children’, so you can learn the history. Personally I think it’s a great show. There is an actor on there named Michael E. Knight who plays Tad Martin, my brother. It’s obvious that he is quick, witty, and makes the dialogue his own. I get the feeling that he does a lot of improvising, and I love that about him. I have a good feeling about working with him. There is another actor on that show named Billy Miller, who plays Richie, probably my favorite character to watch, he’s very inventive. Thorsten Kaye plays Zach Slater, who seems to be the rock of the show, and I’m looking forward to getting into the perverbial ring with him. Cameron Mathison who plays Ryan is probably the nicest, most genuine guy I’ve ever met and that comes through in his character.

When it comes to the women of ‘All My Children,' they are all quite beautiful and charming to watch. Alicia Minshew plays Kendall, the daughter of Susan Lucci, and has all the beauty and grace of a Jane Eyre heroine. Rebecca Budig who plays Greenlee is sassy, feisty, and has the sexiest bedroom eyes on television. She called me the night I accepted the offer to congratulate me and it was at that moment, that I realized that I was really moving over to ABC. I would be proud to work with either one if these talented ladies.

So I consider myself lucky to step onto their set. If you take this journey with me from the beginning, I’ll be able to share all of my experiences with each and every one of you. Everything from ‘All My Children’s’ rehearsal process to their extravagant sets, from their high production values to their Super Soap weekend at Disney, who knows, maybe eventually I’ll be able to take you on a studio tour. Now I know that for those of you who don’t watch ‘All My Children,' to ask you to start watching is probably asking a lot, but look at it this way, now you have somebody who is working on the inside and can fill you in on any and all of your questions. This is going to be the first installment of my weekly blog, I will log in every Sunday to do another, so check back every week!

I start filming on or about the week of March 31st, which means I will be airing towards the end of April. So start watching as soon as possible, tape it, DVR it, TiVo it, whatever you have to do. I know you won’t be disappointed. Weekdays 1pm ET/12pm PT or check your local listings!

ABC does not have an email system for its actors, so I need you to write to me via snail mail at:

Ricky Paull Goldin
All My Children
320 West 66th St
New York, NY 10023

Tell me all your thoughts and ideas and I will respond as fast as I can. You will be added to my mailing list. Who would you like me to get into a relationship with first and how would you like to see it happen? For viewers that already know this show, I’d love to hear everything you have to say about Jake Martin, what you loved, hated, missed about him, and what you wished would have happened with him. It’s going to be fun bringing him back to life for you. So that’s it for now, I look forward to all of your input, I’ll see you in Pine Valley.

Love, Ricky