It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since the soap world lost legendary soap actor, Michael Zaslow at the age of 54, and now some of his co-stars have shared with Soap Hub their thoughts on his legacy.
In 1997, Zaslow was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a debilitating and fatal condition also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Few actors have made an impact on soaps the way the Daytime Emmy-winning actor did, creating two fascinating characters who were groundbreaking for their own reasons.
On Guiding Light, he created larger-than-life Roger Thorpe, one of the first antiheroes on soaps. Roger’s love/hate relationship with Holly (Maureen Garrett) propelled story for decades, starting with the groundbreaking marital rape story back in the 1970s.
On One Life to Live, he created virtuoso pianist/super spy David Renaldi, who fell in love with Jenny (Brynn Thayer) but left the show for many years.
The show, especially Robin Strasser (Dorian), welcomed him back when Zaslow was living with ALS and had been released from GL.His condition was written into the story, and Zaslow passed away on December 6, 1998.
Here are what some of his former co-workers and industry professionals wanted to share about working with this amazing actor.
“Oh Zaz, 20 years since you left. Before that, 20 years of working together. Our youth caught on screen, playing love/hate and everything between with such passion. You were an inspiration, you were dynamite. How wonderful to work with you, my friend. I miss you.” — Maureen Garrett, Holly, GL
“I always looked at Michael …continue reading on the next page —>
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