Soap Opera Weekly
September 9, 2003
Blackout of 2003

The Blackout of 2003 halted production on the four East Coast soaps and left the actors, like everyone else, scrambling to get home.

One Life to Live

The show was about halfway through its work day when the lights went out. Kamar de los Reyes (Antonio) was in the middle of a dramatic scene involving Keri.

Catherine Hickland (Lindsay) was working at her Cat Cosmetics store on the East Side that afternoon and hoofed it home to the West Side through Central Park – wearing heels. When she got to her building she decided to take a break before climbing up the 12 flights of stairs; she helped a nearby restaurant set up tables they were anxious to get rid of their food) and had a bite to eat.

Linda Dano (Rae) was most worried about her mother, Evelyn, who could not walk down from her seventh floor apartment. A close family friend ended up carrying her down, and Linda, her husband Frank and Evelyn drove up to their house in Connecticut, which had power.

Power returned at the studio on Friday, but the warehouse where the sets are stored was dark. Taping resumed, but only 20 out of 40 scenes were taped because they could only use the sets that were up on Thursday.