Soap Opera Weekly
December 30, 1997
Arty Party

Two momentous occasions occurred simultaneously one recent night in New York: the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, and the launching of the Museum of Television and Radio mixed-media exhibition "Worlds Without End: The Art and History of the Soap Opera," running through March 29. This exhibition, and the must-have companion book of the same title published by Harry N. Abrams Inc., are an official elevation of soaps to the rank of art -- an estimation already held by many of those who watch and labor at them.

So there was a certain air of pride and vindication among the guests at the opening cocktail party, where one of the most fun activities, besides munching mini-potato pancakes with caviar, was perusing the wedding gown display. "The wedding ceremony is one of the signature elements of the soap opera," read a wall placard. "It's the glorious event that invites fantasy and romance to walk hand-in-hand down the aisle." Nine shows were represented, and the standout among all the finery was the gown worn by Another World's Vicky for her 1993 marriage to Grant. Satin with silver, gold and pearl beading topped with a cream and gold brocaded hooded cape, the gown designed by Charles Schoonmaker and Margarita Delgado, the team that has since moved to All My Children.

In her third soap role, Hillary B. Smith (Nora, One Life to Live) finally got to have an on-air wedding. I thought she was recreating their simulated excitement at having Little Richard for a preacher, but Hillary had actually spied someone over her shoulder. "You did it! Oh, my god, it's fabulous!" She was talking to Catherine Hickland (Tess Wilder, The City/Loving), newly shorn of her trademark long, blond locks. "I did it the day before yesterday in Los Angeles, just on a whim," Catherine told us. "I've been talking about it for a year, but I never believed I'd do it and neither did my husband (Michael E. Knight; Tad, All My Children)."

Catherine said she'd been inspired while having lunch with Barbara Crampton (Maggie, The Bold and the Beautiful) "It's all her fault, because she and I have always had the same long, hanging hair, and now she has real short hair, and it looks really great. So she goaded me into it. It was cut by Laurent at Privé He's a true artist; he cuts Gwyneth Paltrow -- any great haircut you see on a person on the screen is pretty much his. Barbara went with me, and then afterward Laurent bought us martinis.

"I love it!" Hillary exclaimed. "You can even go shorter."

"I can't go shorter," Catherine demurred. "My husband wants hair on the pillow." Unfortunately, she forgot at the salon a 14-inch hank of hair she'd wanted to save (which might have come in handy for the above purpose). Though mock-mourning that "the bombshell is gone," Catherine's really psyched about her new look. "I feel like a different person. I was so tied into that hair --it was my identity. Now that I've gotten rid of it, I feel that I can move into another phase of my life, something more exciting. I don't know," she said, shrugging, "it's like a head trip." Literally. "But I'm into it."