1980s TV Shows: A Trip Down Memory Lane with… John Bolger (Phillip Spaulding in “Guiding Light”)

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen

“Guiding Light” was a daytime soap opera which was aired from 1952 to 2009 for 57 years, making it the longest-running show on American TV. There were 72 seasons (radio and TV) and 18,262 episodes. The show was about several families: The Bauers, The Spauldings, The Norrises/Thorpes, The Marlers, The Reardons, The Richards/Staffords, The Chamberlains, The Lewises/Shaynes/Sampsons, The Raines and The Coopers. John Bolger played Phillip Spaulding from 1985 to 1986.

KB: “Guiding Light”: What was the show about?

“Guiding Light” was about family and loyalty and the unending combinations of calamity, conflicts, joys, and sorrows that visit us all on our journey through life. Both our imagined life and our real life. I learned constantly from that wonderful cast, particularly from Beverly McKinsey, who played my aunt, about hard work, persistence, kindness, and the saving grace of always keeping your sense of humor close at hand.

KB: How did you get the part as Phillip Spaulding?

I auditioned for the casting director Betty Rae. She then had me read for the producers who then set up a screen test with Mary Kaye Adam’s who played India.

KB: What did you like about the character and how do you make it your own?

I liked Phillip’s confidence, but also his good heart, which was often in conflict with his family’s plans about who he should become, and how he should conduct his life.

KB: How did a week on the set look like from getting the script to filming?

A week on set was a parade of sweet confusion, hard work, frustration, and long hours filled with creative collaboration and ridiculous bursts of gleeful laughter. And then more work. It was wonderful play.

KB: Where was the show filmed?

In a studio on West 26th street, between 7th and 8th Ave in NYC.

KB: Phillip Spaulding has been played by 3 different actors including yourself. Is it more difficult to play such a character as the viewers see 3 different faces?

No. I think you simply have to acknowledge and respect who has come before you, learn from their contribution, and then create your own version of the character. Find a way to let him live in and through you. And simply play.

KB: Are you still in touch with actors from the show?

I am still in touch with Michael O`Leary who played Rick.

KB: Do you have a favorite episode on the whole show and why this one?

I believe in 1986 the director Matthew Diamond, who was also a choreographer, suggested that Kim Zimmer, who played Reva, and I should inexplicably break into a show stopping version of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary”. I am neither a singer nor a dancer, but it was the most insanely ridiculously off the wall fun episode of my time on that show.

KB: Looking back now would you have played Phillip differently?

No. You have to work with what you have in the moment. Trust yourself and your fellow actors and just jump.

KB: Why do you think “Guiding Light” is still so beloved even after it ended in 2009 after being on TV for 55 years?

“Guiding Light” was like a dear and trusted friend you come to know and love over time shared and a life lived together. Time builds a deep and lasting emotional bond.

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