Deidre Hall, Leslie Smith, Marla Maples and J.R. Martinez

Deidre Hall, All My Children's J.R. Martinez and  Dr. Phil McGraw were just a few of celebrities who came out for Iraq Star 2009 "A Night of Honour", a benefit to raise money for surgeries that help veterans "gain back their pre-war lives, to assist them in holding their heads high, and help them return to their homes and careers." For more information on the benefit and how you can support our veterans visit Iraq Star. View more photos from the benefit after the jump. READ MORE

Memo to Days of Our Lives' publicity team. Put a muzzle on your figure head. Althought DAYS has been getting better these last few months— thanks, we hear, to the vision of  co-excutive producer Gary Tomlin, along with co-head writer Chris Whitesell's ability to make up for Dena Hackley's shortcomings—every single time Corday opens his yap to insult his own show's fans it only confirms what a complete and utter tool Corday really is. Here's what the Soap Opera Slayer had to say to disgruntled fans of the two most popular couples in DAYS history— John and Marlena and Patch and Kayla— in this week's Soap Opera Digest:

"For the ardent John and Marlena and Patch and Kayla fans, great, you can still see them at their luncheons,. That was then, this is now." READ MORE

You know the saying, "You learn something new every day"? Well, I learned something new today reading Seriously? OMG! WTF?. I would have never known that Heroes star Jack Coleman (Noah Bennet aka HRG) was Jake "The Salem Strangler" Kositchek on Days of Our Lives.  Isn't it ironic that he went from being a strangler to hunting down Sylar on Heroes? Watching this clip really made me wish for better days on Days of Our Lives. Hopefully some day thing will improve.

Anna Stuart

Deidre Hall

Jane Elliot

Linda Dano

Victoria Wyndham

Someone Else (Put in comments)

Days of Our Lives fired Thaao Penghlis, Stephen Nichols and Mary Beth Evans and the unexpected news brought Luke, Mike, Jamey and Jillian together for a second Days of Our Lives emergency episode in the past six months.

They discuss the impact the firings of these veteran actors will have on the show. They talk about what this means for the remaining actors over forty still on the show and speculate who Ken Corday might axe next. They answer a reader's question of which is worse, to watch vets like Nichols and Evans get fired and keep the Days of Our Lives sets or have the show end up with a production model like Guiding Light. Luke asks if these latest firings could all be apart of Corday's scheme to get Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn back later in the year. Mike, Jamey and Jillian weigh in on if they think it is a realist possibility.

Fans of Patch and Kayla call in with their reaction to the surprising firings and vent their frustrations at the decisions by NBC, Corday, Dena Higley and the other executives at the show.

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Deidre Hall on November 20, 2008

Mary Beth Evans on February 03, 2009

Rumors of Tony DiMera's demise (Or is it Andre?) appear to be true. TV Guide Canada's Nelson Branco revealed in his Suds Report that Thaao Penghlis has indeed been fired.

Ratings stunt alert: The Suds Report has exclusively learned from high-level DAYS producers that one half of the Anna-Tony super-couple pairing will die in a  major murder mystery in March. The Suds Report can confirm that Thaao Penghlis (Tony) has been fired. So where does that leave Leann Hunley (Anna)?

In other Days scoop from Suds, Branco reveals shocking details concerning why Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn were allegedly fired from the NBC sudser. READ MORE

From somewhere adrift on Cameron Mathison's Love Boat, TV Guide Canada's Nelson Branco filed his latest Nelson Ratings, where he took Ken "The Soap Opera Slayer" Corday and the rest of his den of vipers to task for their shoddy treatment of exiting daytime legends Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn during their final air show as Days of Our Lives' top couple John and Marlena.

Here's what the ever-bashful Canadian had to say: READ MORE

I'm saving my thoughts about John (Drake Hogestyn) and Marlena (Deidre Hall)'s tired ass exit from Days of Our Lives for the next CBS/Days Podcast, but here's what Entertainment Weekly.com's always entertaining Nicholas Fonseca had to say about it:
 

Days’ sendoff for the pair was a rush job, a pathetic train wreck that all but wrapped up a year-long storyline in about 20 minutes, but I can’t say I was surprised. The series has always treated its departing cast members with astonishing flippancy, and we longtime fans have come to expect this sort of masochistic abuse each and every time. I’m especially peeved that the Days brass couldn’t even figure out a way to give Hall and costar Alison Sweeney—who has arguably been Hall’s strongest, most effective scene partner since her arrival in 1993—one final scene. What a disgrace. "

It oughta be against the law for Dena Higley to write out so much as a shopping list.

 

Her shoddy treatment by long time boss and "friend" Ken Corday is the last thing on Deidre Hall's mind tonight. Days of Our Lives' soon-to-be-ex- Marlena is partying it up in our Nation's capital as one of the Distinguished Guests at the Inaugural Purple Ball. Hall, who was a vocal supporter of President Barack Obama (Damn that has a nice ring to it!) during his campaign, finds herself in the company of Hill Harper, Lisa Marie Presley, John Cusack, Terrence Howard, Djimon Hounsou, The Honorable Steve Westly, Herbie Hancock, David Alan Grier, Clifton Powell, Angela Bassett, and The Honorable Senator Leticia Van de Putte among others tonight. She is also reported to be the event's guest speaker. I guess Molly Burnett had a prior committment. Thanks Joe for the tip!