Beth Chamberlin (ex-Beth, GL)

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THE 411

Originally from Danville, Vermont, Beth Chamberlin grew up with her three brothers. She got her first taste of acting while living in Vermont, but ballet soon became her great interest. Chamberlin's love of ballet led her to enroll at New York University to study dance, but she later changed her focus to acting. She appeared in numerous plays, including The Taming of the Shrew, Godspell, The Effect of Gamma Rays, Flowers for Algernon, and You Can’t Take it With You.

Chamberlin joined GUIDING LIGHT and took over the role of Beth Raines in 1989. She left GL in 1991, only to come back six years later after returning to school to study psychology.

Devastated by the sudden death of her father in 1999, Chamberlin struggled to come to terms with her loss and contemplated leaving GL when her contract ended that year. Claire Labine, then-head writer of the show, convinced her to re-sign. In 2001 she briefly assumed the role of Lorelei Hills, one of Beth’s alter-egos.

When not acting on GL, Chamberlin often helps with charities and takes part in volunteer work. She frequently works with groups that combat ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease"), raising money and awareness for those organizations. She is a board member of the Curtis R. Vance Foundation, a group that raises money for research and helps support ALS sufferers and their families.

Chamberlin and Peter Roy married in 1994 and welcomed their son, Luke, in May of 2005. They currently live in Rockland County, New York. In her free time, Chamberlin enjoys writing, antiquing and working as a ski instructor with her husband.

Michael Park (Jack, ATWT)

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Michael Park was a "rambunctious" child who grew up with a brother and two sisters in Canandaigua, NY. He attended Nazareth College in Rochester, NY, with the goal of being an architect, until his girlfriend (and future wife) Laurie persuaded him to try out for musical-theater roles, and he began to pursue acting as a profession. After doing local theater and a national tour, he moved to New York City, where he worked steadily in theater. When the quirky prime-time soap 13 BOURBON ST., in which he was to star, wasn't picked up in 1997, he joined AS THE WORLD TURNS as brooding former FBI agent Jack Snyder. Immediately embraced by co-stars, he also enjoyed instant popularity with fans, even more so after his character was paired with Maura West's Carly. Now firmly established on the show, Park is known for his rousing performances of everyone from Elvis to Barry Manilow at fan events, and counts several of his castmates among his closest friends, who have taken to joking about his continued and notorious insecurity. "He's probably the hardest-working person in the building, and he's so critical of himself. To see somebody suffer like that sometimes can be very funny," Martha Byrne (Lily) has said. "It's a horrible thing to say, but you can only tell him 1,000 times how wonderful he is."

Park and Laurie live with their children in upstate New York. In his free time, Park enjoys playing golf, often with co-star Jon Hensley (Holden) and Byrne's husband, Michael McMahon. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actorin 2001.

Kim Zimmer (ex-Reva, GL)

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Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Kim Zimmerstudied acting at nearby Hope College and continued her training at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Zimmer began her long career in daytime television playing a terrorist on ONE LIFE TO LIVE and also made pit stops on THE DOCTORS, where she met and fell in love with husband A.C. Weary, and SANTA BARBARA during her long daytime career. Zimmer remains most recognized for her role as GUIDING LIGHT's Reva Shayne, which she created in 1983. At GL, Zimmer has taken center stage during some of the most outlandish plots in daytime history, including Reva’s Amish country adventures and a stint as her own clone.

After leaving GL in 1990, Zimmer landed guest spots on shows such as SEINFELD,BABYLON 5, and UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, as well as appearing in many movies-of-the-week. She returned to GL in 1995 and has remained there ever since. “In L.A. it was like, ‘Take your number at the door,’ and if you had blue eyes and you had the right look, then that was great, but if you didn’t you were out of luck! I got tired of it, and the jobs I got into were from people who knew my work because I’m a terrible uditioner,” Zimmer confided to Soap Opera Weekly.

Zimmer enjoys many sports, and was once a professional diver. She especially likes biking, skiing, Rollerblading, golf and playing tennis. But Zimmer’s first priority is her three children with Weary. “I have to go on record as saying my children are the best children in the world,” she once boasted to Soap Opera Digest.

Justin Deas (ex-Buzz, GL)

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The 411

Considered one of daytime's finest actors (if six Emmy wins are any indication), as well one of the most press shy, Justin Deas has carved a notable career in the medium since his debut on RYAN'S HOPE as Dr. Bucky Carter in 1975. Deas also played Keith Timmons on SANTA BARBARA from 1986-'88 and was the 10th Tom Hughes on AS THE WORLD TURNS from 1981-'84.

Between daytime gigs, Deas has appeared in several films, both theatrical and made-for-TV, as well as stage work — Broadway, off-broadway and regional.

Deas was born in Connellsville, PA, but due to his father's travels, lived in such diverse places as Mexico City and Tehran, Iran. He got his undergraduate degree at The College of William and Mary and then studied drama under John Houseman at Juilliard. (Other Houseman students of note include Kevin Kline, Robin Williams,Christopher Reeve and ATWT's Benjamin Hendrickson (ex-Hal).) Financial limits forced Deas to leave Juilliard and pursue his acting career immediately.

The most Emmy-winning actor in daytime history, Deas portrayal of GUIDING LIGHT's Buzz resulted in two Outstanding Lead Actor (1995, '97) statues as well as the Supporting Actor honor in 1994. His gig as SB's Keith brought in a pair of Supporting Actor Emmys in '89 and '88 as well as a nomination in '87. He also won a Supporting Emmy for playing ATWT's Tom in '84, as well as a nomination for the same role in '81. He's won two Soap Opera Digest Awards: in 1994 for Supporting Actor (GL) and in 1988 for Outstanding Villain (SB). He was nominated as Outstanding Male Scene Stealer in 1995 for GL and also nominated as Outstanding Villain for SB in 1984.

Orlagh Cassidy (ex-Doris, GL)

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Orlagh Cassidy developed a knack for speaking in dialects at a young age, which the Washington, D.C. native attributes to her Irish roots. She attended the acting conservatory at State University of New York (in Purchase) and immediately fell in love with the theater. She has taken on several regional and off-Broadway roles throughout her career and continues to lend her voice to commercials andaudio book recordings. 

In 1992, Cassidy portrayed saucy interloper Sloane Wallace on ANOTHER WORLD. When the year-long stint ended, Cassidy returned to the theater and focused on other television projects. Then in 1998, she joined the cast of GUIDING LIGHT as Springfield attorney Doris Wolfe. Doris largely remained on the back-burner until January 2007, when she wed Alan Spaulding. Known for her ruthless and unconventional approach to motherhood, Doris has gained considerable popularity among GL fans in the past year and was recently appointed the mayor of Springfield.

Scott Bryce (ex-Craig, ATWT)

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THE 411

Scott Bryce's showbiz lineage spans at least four generations — he's the great-grandson of a circus juggler, the grandson of a vaudeville talent manager and the son of the late actor (ex-Bill, GL et al) and director Ed Bryce, who met and married Bryce's mom, Dorothy, while doing summer stock theater. Raised in a New York City suburb with two brothers, David and Phillip, Bryce found his calling fairly early. "It's in the blood; you just have to do it," he told Digest in 1985. "By the time I got to high school, I knew I wanted to be an actor." His father's name opened a few doors to jobs on both stage and screen, and by the time he was 24, he landed the role of Craig Montgomery, ATWT's deceptively clean-cut, All-American villain. Bryce managed to wrench surprising sympathy for his devil, but it was a taxing role that wore heavily on the intense, wryly funny young actor; he endured hate mail and the occasional death threat, but was nevertheless beloved by fans for his complex portrayal. Burned out after five years in the soap grind, Bryce left for the first time to travel to those parts of the world where he wasn't known for WORLD TURNS and then try his luck in L.A. Over the years, he worked steadily in film, television and theater, returning for two more short stints as his scheming Oakdale alter ego. Craig was finally recast in 2000 (first with Hunt Block, then Jeff Meek in 2006), while Bryce was working as a regular on the critically acclaimed WB show POPULAR. Seven years later, he returned to reclaim the role he originated. 

Bryce is married to Broadway actress Jodi Stevens. They have a son, Jackson.

Daniel Cosgrove (Scott, AMC)

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Born the third of seven children, Daniel Cosgrovedid not catch the acting bug until he was an adult. Painfully shy as a child and adolescent, Cosgrove excelled at sports, not public speaking, at his all-boys Catholic high school. He spent three semesters at a small Catholic college before taking time off. During that break, he became a bailiff at a local court. He soon realized that he wanted to try his hand at acting, so he began commuting to New York for weekly acting classes while working in the court system during the day.

He dabbled in modeling, but quickly got out of that business. He relocated to New York and within six months got his first big break: a role on ALL MY CHILDREN. After two years on the soap, he moved on to BEVERLY HILLS, 90210, where he also remained for two years. From 2000-2002, Cosgrove appeared in numerous flicks, including They Crawl, Van Wilder and TV movie SATAN'S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, as well as the TV series ALL SOULS. In the summer of 2002, he landed the role of Bill on GUIDING LIGHT.

Cosgrove met his future wife Marie in the mid-90s when he was a waiter and she was a hostess at a Manhattan eatery. Two years later, — and less than a month after his snagged his AMC gig — Cosgrove proposed right before attending the ABC Christmasparty.

After being written off to Venezuela on Lewis Oil business in 2005, Cosgrove brought an edgier, more devious Bill back to Springfield in November 2007. He left GL again in 2009 when the series was cancelled. Shortly thereafter he was picked up by AS THE WORLD TURNS to reprise the role of Chris Hughes. He debuted in March 2010 and last aired when the show went off the air in September 2010.

Cosgrove then decided to go to Pine Valley as the new Scott Chandler on AMC in late 2010.

More bios to come in the near future!!