| SUPERCOUPLE MEMORY LANE |
 ...With Wally Kurth (ex-Justin) and Judi Evans Luciano (ex-Adrienne)The Ultimate DAYS Fan Guide (SOD Special) Spring 2003 Take one boy to the manor born, and one girl to the trailer born. Put them together and what have you got? Well, when that combination was tried with Justin Kiriakis and Adrienne Johnson back in 1987, the result was the birth of yet another wildly popular couple in Salem's lot. Here, the portrayers of those unforgettable lovebirds, Wally Kurth (now GENERAL HOSPITAL's Ned) and Judi Evans Luciano, recount their memories of Justin and Adrienne, from the couple's big, fat Greek wedding to their fairy-tale DAYS gone bye-bye. What were your first impressions of one another? Wally Kurth: She's a free spirit and an original. She had a laugh that was loud and infectious and a sense of humor that's bawdy. I'm from Montana, so she just charmed me, because I had never really seen a woman like that before. And then, when I got to work with her, I was overwhelmed by her emotional depth and her talents. You got this wild, wacky personality and then this really genuine, honest, profound, emotional well that was sort of hidden behind that. Judi Evans Luciano: I met Wally when he was testing. He was so sweet, very talented and genuine--and he still is. Did you click immediately? Kurth: I did. We obviously did click because we ended up working together for, like, four years. They never broke us up. When I first went on the show, I don't think we were intended for each other. But then they went for that rich boy falling for the girl from the other side of the tracks. Luciano: There was an immediate click because he is such an easygoing kind of guy and I am kind of easygoing, too, so it was like a comfort click that just grew with time. Did you have any idea that this couple would take off like it did? Kurth: It was all so new to me. I just bit into it. When Al Rabin, the executive producer, said to me, "Wally, when you see her, you fall in love with her; she is the love of your life," I took him at his word. I remember this scene where she was really devastated. She was recoiling from this incredible emotional experience she had with her father, who I think attacked her. She was very upset, sitting in the park. I saw her and I walked up to her and handed her a handkerchief. From then on, I just played this, "No matter what, I love you." That was it. Our love was going to get through anything, and that's how we played it. Luciano: No. I wasn't in the habit of thinking in those terms, so I was pleasantly surprised, but I didn't expect it. At what point did you realize that the couple was a hit? Kurth: It really sort of kicked butt, right from the beginning. When we got on the cover of Soap Opera Digest and our wedding was a big deal.... They took us to Greece. I figured, "They wouldn't have flown us to Greece if they didn't think we were much of a couple." That's when I got the idea of, "Hey, I guess we're kind of a popular couple--all right [laughs]." Luciano: Yeah, we were at the Greek theater and it was filled to capacity with DAYS people, and they were yelling, "Justin! Adrienne!" And it was like, "Oh, I think we're a couple [laughs]." Did your life change as a result of becoming so popular? Kurth: Yeah. I remember the first time I went to San Francisco after I was on DAYS and I was walking down the street and everyone was sort of looking at me. I couldn't believe how many people recognized me. I never bought into it like, "Hey, I'm somebody special." I had never really thought about it, so that was the first time I was aware that they knew my face. Luciano: No, I don't think so. At least, I hope not. It's nice and great, and no doubt it's fabulous to meet people and have them appreciate the work you do. Any favorite storylines? Kurth: I think that first year was pretty magical ... when we were [courting] and she was trying to reconcile her past and avail herself to be loved by a man and feel safe with that. And him trying to assure her that he would be there for her and she could trust him. I thought it was very well-played and well-told. Luciano: The whole Greece thing was pretty cool, just because of the location and the wedding. I think the romance went along a little too quickly, but it was very, very romantic and the remote in Greece was really breathtaking. The whole church wedding here in Los Angeles was another "wow" kind of thing.
Kurth: Greece was pretty spectacular. I'd never done outside locations. So, it was nice to be able to get out on a cliff and have those exteriors that were the real thing. We actually had a Greek Orthodox priest marry us; I found out later that he was a new priest. And he actually did the ceremony completely accurately. I found out much later from a friend who was in the Greek seminary at the time and was working for the bishops ... he overheard the bishop going, "You really married these two people! They are technically married in the eyes of the Greek church!" He got in trouble. [DAYS] gave him a script, and he was saying, "This is how it's supposed to be done." Well, he did it to such an extent that we really were married. That was my first marriage! Luciano: No, really? Oh, my God! But I wasn't Judi, I was Adrienne, so Justin and Adrienne are really married. That is funny. I like that. How scary; can you imagine? "I want the guitar and you'll be hearing from my attorney." That's classic. Aside from your "marriage," any special memories? Luciano: Oh, gosh, there are so many. There was a scene we did; they used a grave site for [Justin's] parents and [Wally] was so incredibly wonderful. His character hadn't been back to visit his parents' grave in years and years, and he was so amazing in those scenes. I loved watching him. It was touching and very simple, but full. And it was a beautiful day, the wind was whipping our clothes around, the sun was shining; just a real movie moment. Were you friends off-set? Kurth: Yeah, we were. She was in a relationship and I was in a relationship, so it wasn't like we hung out as single buddies. No one really hung out all that much outside of the set. I think it was because we spent so much time on the set. But yeah, Judi and I were friends. Luciano: Oh, yeah. We had a lot of fun. We cracked each other up a lot. We hung out sometimes--not a whole lot, but we did. We had mutual friends and we would go to their parties and goof off. We were really close. Do fans ever recognize you from your DAYS days? Kurth: Yeah, they do. Every place I go, it's still pretty much half and half. Luciano: Recently, quite a lot. It goes in phases. I'll go through the GUIDING LIGHT phase where every time I turn around, it's GUIDING LIGHT [she played Beth]. Then the DAYS OF OUR LIVES phase, which sometimes goes with the ANOTHER WORLD phase [where she played Paulina]. It seems to depend on what side of the country I'm on. The DAYS state is definitely California. ANOTHER WORLD was a Southern state and GUIDING LIGHT was more in the Midwest and Northeast. Did you leave independently of one another? Kurth: She left and ... I had another year on my contract. When she left, the producer took me in and said, "We're thinking about resting your character." I looked at him like, "You're firing me [laughs]? Call it whatever you like, you're not asking me to come back tomorrow?" I was really upset. But they ran out of ideas for us after, like, the second year. So, yeah, at the time, I would have liked to stay because I thought, "Here's an opportunity to have me work with a different actress," and re-invigorate the character. But she left and I left with her. It worked out great. Six months later, I got on GENERAL HOSPITAL. Luciano: I really did want to stay, but my first marriage [was in trouble] and it had only gone down from there. And I always put family first, so I felt like I had made this commitment and I should really follow through and try to fix it. Anyway, that's why I was leaving and Wally knew. I did want to stay on the show. I loved working on DAYS. I could have been there forever. But I felt like this should be a priority. And it did turn out great. I got divorced, and I got a job [on AW]. I met this terrific guy and now we have a terrific kid. It worked out for the best, but I really wanted to stay. Who knows what would have happened? If you could go back and change anything, would you? Luciano: Well, yeah, I wouldn't have left. I would have been smart enough to terminate my marriage and stayed on DAYS and stayed in California. Did you keep in touch after you left? Kurth: No, because she went to [the East Coast]. I bumped into her a couple of times when I was in New York. Whenever I would go back there for the Emmys, I would give her a call and say hi. But I'm not very good about stuff like that. I could be better. And I'm very fond of Judi. Luciano: I packed up and moved to New Jersey where [my then-husband] was. Wally and I later kept in touch for a while. We kind of lost touch over the last couple of years, ever since our kids came along. I hope he still knows I just adore him and think he's the greatest. Is there one DAYS memory that stands out in your mind? Kurth: Um ... my big hair? I had that total '80s hair; totally just blow-dried out. I don't think Judi's hair was even that big. Luciano: Probably all the times I was such a klutz. I was always falling and sliding across the floor. I had a big white coat at the time, and once, I was supposed to burst through a door. Outside, it was supposed to be raining, and when they do a rain scene, they put this trash bag plastic down and make a little lip. Then they have the water spraying down, but it doesn't go out through the studio and get the whole studio wet. So, I was in high heels and this big white coat and I come running up to the door and I just started slipping on the plastic. My body hit the door. It flew open and I went belly first sliding across the floor. It looked like Frosty the Snowman when Frosty goes sliding down that hill. I couldn't stop laughing for a half-an-hour. Why do you think people responded so strongly to this couple? Kurth: I think it was just out and out the sweet romance. When he asked her to marry him, I think he had a fireworks display. I remember that he would give up anything for her. He was Mr. Romantic. Just taking her out on little moonlight boat rides and picnics and puppies. It was all about her. I don't think there's a woman in America who wouldn't want a man to make it all about them. I had friends back in Billings, Montana who told me, "Wally, you're ruining my marriage. My wife thinks that I have to be this romantic and I should be doing all of the things you're doing." Luciano: It was such a fairy-tale romance--poor girl who was emotionally and sexually abused, and there was Prince Charming to lift her up and take her away from all of that. Calgon, man! A real Cinderella/Prince Charming story. I still believe in those. No matter what people in the business may say, people love to see fairy tales and happy endings. # |
Do you have any special memories from the location shoot in Greece?