MARY BETH EVANS’BIOGRAPHY

(The following biographies are in narrative form and are based on previously published articles issued by Mary Beth and Stephen's fan clubs some years ago. They are updated with apologies to our two honorees.)

......Having it all...’something that’s hard to do in this day and age, but Mary Beth Evans, currently in the recurring role of “Sierra,” on the CBS drama, AS THE WORLD TURNS, seems to manage this difficult feat with ease. In May, 1986, when she joined the popular daytime show, DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Mary Beth’s fans and critics alike applauded her ability to bring spunk and vulneraility to her portrayal of Kayla. Her years on that show were matched with several years as Best Actress in fan polls, proof positive that Mary Beth definitely left an indelible stamp on the character of Kayla Brady Johnson. As a further tribute to her abilities, she played a completely different character on ABC’s top-rated daytime drama, GENERAL HOSPITAL. As Katherine Bell, Mary Beth portrayed a more negative, emotional, vengeful role. She was such a success at this turn around that in 1996 GENERAL HOSPITAL fans chose her as the show’s Best Supporting Actress.

A native Californian born in Pasadena on March 7th, and raised in Huntington Beach, California, Mary Beth knew from an early age that she wanted to be an actress. As the youngest of four children, she spent many hours dressing up and coercing her siblings into performing shadow skits and plays for family and neighbors. As a fair-haired child, Mary Beth had varied interests, including ice skating, tap dancing and surfing (a self-described “beach girl”), but her first love was always acting. At age 5, an astrologer told Mary Beth’s mother that she would be an actress, and her 4th grade class voted her the Best Actress. At the age of 13, Mary Beth joined the prestigious South Coast Repertory Theatre’s Young People’s Conservatory. At 14, Mary Beth lied about her age to get a job at Taco Bell to pay for her acting lessons and continued her studies at the Conservatory through high school, immersing herself in classes and performing in many plays. After graduation from Huntington Beach High School, Mary Beth took a well-deserved break; and after working two jobs for six months, she and her best friend spent four months traveling throughout Europe. ‘I know there will never be a time in my life like that again,’ Mary Beth has reflected. ‘No worries, no responsibilities. And what an education!’

Upon her return to the States, she resumed her studies at the South Coast Repertory Theatre, and while appearing in the play, HOTEL PARADISO, met a handsome medical student, Michael Schwartz. They fell in love, and with her usual impulsiveness, packed her things and moved to Chicago where Michael was in his final year of medical school. Keeping busy in the Windy City with commercial work and the occasional waitress job, needless to say, Mary Beth was thrilled to return to sunny California, where her acting career was just starting to take off. During her perform-ance in the play, “All in Favour Say No” at South Coast Rep., Mary Beth caught the attention of a casting agent, and it wasn’t long before she was guest starring on such televison shows as “Father Murphy, Remington Steele, Knight Rider, Crime and Punishment, and Madame’s Place.” One year starring as Dakota Lane on the prime-time soap, “Rituals,” led to the role of Piper Rogers, lead singer in an all-girl band in Tri-Star’s LOVELINES. Other films include TOY SOLDIERS and SECRETS OF A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER.

Shortly after completing LOVELINES, Michael proposed. Proving that a doctor can have a flair for the dramatic, Michael dressed up as a knight-in-shining-armor in order to win the hand of his fair maiden! They were married in 1985, and have lived quite happily since in Pasadena, California. The birth of three children, Danny, Katie and Matthew has completed their family picture as Mary Beth also takes time for cooking, decorating, entertaining, gardening and crafts.

In 1986, Mary Beth took the role of Kayla Brady-Johnson, beginning her first pairing with Stephen Nichols which lasted until 1992.

In mid-1988, DAYS OF OUR LIVES introduced a storyline involving Mary Beth’s character that became very special to the actress as well as the show’s fans. B ringing a young, deaf boy on, DAYS OF OUR LIVES directed a lot of attention to the world of the hearing impaired. Mary Beth learned sign language in order to communicate with the boy, and this in turn developed an interest for her in helping the speech and hearing impaired. Mary Beth has helped to raise thousands of dollars for this worthy cause. She is now heavily involved with the Rancho Viejo School, including the Aliso Academy, founded by her sister, Debbie, which includes such children as integrated student.

Upon completing her role as Kayla, Mary Beth took some time off to be with her family, and to do some decorating and gardening at her beautiful home. Mary Beth briefly served as a spokesperson for Slim Fast. She starred in the play, “All This and Moonlight” in Beverly Hills while on this hiatus, as well as appearing on the popular television series, MURDER SHE WROTE. She then accepted her role as the complicated, driven, competitive, yet kind Katherine Bell on GENERAL HOSPITAL. During this same time period she has twice played the role of Melissa Gardner opposite Stephen Nichols in LOVE LETTERS. In 2000, Mary Beth assumed the role of “Sierra” on AS THE WORLD TURNS, a character who is a mother, freedom-fighter, and leader of a country, different from her previous daytime roles. Mary Beth’s portrayal has brought excellent reviews by fans and producers alike. In 2004 Mary Beth starred as the fatale, "Leslie Detailer" ("An actress and social swell") in the dective spoof play. THE TWISTED SNARL, at the Fremont theater. She was directed in the performance by James Reynolds, her cast member from Days of Our Lives.

Throughout her professional career, she has been a favorite co-worker of her fellow performers.

There is no doubt that Mary Beth Evans has fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming an actress while maintaining a happy home life...her perseverence, positive attitude, sense of humor, and hard work have paid off, and she enjoys success in all in all her roles: wife, mother, actress.”

STEPHEN NICHOLS’ BIOGRAPHY

(The following biography is in narrative form and are based on previously published articles issued by Mary Beth and Stephen's fan clubs some years ago. They are updated with apologies to our two honorees.)

Stephen was born on a cold night at Christ’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, February 19, at 5:43 p.m. He spent his first eight years there, mostly on Bramble Avenue. He remembers long summer nights spent playing kick-the-can and hide-and-go-seek and United Dairy Farmer’s chocolate chip ice cream is, in his memory, still unsurpassed. He also learned to keep one eye on the baseball and the other on the ground for fear of slipping on the dog- doo which seemed to be in everyone’s backyard. He remembers glistening, winter wonderland nights observed by him from the back of a sled pulled by his Grandpa. Stephen and his Grandpa were great friends and he has many fond memories of their fishing trips together. On Saturday nights they always had hamburgers and french fries on TV trays placed in front of their favorite TV shows. These were all of the musical variety type, including Lawrence Welk. It was there that Stephen’s desire to perform was taking shape. When he watched, he became his favorite actors and musicians. His imagination ran so wild sometimes that his ice cream would melt before he could take his eyes off of the set to eat it. It was okay though---he enjoyed eating it like soup anyway.

Stephen’s own father, Tim Nichols, was a brilliant jazz pianist. Although Stephen never knew him growing up, Stephen sought him out in his mid-twenties. It was that meeting which is the basis for a screenplay that Stephen is writing. Stephen’s father died in 1983 from the disease of alcoholism at age 53.

When Stephen was eight, his mother remarried and his sister Penny (who is 1 1/2 years older) and he moved to Dayton, Ohio, with Mike Zunis, his stepdad. They started out in a small apartment; but this was all right with Stephen since it was a block from the little league baseball park. He remembers that he became obsessed with baseball and for the next four summers, he was the world’s greatest baseball player---well, he imagined he was anyway.

In his first year in Dayton, Stephen’s brother, Zach Zunis, was born. Although Stephen and his dear sister Penny were always inseparable, now the idea of being a big brother de manded all his attention. He vividly remembers the very first time he set eyes on Zachary; he looked like a very sweet little turtle. When Zach was four, the family moved into a brand new house in the suburbs. It was one of the first to go up on his street, so there was always something to do outside in the empty lots. Stephen got some good grades, and some not so good grades in school. His best subjects were Art, English, and Literature. At Meadow dale High School, he excelled in Art and liked to sculpt. He received a scholarship to Ohio State University but didn’t pursue it.

Instead he came to Los Angeles to pursue something else. At the time he had no idea what he was looking for---until he found acting. Before that happened though, he was studying to be a monk for three years. He worked as a cook in a monastery at the Self- Realization Fellowship and made meals for monastics. That life was wonderful and taught him everything that is important to him in life (and in acting): concentration, self-control, and doing the work with a spirit of giving.

He auditioned for the Los Angeles City College Theatre Academy and was accepted; there he learned his craft and found his niche. From there, he went on to perform in plays, television and films. Among those were the movie CHOICES, with Demi Moore; and in the popular, cult horror film, WITCH-BOARD.

Television projects at the time, included appearances on ‘Crazy Like a Fox and T. J. Hooker.

Stage roles have included an award-winning performance as a cat burglar turned killer in ‘Pieces of Time’ at the Los Angeles theatre in which he played real-life, Donald Bashor which garnered Stephen a Drama-Logue, LA Critics and the LA Weekly awards; the Weekly saying that “Stephen Nichols drills his way, effortlessly, yet passionately, to the heart of Bashor with every tool he needs at his disposal.......it is the actor’s craft displayed at full tilt..” Other roles have been Biff, in “Death of a Salesman’ ‘ about which critics said he did “with a shattering and inspired truth....He holds his audience...his two climactic scenes are transfixing and unforgettable.” In describing Stephen as Slutella in “Conspiracy of Feelings,” reviewers commented that he “gives an exceptionally strong, well-focused performance.” And as Jerry in “Zoo Story, published remarks included “Stephen Nichols...gives an elec- trifying, virtuoso performance. The audience is spellbound into a silence that on opening night held for long moments after the curtain fell. Then the storm of applause broke loose, a proper tribute to superb acting........Stephen Nichols...comes close to knocking the paying customers right out to their seats with a powerful performance that will be hard to forget.” He appeared in Rick Cutchey’s ‘The Cage,’ using the first company with professional actors instead of prison inmates, and in Michael Cristofer’s “The Shadow Box; as well as 6 RMS RIV VU; and “Love Letters” during its initial run at the Canon Theater.

While appearing in the play, “Delirious,” directed by the late Ron Link, he caught the eye of casting director Doris Sabbagh, of Columbia Pictures Television, a meeting which even- tually led to his being cast as ‘Patch.’ Nichols’ textured portrayal of the complex character, Steve ‘Patch’ Johnson, generated tremendous audience response and the original few months turned into a five year run. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal. He was also the recipient of five Soap Opera Digest best actor awards. It was during this period that Stephen’s Q rating (the measure of familiarity of a celebrity from a polling sample of 1,000 adult television viewers.) was measured as sec- ond only to that of Bill Cosby.

Feeling that he had taken the character of ‘Patch’ to the creative limit, Nichols felt it was time for new challenges, and left ‘Days’ in 1990. Since then he appeared on many tele- vision shows, including ‘Matlock, L A Law, Melrose Place, In the Heat of the Night, Diag- nosis Murder, The Nanny, Murder, She Wrote and Sisters’ and in the recurring role of Tommy in ‘Second Chances.’ He also portrayed Jesse James in the NBC miniseries AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS with Pierce Brosnan and Eric Idle, as well as making a cameo appearance in the movie SOAP DISH with Sally Field, Whoopi Goldberg, Kevin Kline and Robert Downey, Jr.

One of Stephen’s favorite productions was in the ‘Lizard King,’ in which he played Jim Morrison of the Doors in the last 36 hours of his life.This portrayal again won him the LA Weekly and Drama-Logue awards. The Drama-Logue observed, “......Nichols has a startling presence as the declining rock icon, boldly allowing Morrison’s disappointments and disillusion to play on his sanity...” The Los Angele Times added, “..Nichols’ heavily bearded, black T-shirted figure and his stream-of-consciousness rantings are laced with humor and never boring. Nichols is an actor absorbed by his character.....”

In 1995 Stephen appeared in leading roles in three feature films. In HEAVEN’S TEARS, he played the romantic lead. He was a transvestite serial killer in COVER ME, and an action hero in PHOENIX. He also appeared as Dr. Matty Kane, Laverne’s lover and husband on ‘Empty Nest’ during its final and seventh television season. Before joining General Hospital in July of 1996, Stephen completed several films, THE GLASS CAGE with Eric Roberts, MERCHANT OF VENUS, a comedy with Beverly D’Angelo, and CHECKMATE, an action thriller, and HARD RAIN for Showtime with John Mahoney.

From 1996 to early in 2002, Stephen captured the role of the dark, complicated, both evil and vulnerable, Stefan Cassadine on GENERAL HOSPITAL.

During that time, Stephen very successfully played the intense role of Father Sheridan in the United States premier of THE DEAD BOY by Joe Pintauro. Newspaper reflections of Stephen’s performance included, “As the man at the center of the media storm, Nichols’ priest is both earnestly tortured and dashingly television-ready. He’s photogenic and ready for a media crucifixion”....Stephen Nichols is estimable, maintaining a resolute ambiguity until his climactic breakdown....Stephen Nichols ...gives a DYNAMIC, highly emotional perform- ance........(a miraculous Stephen Nichols)....Stephen Nichols toboggans easing between the loving priest who has helped many youngsters rise out of ghetto shame and adoles cent despair, and a man with a sad secret he was foolish enough to share with the wrong person.”

In the spring of 2002, Stephen completed a starring role as “Moricet,” in George Feydeau’s French farce “Monsieur Chasse,” translated and adapted by Philip Littell as “He Hunts” with Carol Kane at the Geffen Theatre in Los Angeles.

Returning for a short time as Stefan on GENERAL HOSPITAL, Stephen carried the character through a difficult storyline with his usual professional grace and talent.

After leaving the show, Stephen began to seriously concentrate on his interest in directing, beginning with a short film, “Get the Dime,” which was shot in January, 2004, and has been shown in various film festivals across the United States. In addition, Stephen has organized an answering message for Soapfone, and is videoing a production featuring Mary Beth Evans to be available in late 2006 at soapclips.com.

In his spare time, Stephen likes carpentry, painting and parenting his three children, Vanessa, Aaron and Dylan; and lives with them and his wife, Lisa in the Los Angeles area.