When ”The Young and the Restless” executive producer Bill Bell told actress Kimberlin Brown ”there`s no way I can save your character Sheila,”
the actress recalls, ”I said, `Uh-huh.` I honestly believed I was going to be written off the show because my contract was up.”
Then, in a move worthy of horror sequels and that is a first for daytime television, Bell flip-flopped Sheila Carter-the devious, whiny baby-snatcher and manipulator extraordinaire of the good doctor Scott-into his other production ”The Bold and the Beautiful” (which airs at 12:30 p.m. weekdays on CBS-Ch. 2).
The nurse from hell has been resuscitated in Los Angeles, and Brown has made soap history by continuing with her role since May at ”B&B.”
”I`m the same Sheila,” explains Brown from her backstage dressing room at ”B&B.” ”They jumped right into my new storyline. It was nerve-racking and very scary for me because everything was completely different in shooting. It`s finally hit me how flattered I am by this whole move.”
Supposedly killed in a fiery car crash in Genoa City, Sheila showed up in L.A. with a new job and a second chance. No one at the chichi Forrester Creations knew she had stolen Lauren`s baby and pretended he was hers. Currently her sights are set on Eric Forrester, whose marriage to Brooke is in trouble.
”Sheila looks for men that are in a weak state,” Brown explains. ”I feel, and it`s strictly my personal view-the writers or producers have never said this to me-something had to have happened in my character`s childhood, my father must have left and my mother must have blamed me. She can never give herself enough credit. That`s how I prepare for this role as an actress.”
Brown was raised in San Diego. After an extended period as a tomboy, then a champion swimmer, she entered a beauty contest on a dare and was encouraged by modeling agent Nina Blanchard to move to L.A.
She started on daytime`s ”Capitol” in 1988 and joined the ”Y&R” cast in 1990. The actress has portrayed Sheila with sweet-faced innocence but with an evil that lurks inside, a duality present in daytime`s most successful villainesses.
The week Brown joined ”B&B,” the soap`s ratings shot up from No. 7 to No. 3.
”I think it`s very interesting to tune in and watch Sheila,” Brown says. ”You never know what will happen next. She`s always getting away with things. That`s part of her intrigue. People get frustrated by her. They want to see her deception end, but they are also excited when it doesn`t end.”
But having turned a small role into a memorable character, should it end? ”Well, she`s warmer now,” explains the actress. ”She`s so amazed that Eric likes her for her and she hasn`t had to drug him or anything. Still,”
she muses, ”it would have been so easy to push (Sheila`s present nemesis)
Brooke over the balcony.”
Bad habits are hard to break. Admits Brown, ”Only the writers know for sure” whether the naughty nurse will be redeemed. ”But I feel she`s really trying to start over, that she`d like to leave the past behind.”
In the near future, Brown says, anticipate sweating bullets for the usually cool Sheila from Sept. 25 to 30. ”Lauren`s coming to L.A. It`s her baby that I stole. There`s some stuff coming up that`s so big-it`s a not-miss week.”
– Sidling up to the bar at Rodi`s tavern beginning Sept. 11 on ”One Life to Live” will be Cynthia Martells from Broadway`s ”Two Trains Running” and movies ”New Jack City” and ”Regarding Henry.” Martells will be replacing Latanya Richardson, who has been cast as Vivian, a seamstress in a high-fashion design firm, in the new CBS sitcom ”Frannie`s Turn,” which makes its debut Sept. 13.
– In a different kind of cattle call, ”General Hospital” actors Crystal Carson (Julia), Paul Satterfield Jr. (Paul) and Brad Maule (Tony) put on their cowboy duds for ”The Cattleman`s Ball” (proceeds going to the American Cancer Society) last weekend in Los Angeles where Maule, who has released a CD of original material, performed with his country and western band.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, look for ”GH`s” Kin Shriner`s (Scotty)
storyline to either expand or contract as the actor`s contract is due to expire in October and it is not known whether he will renew.
– When the character Margo (played by Ellen Dolan) was raped at the end of last month on ”As the World Turns,” producers for the soap put a viewer- discretion advisory on the episode before it aired. This Friday, Margo comes to a chilling realization waiting for the results of her attacker`s AIDS test, which will begin a six-month storyline for the drama.
– It`s hard to find a stable place these days in Eastern Europe, but some of the cast and crew from ”All My Children” will travel this week to Budapest, Hungary, as the location for their November sweeps story where Erica (played by Susan Lucci) and Dimitri (Michael Nader) coincidentally meet while on business.
– The new Falsey/Brand project for prime time, ”Going to Extremes,” is given a much-needed shot of charisma by Charles Keating, formerly Carl the cad on ”Another World,” a ponytailed anatomy teacher somewhere over the top. Former soap faces who are also in the ”Extremes” cast are Joanna Going from ”AW” and baby-faced Robert Duncan McNeill (”All My Children”).
