When ABC canceled its long-running soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live, not only did it remove its historic daytime programming, but it also took away numerous characters to whom thousands of people related. Moreover, daytime brought a new kind of diversity to television, still represented to some extent on modern soaps, that America today sorely needs. Surprisingly, even Jewish characters gained exposure on soaps. If soaps are saved, let’s bring back more Jewish characters.
A few years ago, on my favorite soap, CBS’s The Young and the Restless, longtime lead character Brad Carlton, played by Don Diamont, revealed that he had been hiding his Judaism for years. Born “George Kaplan,” Brad had to hide his identity when Nazi treasure hunters murdered members of his family because his mother, a Holocaust survivor, had tried to return artifacts to their original owners.
In real life, Diamont “outed” himself as a Jew a few years ago. Why would an actor keep his identity a secret for so long, especially in an industry in which there are plenty of Jewish actors? Diamont, whose real last name is Feinberg, was teased for his Judaism in high school and taunted with anti-Semitic slurs; being verbally harassed growing up led him to hide his Judaism. However, former Y&R head writer Lynn Latham wanted to spice up the typically monotonous cast of her show and diversify its repertoire. Carlton—or Kaplan—was able to bring a Judeo-centric plotline to the fore of the most popular soap on television. In doing so, however dramatized the story itself was, Latham made more viewers aware of the plight Holocaust victims and survivors and their families.
Diamont’s character was killed off Y&R a few years ago, but a few other soaps do maintain Jewish characters. However, among these programs which do promote positive Jewish individuals is One Life to Live, which is being canceled. While all soap characters have major character flaws, as do all people, one of the more positive female images on OLTL is Nora Hanen Buchanan. A Jewish attorney who defied convention to follow her heart, Nora married an African-American man, Hank, before the show started and has since remained a woman who follows her heart and is strictly-principled. A woman who truly loves her family, Nora has made many flaws—perhaps most notably sleeping with her ex-lover, Sam Rappaport, in an attempt to give her husband a child, and having an affair with her husband’s brother—but, through it all, she remains one of OLTL’s constant heroines. Moreover, in comparison with characters who regularly murder, scheme, and sexually harass others, Nora is a virtual saint.
Even so, whether or not characters like Brad and Nora are moral, they’re entertaining. Jews are people like anyone else: they can be good, bad, and in between, just like soap characters. However, with One Life to Live’s cancellation, the daytime genre and television as a whole have lost a Jewish role model. Jews add diversity to any TV show. When Brad Carlton was killed off Y&R, they lost a Jewish leading man. Even if these characters are flawed, as all real people and daytime heroes, especially, are, they still provided positive examples of Jewish characters. Soaps not only need to be revived, but they need more diverse characters. Why not bring individuals of varied ethnicities, including Jews, to the fore? If soaps are saved, here’s hoping that writers will bring more Jewish characters to the canvas.
