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Wait!
No,
the tribute to Michelle did not take place as planned on January 15, 1999,
but please don't write to Young and the Restless about this! This was due
to the coverage of President Clinton's impeachment trial. The show
has been delayed with no interruption of the storyline, so what was shown
today actually was to air on Thursday. Be watching on Monday,
January 18, 1998 (in
the U.S.)for the tribute episode to air! I'm sorry if all these dates are
getting confusing (between my posting the wrong date, the date Y&R
corrected me on, and this latest bit of news. (I have trouble keeping it
all straight, too.) Just watch for the episode to air Monday, although
all the prior information pointing to the episode airing earlier is still
below. Thanks for your patience!
Many were shocked and saddened by the news that Michelle
Thomas passed away. Those of us who are fans of the soap opera,The
Young and the Restless, will sorely miss her portrayal as the spunky Callie
Rogers. Michelle was also well-known for her role of Myra Monkhouse
on the TV sitcom "Family Matters".
My thanks go to
Andre Meadows for this and the previous two photos. They may be found
at his website, the
Michelle Thomas Appreciation Page .
If you are visiting and would like to sign the guestbook, please do.
I would prefer that the sentiments expressed be directed toward the actress's
family rather than to me. If there is something you would like to
say to me, please e-mail
me.
No doubt, Michelle's passing was as much of a shock to the execs at The Young and the Restless as it was to her fans. Siena Goins was quickly replaced as the character of Callie, and her first air date was December 22, 1998, the day before Michelle's passing. In the beginning, she was just supposed to fill in for michelle, then suddenly a week later, many of us learned of Michelle's death in a shocking way: We turned on the Young and the Restless to hear them announce: "Due to the sudden passing of Michelle Thomas, the role of Callie is now being played by Siena Goins."
I can understand the producers of the show feeling the need to recast the character quickly. She was central to the Malcolm/Olivia storyline. However, over the years we have seen many shows dedicated to the memory of various members of the cast and crew who have passed away. Why didn't her death warrant such an acknowlegement?
UPDATE
As I mentioned in an earlier update, Cora Lee Carter wrote to the show regarding this matter, and they responded that they would post the date the edisode dedicated to her memory will air. That date is January 15, 1998, (not January 13th as I erroneously posted earlier...my apologies...the typo went straight to my from my letter to this site) according to the memorium cbs.com has set up in Michelle's honor. For more details, please click here . (This site also gives the address to pay your respects to Michelle's parents. I personally would appreciate it if everyone who reads this and is a fan of Michelle would take the time to drop her parents a note, or sign this guestbook so they may see your comments. I have children, and I can't imagine how painful it must be to lose one. God be with you.)
I will still post the address of
The Young and the Restless and the online petition, should anyone still
want to contact the show regarding this, until the episode airs.
Young and
Restless
c/o CBS-TV
7800 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
The man in
charge of this show, and the person our complaints about this should be
addressed to, is William J. Bell. I mean absolutely no disrespect
toward this man or his wonderful show--I am a great fan! I only disagree
with his delay in paying tribute to Michelle Thomas.
I am gathering together an online petition for those who, for one reason or another, may not wish to contact the Young and the Restless by letter. Even if you plan to send a letter through the mail, please take the time to stop in and sign. It is set up in guestbok format, but please, only address your comments to the Young and the Restless here. I would appreciate it if you would leave an actual name and address on this, so that if it gets read, the producers of the show can see we are "real" people who are serious about this. I plan to send a letter to the above address notifying them of this online petition, and I'd appreciate it if you would do the same. (If you do, be sure to mention this website address, so they'll be able to access the petition!)
On January 6, 1998, I sent two letters to Bill Bell, one vial "snail mail", and one to cbs.com, return receipt requested, to inform him of this petition. The letter reads as follows:
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
Please direct the following letter to William
J. Bell, exec. producer of the Young and the Restless. Thank you.
Dear Mr. Bell:
Hello. My name is Jennifer E. Bowman. I am a loyal viewer of The Young and the Restless and a fan of the late Michelle Thomas.
I have set up a web site in her honor at http://lavender.fortunecity.com/meyer/38/ entitled the Michelle Thomas Memorial Site .
Since the time of Michelle's death, many viewers of your show, myself included, have been shocked by the lack of mention her passing has received. Yes, it was announced that "Due to the sudden passing of Michelle Thomas..." What a shock that was to those of us who had turned in only yesterday to hear your announcer merely announce that she was ill! We waited. We expected more. But so far, no mention has come, no special dedication to her, or any of the other things we would expect in honor of a late performer on your show.
I realize that you are planning to dedicate the January 13, 1998 show in Michelle's honor. However, before this was announced, I set up an online petition to present to you, signed by those of us who are outraged by the lack of mention Michelle's death has received. Knowing now that this forthcoming episode will be dedicated to her, I would still like to make you aware of this petition, so that you may see how truly outraged many of her fans are that it has taken this long for her death to be acknowledged.
The url of this petition is http://www.kbnet.com/book/html/petition.html
.
The petition can also be accessed by visiting
the Michelle Thomas
Memorial Site and clicking on the link to sign the online petition.
That will access the page, and the option to view the entries is at the
bottom of the page.
I am CCing a copy of this letter to your Los Angeles address. I thank you for taking the time to view this letter and the petition. If there is a message you would like for me to relate on my page in response to this letter, please contact me, and I will be glad to post it. My e-mail address is mrsrb921@swbell.net , or you may reach me at my post office address listed below:
7419 Metcalf Ave. #143
Overland Park, KS 66204
I thank you for your concern in this matter.
Sincerely,
Jennifer E. Bowman
Y&R's Response...This Just In!
I just heard back from the show in record time...the
same day I sent them my letter!
Their response reads as follows (I say "they" because
I do not know who the writer of this letter was; there was
no signature).
Dear Jennifer:
Please be aware that
the episode airing in Michelle's memory is
scheduled for January 15, not January 13.
Also, please understand
that Y&R was out of production from December
18 to January 4. No one was in the
production offices, and much of
the company had left town for the holidays.
Because of the break,
episodes airing through January 21 had
already been taped, and those
airing though early next week were already
edited and shipped. It was
due to circumstances rather than a lack
of respect or compassion that
the tribute is airing January 15. On their
return, the producers
wanted to choose the episode carefully,
to make sure there was enough
time in the show and enough time to put
together a fitting tribute to
Michelle. The staff, cast and
crew of Y&R were deeply saddened and
shocked by Michelle's sudden death, as
were her fans, and to suggest
otherwise does a disservice to everyone
in the Y&R family and the
profound effect Michelle's spirit had on
us all during her brief time
on the show. Michelle was loved by
her co-workers and will be missed
terribly. We join her legion of fans
in sending our condolences to
her family and friends.
Thank you for your concern.
Please write back if you need additional
information.
CBS Daytime
Did they (or will they) read our petition, or forward the letter on to Mr. Bell? I don't know. Nor do I know if it had any impact on their actions in all this. I still want to say "thanks" to all who signed it, because I still feel that the situation should have (although not necessarily could have) been addressed sooner, and I wanted the show to know that Michelle's fans feel strongly about this. I simply replied:
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to explain the situation to me. I am not trying to criticize your show, as I am a big fan; I merely wanted you to know that Michelle's many fans out there have all been upset since her death, and puzzled as to why the tribute had not taken place, as you can see if you have viewed the petition.
I will post your response on my site, and make sure I have the date (1-15-98) correct as well, as we will be sure to want to see the tribute when it does take place.
Thank you again for your timely response, and please be assured, I didn't intend to insult the cast of your show in any way in my previous post. I have immeasurable respect for the cast and crew that have put your show in it's number one position for over a decade. Please keep up the good work!
Best Wishes,
Jennifer E.
Bowman
I just saw
the new Soap
Opera Digest (dated
January 19, 1999), and her death is mentioned on page 4 (under their "Late-Breaking
News Section). There is also an article about Michelle entitled "Forever
Young" in People's January 11th
newsstand issue. (As far as I know, it is not mentioned on their web site.)
This photo was taken from Kathy's
Y&R Web Page ...
Many thanks to Kathy for allowing me to use it on this site!
Some Links
Soon,
I hope to add several features to this page, such as quicktime clips and/or
Real Audio files which showcase Michelle's talent. In the meantime,
there are several noteable sites on the web which feature her:
www.mediadomain.com/y-and-r/thomas.html:
Contains her official notice that
is being posted on the internet, as well as a link back to the Young and
Restless discussion board, where you may read and/or post many topics about
her.
CBS.com
notice:
Basically the same information
as the notice above.
Internet
Movie Database:
Lists her acting credits.
Michelle
Thomas Appreciation Page:
André
Meadows has created what I have found to be the most extensive website
on Michelle Thomas. Some noteable points include: A brief biography
, a profile
(more about Michelle in her own words), pictures
and more
pictures of Michelle, and much more. I highly recommend viewing
his page; even if it does cause one to mourn her all the more, I truly
appreciate that it is there to view. André has updated his
sight in lieu of Michelle's passing, and it looks wonderful. One
of the best recent additions he has made is that of the Michelle
Thomas Memorial Board . You may want to
stop by there and leave your message in tribute to Michelle's memory.
It is a beautiful way to remember her by; thank you, André!
Nikko's
Page:
This is another page with some
good information about her, created back when she was on Family Matters.
(Thanks to Sherri, webmaster of Message
Central , who gave me the name and e-mail address of the webmaster
of this site.) I e-mailed the site's creator, Nikko,
and pleaded with him to keep the site up. He wrote me back and told
me he plans to. Please continue to e-mail him and let him know you
want to see it maintained!
(Notice: Although the links listed above were intact as of my posting this page, I cannot guarantee that they will still be accurate, nor do I endorse any of the sites personally. If anyone else knows of a site worth mention, please contact me.)
I will expand this listing of links if and when I come across more. However, I refuse to add ny that I feel are disrespectful or make light of her death in any way. Thus, if you know of a link I have not added, this could be why. There are a few such sites I have seen which I simply refuse to add.
Ihope
to expand this site very soon
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