Felicia Gallant
Encyclopedia
Felicia Gallant is a fictional character
on the NBC
soap opera
Another World
. The character is a professional romance novel
ist who lives in Bay City
.
The character was modeled after real-life romance novelist Jacqueline Susann
. Head-writer Robert Soderbergh had been friends with Susann before her death in the 1970s and regularly spoke at length with Linda Dano about Susann's passion for living.
Felicia was played by Linda Dano
from 1982 until the show's cancellation
in 1999. Dano won a Daytime Emmy
award for her performance in 1993.
Over time, her marriage to Mitch hit a rough patch, and both cheated on the other. They asked for a mutual, amicable divorce. With Lucas back in her life, she fell for him all over again, and they were married. However, Lucas was shot by a jealous ex-lover and died in hospital weeks later, leaving Felicia heartbroken.
However, by this time, Felicia had found her daughter, the nasty vixen Lorna Devon (first played by Alicia Coppola
). Felicia and Lorna were adversaries for a very long time, but eventually warmed to a mother-daughter relationship. Lorna also interacted well with Felicia's adopted daughter, Jenna, but not always; one memorable stunt involved Lorna replacing Jenna's boyfriend's music video with a never-before-seen porn tape with Jenna as the centerpiece, mere seconds before it was to air live on Felicia's talk show.
A later romantic interest for Felicia was John Hudson, as he was having troubles with his marriage to wife Sharlene. Her final marriage was to Sergei Radzinsky, whom she married to keep him in the country; he was receiving treatments for aplastic anemia
as a result of exposure to Chernobyl
.
auditioned for this part but lost the role to Dano. Producers were so impressed by her audition that they created for her the role of Donna Love.
Linda Dano
and Robin Christopher
who played mother and daughter on Another World
played a similar relationship on another soap opera. After AW was cancelled Dano played Gretel "Rae" Cummings and Christopher played Skye Chandler on One Life to Live
where it turned out Skye was Rae's long lost daughter. When this was revealed Skye switched shows to General Hospital
where Dano made several appearances. The characters had much the same relationship as their Another World characters had in the beginning but unlike Another World
, this family tension never loosened.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
. The character is a professional romance novel
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
ist who lives in Bay City
Bay City (Another World)
Bay City is the setting of the television soap opera Another World.-Location:Until the early 1980s, it was not known which state Bay City was in. Generically, the show was just set in the midwest. It was at this time that the writers specified that Another World was located in Bay City, Illinois...
.
The character was modeled after real-life romance novelist Jacqueline Susann
Jacqueline Susann
Jacqueline Susann was an American author known for her best-selling novels. Her most notable work was Valley of the Dolls, a book that broke sales records and spawned an Oscar-nominated 1967 film and a short-lived TV series.-Early years:Jacqueline Susann was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to...
. Head-writer Robert Soderbergh had been friends with Susann before her death in the 1970s and regularly spoke at length with Linda Dano about Susann's passion for living.
Felicia was played by Linda Dano
Linda Dano
Linda Dano is an American soap opera actress. A longtime performer in daytime dramas and a bestselling author and businesswoman, Dano was married for over 20 years to advertising executive Frank Attardi....
from 1982 until the show's cancellation
Cancellation (television)
In television, cancellation refers to the termination of a program by a network, typically because of low viewership and/or unfavourable critical reviews. Another reason why television programs can be cancelled is to make room for new television programs...
in 1999. Dano won a Daytime Emmy
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
award for her performance in 1993.
History
While playing the role Dano wrote romance novels that were published under her character's name. Felicia had affairs with the characters Cass Winthrop and Carl Hutchins, and eventually married Louis St. George, Zane Lindquist, Mitch Blake, and Lucas Castigliano; Lucas was, out of all the men she married, the true love of her life. When Lucas came to town, he came looking for the daughter he knew was alive, but she thought was stillborn (Felicia and Lucas had been lovers when they were teenagers). By extension, he revealed that she was born Fanny Grady and from a tempestuous family background. Since Felicia had taken a long time to build up this wealthy and glamorous reputation, it embarrassed her horribly to have other people know her business.Over time, her marriage to Mitch hit a rough patch, and both cheated on the other. They asked for a mutual, amicable divorce. With Lucas back in her life, she fell for him all over again, and they were married. However, Lucas was shot by a jealous ex-lover and died in hospital weeks later, leaving Felicia heartbroken.
However, by this time, Felicia had found her daughter, the nasty vixen Lorna Devon (first played by Alicia Coppola
Alicia Coppola
Alicia Coppola is an American television actress.-Career:Coppola started her TV career as a hostess on the MTV game show Remote Control. In 1991, she was hired to play vixen Lorna Devon on the soap opera Another World; she played the role until 1994...
). Felicia and Lorna were adversaries for a very long time, but eventually warmed to a mother-daughter relationship. Lorna also interacted well with Felicia's adopted daughter, Jenna, but not always; one memorable stunt involved Lorna replacing Jenna's boyfriend's music video with a never-before-seen porn tape with Jenna as the centerpiece, mere seconds before it was to air live on Felicia's talk show.
A later romantic interest for Felicia was John Hudson, as he was having troubles with his marriage to wife Sharlene. Her final marriage was to Sergei Radzinsky, whom she married to keep him in the country; he was receiving treatments for aplastic anemia
Aplastic anemia
Aplastic anemia is a condition where bone marrow does not produce sufficient new cells to replenish blood cells. The condition, per its name, involves both aplasia and anemia...
as a result of exposure to Chernobyl
Chernobyl
Chernobyl or Chornobyl is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. The city had been the administrative centre of the Chernobyl Raion since 1932....
.
Novels by Felicia Gallant
Felicia has published at least 53 books, all gothic romance, except as noted.- Beyond Paradise
- The Bride of Bombay
- The Bride of Waverly
- The Cannons of Newcastle
- Castle of Desire
- Damned by Desire
- The Daring Heart
- Doctor's Desire
- Driven to Passion
- Ebony Heartbeat
- Embers in the Snow (1985)
- Endless Journey
- Every Heart Knows
- Fallen Females
- Flames in the Night
- Forbidden Flower (1994, rejected)
- Forbidden Passion
- For the Love of Poppy
- Gardenias for Gwendolyn
- Gone with the Dawn (1983, first for Cory Publishing)
- Handmaiden's Heart
- The Heart That Heals (1996, contemporary)
- The Heart's Own Music
- Into the Fire (1994, semi-autobiographical)
- The Lady and the Laborer (1989)
- Liza
- Lock Out the Night
- Love Beneath the Stars
- Love on the Moors
- Lust in the Kremlin (1980s)
- The Manly Heart
- The Mistress of Orleans
- Moonlight Desires (1983)
- My Finest Hour
- Paradise Delayed (1998)
- Passion's Progress (1983)
- The Pauper's Ransom
- The Rebel Princess
- Rive Gauche Serenade
- Rocky Mountain Miracle
- Sands of the Desert
- Sands of the Heart
- Savage Love (1983)
- Shimmering Love
- Sweet Captive
- Torrid Tundra Nights
- Untold Secrets
- Walking in the Light: The Story of Frankie Frame Winthrop (1997, biographical)
- White Snow in Hell
- Windblown Rose
Trivia
Actress Anna StuartAnna Stuart
Anna Stuart is an American actress. Stuart has been primarily featured in roles in daytime soap operas.- Career :...
auditioned for this part but lost the role to Dano. Producers were so impressed by her audition that they created for her the role of Donna Love.
Linda Dano
Linda Dano
Linda Dano is an American soap opera actress. A longtime performer in daytime dramas and a bestselling author and businesswoman, Dano was married for over 20 years to advertising executive Frank Attardi....
and Robin Christopher
Robin Christopher
Robin Christopher is an American actress. She is known for her role as Skye Chandler Quartermaine on All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital .-Private life:...
who played mother and daughter on Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
played a similar relationship on another soap opera. After AW was cancelled Dano played Gretel "Rae" Cummings and Christopher played Skye Chandler on One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
where it turned out Skye was Rae's long lost daughter. When this was revealed Skye switched shows to General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
where Dano made several appearances. The characters had much the same relationship as their Another World characters had in the beginning but unlike Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
, this family tension never loosened.