Where Are They Now?
Soap Opera Digest Super Soap Opera Fan Guide
Susan Haskell's ears have been ringing.
Metaphorically speaking, that is: Her OLTL character, Marty,
who started out as a needy bad girl and accused Rev. Carpenter of
sexual misconduct, then got gang raped and ultimately fled to Ireland
with poet husband Patrick, was recently discussed on the show as an
example of how a spurned young woman can cause major trouble.
Laughs Haskell, "My friends have called and said, "They were talking
about you [on the show] the other day!" It's flattering when
they bring up your character like it's part of the history." She used
to be able to catch up on her soaps, but since February, the actress
and former co-star Thorsten Kaye (Ian, PC; ex-Patrick, OLTL) have had
TV time curtailed, thanks to the birth of daughter McKenna.
"She's so much fun," gushes the new mom.
"I can't imagine
what it was like before." As for daddy, "He's just a natural
father. She lights up with him."
All of which means that Haskell has put her career on hold for a while.
Though after OLTL, she continued working steadily on TV (JAG) and in
film (Mrs. Winterbourne), pregnancy put a strain on such pursuits - and
then she developed placenta previa. "Basically, it means
three months of bed rest," she explains. "[McKenna] was
always healthy, it was just me who had complications. It was
interesting, to say the least. It was easy to do in a sense
that I knew what I was doing it for."
And the silver lining: She could watch soaps. "I
did!" she exclaims. "It was nice, getting to watch some of my
friends again." PC's cancellation means that Kaye will be
looking for work, but the show's death is upsetting for other reasons,
too. "The people I met there were a lovely group.
It's always sad when something like that comes to an end."
Speaking of which, though she's not ready yet, Haskell will eventually
test the work waters again. "I'm now just starting to think
about it," she says, not ruling out another soap. "However it
evolves, it will evolve around [McKenna]." And, she adds,
changing coasts is not out of the question. "Back East has
always been in the back of our minds," she says. "We don't
have any specific plans, though."
For now, the former Marty will remain just Mom - and wait for what the
future holds. And who knows? Someday, Patrick and
Marty might sail back over from Ireland. "That's right," she
grins. "Of course, [our] child would end up being, like, 25
now - that's how it works on soaps. That's a little
frightening. I'd have to talk to [Thorsten] about that first."