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Soap Dish

Actor has 'One Life' to relive as a ghost

By CAROLYN HINSEY

A little thing like death won't keep Al from reuniting with Marcie next week on "One Life to Live."
"After he dies, he's sort of trooping around town," says Nathaniel Marston, who plays the late hero. "There is some sort of mission he needs to accomplish before he travels to the next realm and he is trying to figure out what it is."

Fans know that the soap underestimated the popularity of Al and Marcie (played by Kathy Brier, who is also starring on Broadway in "Hairspray" ) when it killed him last month.

The subsequent outpouring of support resulted in Al lurking around as a ghost until the writers could script a "Heaven Can Wait"-inspired tale.

"Minutes before he is supposed to go to heaven, Luna comes to him," says Marston, referring to the ghost of his late stepmother. "She says, 'There is one more chance. You've got to find Marcie.'"

Marcie has been talked into going on a date with a hospital intern named Michael, so Al tags along.

"She doesn't like Michael," says Marston, adding that Michael makes some homophobic comments that turn Marcie off. And then tragedy strikes.

"Michael takes some medication incorrectly and goes into anaphylactic shock. He's about to die and Luna says, 'Here's your chance.'

"Al is kind of opposed to it: 'This guy? If you're going to send me back, you could do a lot better than this guy.' Luna says, 'Take it or leave it, hon.'"

Al enters Michael's body, and he is "revived" by Marcie.

"The catch is, Al can't tell Marcie it's him," says Marston. "So he keeps showing up places where she is, bringing her Gerber daisies which is the flower Al used to buy for her. Instead of being wooed, it [angers] her: 'You can't replace Al. Get out of here, you weirdo.' The last thing she wants to do is get involved with somebody else, but in reality, that's what she has to do to get Al back."

The soap will use some clever dialogue and camera tricks to make sure viewers can follow that the residents of Llanview are seeing Michael while we are seeing Al.

" [Michael] walks up to Andrew and says, 'How are you doing?' He says, 'Have we met?' 'Uh, I've been to church a few times.'

"When Al goes to wash his hands, it's the other kid in the mirror. It's very interesting technically," Marston says.

It was pretty interesting behind the scenes, too.

"I had no idea that so many people were so taken with these characters," marvels the actor. "Usually when somebody gets fired, viewers are outraged for awhile but then they don't see them on TV anymore and it's out of sight, out of mind. But when I was fired I still had a month left on the show, so people still saw me every day: 'Hey, we really like this Al guy.' So I would like to take this opportunity to thank the fans for their undying support. I know that I have my job because of them."

The newly resurrected Marston has a theory about why Al and Marcie are so popular with fans, too.

"We look like your neighbors," he says. "You could bump into us at Walmart in the home and garden section: 'Hey, it's Al and Marcie!' People identify with that."

I also included a few casting spoilers below:



COMINGS AND GOINGS Matthew Ashford (ex-Jack, "Days of our Lives" has landed a new job as a professor on "OLTL."......Fiona Hutchison (Gabrielle) has been let go from "OLTL," while Patricia Elliott (Renee) has been dropped to recurring character.

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