Articles

Adair's on Air: Although she works day and night, Days' Deborah Adair still finds time to have a happy home life
by Jeffrey Pearlstein - Soap Opera Weekly - May 25, 1993

"I really love Daytime," says Deborah Adair, celebrating her return to the soaps after 10 years (she played The Young and the Restless' Jill from 1980-83). "I enjoy the medium, and there's no doubt the medium enjoyed me."

After working in prime-time (she was Tracy Kendall on Dynasty from 1983-84) and made-for-TV movies, Adair has returned to daytime as Days of 0ur Lives' mysterious Kate Roberts. "My coming back to soaps was just a question of terms and character, and Kate's a great character," Adair says. "She's a mystery woman, so there's not much I can tell you. Unless they decide that she should move away from Salem for some unknown reason, I know that I will be here for a couple of years, and I think it's going to be a good time. Kate could very well be one of my favorite characters ever. She's multidimensional, and that's what really makes a human being. When you can bring that to the screen, the writers, creators and technical crew have really done their jobs!"

Except for a two-day stint as Renata Sedgewick on Santa Barbara in 1991, daytime viewers have not seen Adair since she was Y&R's Jill. "First there was Brenda Dickson, then a girl named Bond Gideon, and then myself. Then I went to Dynasty, so they gave the role back to Brenda."

Dickson walked out in 1987, however, after she and the show's producers had creative differences. While searching for a permanent replacement, Y&R senior executive producer Bill Bell asked Adair to reprise the role for a while. "It was just a favor," she explains. "They needed somebody to come in really fast. Since I had done the character for three years, they called me and asked if I was free. I said, 'Sure, it will be fun,' and that's how it all happened. And then they hired Jess (Walton). But it was absolutely great. I learned tons and made some good friends."

Career concerns, however surprising and fortui-tous, are not at the top of her list. "My priority in life is my family, and everything else is second to it," Adair declares. Although her life at home has caused tier to keep a low acting profile these last several years, Adair is now ready to work. "I feel like I'm beginning another phase in my life, and it doesn't get much better. I'm happily married (to producer Chip Hayes), I have a wonderful family, and I get to work. It's kind of a good deal,"

Adair's priorities have changed over the years. "That's the one great thing about getting older; de-spite our faults, we get smarter. I had that part of my life where the business was important, but it was not my reason for living," she says. "When you're working 17-20 hours a day - especially if you're doing an on-location series - you have no other life. It's not because you planned it that way, it's just the logistics of the show." But now that she's able to maintain a balance, Adair hopes to have a long and enduring career. "One of the wonderful things about acting is that you can also work when you're 75," she says. "It's an interesting career: It's never totally on, but it's never totally off, and I will always work until it doesn't interest me. And right now, it interests me!"

One person who has kept her interested is produc-er Aaron Spelling, who has utilized Adair's talents in many of his TV series. "He has been so good to me," she says, "Working on Dynasty was so pleasant and absolutely perfect. I was there at such a good time and worked with good people, good writers and a fabulous crew. It was a privilege just to be a part of it. Then I did Finder of Lost Loves; myriads of Love Boats and Hotels; and Rich Men, Single Women, which was a movie-of-the-week with Suzanne Somers and Heather Locklear (Sammy Jo Carrington, Dynas-ty). Now I'm doing a recurring role on Melrose Place (as is Locklear)."

On that Fox series, Adair portrays business execu-tive Lucy Cabot, Allison's (Courtney Thorne-Smith) boss. She enjoys the dynamics. "One of the reasons the relationship between Lucy and Allison has been so good is that it shows how one woman promotes another woman, pushing her into the right positions and giving her advice, without getting knifed In the back," Adair says. "So many of these stories depict women in really violent, back-stabbing stories - and yes, the real world has some of those - but it doesn't always operate like that. I think it's really nice for the audience to see women helping women, and to see somebody younger listening to somebody who's older. So we're making a little progress. There seems to be some real basic decency being portrayed on this show, and that feels good."

Working on Melrose Place has other rewards, as well: It allows Adair more time with her husband, the show's producer. "It's a very busy time for both my husband and me, and it seems like we see each other only when we work together on Melrose Place" she says. "But I'm not complaining because it's an excit-ing time as well. The fact that I'm working for my favorite company, that I'm working with my husband, and with many of the crew people I've worked with throughout the years", and the fact that they're all such fine people - I've got to tell you that the pack-ages just don't come any better. I'd love to tell you something sad and dreary, but I am very blessed. I'm doing Melrose Place and Days of Our Lives, I have a lovely husband - we like each other and are just very happy - and my family's good to me, so I don't know how much more you can ask for." Only, perhaps, the time to savor it all.