Hunter Tylo Biography The year 2002 was the year that Hunter was able to make a break from Bold to pursue other work over the next few years. Sadly the idea was a flop as none of the work that she did in 2003 and 2004 was widely seen and critics declared that her career had ended. There was only one standout job that Hunter did in 2002 but it was remembered throughout 2003 for all of the wrong reasons. It stood out because it was what critics claimed was a career-ending job – an infomercial. Before that is mentioned though let us look back at the year 2002 in the lead up to her Bold move into the movie world. In February Hunter was in Rome with Bold costar, Ronn Moss. The two appeared on a talk show there. A few "happy snaps" were published in magazines and can be seen below. Ronn Moss is always happy to smile for the camera but Hunter seemed to be less than pleased in one photo. The two were not mobbed on this visit like they usually are. In March and April Hunter's business endeavors started to take up more of her time. She had speaking engagements of which she was gaining more and more work and was featured in a magazine for which she attended the launch (see photo gallery for Buzzine photos). She was also busy launching a cosmetics line called "Chosen By Hunter Tylo" (the logo and a promotional photo is below). There were different lipsticks and other lines in the range. In 2003 she visited the UK to promote it all on QVC, which she also did Stateside. Most of the money raised through sales of the cosmetics went into her charity. After the summer months, another job she took on to raise money for the charity was the promotion of the Ab-Swing. Hunter appeared in the infomercial for the Ab-Swing and did a very good job as the host. This infomercial was screened throughout the States, Australia and Europe. Hundreds of thousands people around the world bought the product (almost 100 000 in Australia for example). Despite having had four children her percentage of body fat was extremely low so she never needed the product but, all fanciful claims in the infomercial aside, sure looked good promoting it (a few photos of her are below). As these generally short-lived promotions go there were inevitably copycat products in discount stores and in infomercials soon after. The Ab-Swing promotion lasted around six months because it was considered to be a successful seller so the promotion was still going in early 2003 with Martina Navratilova in the hosting role. Many infomercials are lucky if they see a few months of airtime if the sales figures indicate that the product was a flop. The Ab-Swing promotion lasted longer than many. Many people normally take a dim view of this form of advertising because it takes advantage of people's gullibility, especially Americans whom these infomercials are primarily aimed at. It was a bit of a shock to see Hunter hosting such an advertisement but a blatant money grab for personal gain it was not, well not entirely. The money was mostly for the charity so that is fair enough some might say. Plenty of critics called Hunter a "has-been" while this infomercial was out there but she was still on the most watched show on the planet. That hardly made her a has-been but this situation was about to change dramatically, leaving Hunter in the wilderness for a few years and the critics were left to rejoice. By September her relationship with Bold had soured and she left the show "for good" which is what everyone had heard before but did not believe. After her remaining episodes screened, that was the last many fans saw of her for two and a half years. She had allegedly imposed certain limits on what she would be prepared for her character on Bold to do, so writers could go no further. Hunter told fans on the fan club message board that she was heartbroken and was sad to see the Ridge and Taylor romance end. Ronn Moss, her costar, later claimed that Hunter’s firing after twelve years was like losing a second wife. Alas it was a ratings sweeps stunt and had to be kept secret until her contract ended weeks later. During this time the media had a field day with reports that Hunter was about to sue Bradley Bell, amongst other stories, like fights in Mr Bell’s office. Hunter denied them all but could not comment any further. In October Hunter took off to Florida to film a commercial for one of the home shopping channels. She was peddling her cosmetics range there and still had the Ab-Swing infomercial screening regularly. Her critics cheered her final episode on Bold in late October and promptly declared her to be a "has-been" (this was all over the Net). She was sad to leave Taylor behind and so were her fans but everyone looked forward to seeing her in bigger and better projects. On the fan club message board Hunter was busy dealing with her sadness by making some jokes that seemed a little out there to some. This got back to Bold but they understood that her way of dealing with sadness is through humor sometimes. She explained that: "the character became incongruous with her integral basic character description. Taylor was a good person but lacked real behaviors people experience in reality." This disappointed Hunter greatly and her patience with the writers had to run out sooner or later though and it finally did. That is not to say that another actress would have handled it in a completely different manner though. There are some that probably would have and would therefore have remained employed. Sometimes being a role model is a tough gig for Hunter though. You are dammed if you do and dammed if you do not. Hunter proceeded to make fun of the whole situation and while some found it to be quite bizarre others were entertained. By the end of 2002 Hunter had landed a few appearances on 'She Spies'. This show ran for two seasons in the US, Europe and Australia. Her character in one episode was not as "tame" as Taylor on Bold but she looked great. Hunter then proceeded to secure movie work to see her through 2003 while Michael was working as a college professor. Hunter’s first movie role for 2003 was the science fiction film, 'They Are Among Us'. She had also started filming a Hallmark film, that at the time was, called 'Till The River Runs Dry', which starred Ann Margaret. Hunter then revealed to the media that she was apparently planning to open her first Chosen By Hunter Tylo cosmetics store in Las Vegas in 2004 which she hoped might become a franchise several years down the track. Obviously none of this has happened as of early 2006 when this was published and sadly she appears to have lost interest and given up on all that. During the summer of 2003 Hunter was studying for her MBA. Back in May there was a news item about an honorary doctorate and one article said, in part: "DeSales University held its 2003 commencement Saturday May 18, 2003, awarding 321 bachelor's degrees and 70 master's degrees, according to a news release from the university. Actress Hunter Tylo, an advocate for working mothers and spokeswoman against childhood blindness and eye diseases, delivered the commencement address and received an honorary doctorate of fine arts degree." Another article at the time mentioned that Hunter said to: "Risk ridicule and financial gain to stand up for what you believe in and for the rights of others." The article also said that: "In conferring the honorary degree upon Tylo, assistant professor of television and film Alan LaGarde said, 'True entertainment must be rooted in beauty and beauty always leads to goodness'." Many of her fans would have been quite pleased for her with all of that news but they were even more excited about what was hoped to be a mainstream movie role. 'The Derbs' (later called, 'Down and Derby') was filmed on weekdays for a few weeks in October in St. George, Utah. Hunter had a small role where she starred alongside Lauren Holly and Pat Morita (who sadly passed away just over two months before this biography update was published). After that role was filmed Hunter took up a new hosting role on 'Identity' and she squeezed in a spot on QVC selling "Possible", her new fragrance. She also went to London to appear on QVC to promote the fragrance. As for what Michael was doing in 2003, he was working as a college professor at UNLV in Nevada in both the Film and Theatre departments where he taught drama and two camera technique. In an online communication with this author he said that he really enjoys this type of work and is well qualified given that he has a BFA and an MFA degree and started the film and television department at DeSales University in Pennsylvania. In addition he certainly has the experience behind him, having been an actor as a sideline career, which he still pursues when possible. He went on to say that his acting career was unexpected in that, after graduate school, he was working briefly in regional theatre and went to New York to do research for a doctorate. Whilst there he found himself at an audition, then got an agent and along came the acting work. He just wanted some professional acting experience in addition to following a career in academia (when he could, as acting seems to have taken up more time over the years, much to the delight of fans of course). He was really enjoying his academic work and described it as being "back where he belongs" after years of acting. His students had done so well in 2003 that some went off to professional workshops and acting schools in both Los Angeles and New York. So 2003 seemed like it was a good year for both Hunter and Michael but the fun stopped there and their lives began to take a different direction. It was a year in which this author had several "disagreements" with Hunter, the fan club closed, Michael was looking at a public relations career and Hunter was still lost in the wilderness. Appendix to this page Part One: Article TV GUIDE Oct 5-11, 2002 DEAD SILENCE: THE DISH BEHIND AN ACTRESS'S BOLD EXIT There's never a dull moment at The Bold and the Beautiful--on screen or off. Sources at the CBS soap say Hunter Tylo 'went ballistic' and called her lawyer when told that her character, Dr. Taylor Hayes, will die in a pre-November sweeps plot twist. Legal letters were reportedly exchanged between Tylo and B&B executive producer Brad Bell, with Tylo threatening to sue and Bell, worried that she might refuse to tape her final episodes, reminding Tylo that she was still under contract. The publicity-loving star, who broke the news of her firing on her own fan club's Web site, was still showing up for work at press time but granting no interviews, fueling speculation that she may indeed sue. It would seem she has no legal leg to stand on(she quit B&B three times since joining the show in 1990, most recently over a salary dispute). Still, Tylo is litigious--she won nearly $5 million in a suit against Aaron Spelling in 1997 after he bumped her from Melrose Place for being pregnant--and Bell doesn't want to aggravate her. 'I wish I could talk about the situation, but I can't,' he says. 'There are...complications.' Tylo's manager, Marv Dauer, told us he has 'heard there are some problems between Hunter and the show' but would cough up no details. That's not the case with other B&B cognoscenti. According to the backstage buzz, Tylo--already reeling from her surprise dismissal--had a total meltdown when informed that her character will be killed by Shelia, the B&B witch played by Tylo's real-life rival, Kimberlin Brown.(Once best pals, the two divas had a much-publicized feud in the '90s and have since steered clear of each other.)Brown, who is written off B&B whenever her character gets too psychotic, will again exit the show. Also going bye-bye: Courtnee Draper, who plays Shelia's daughter, Erica. In another wild developement, Bell will borrow Lauren Kislow, who plays Kate on NBC's Days of Our Lives, to reprise her old B&B role a Margo for a short stint starting October 31.(Viewers will learn that Mark MacLaine, the new mystery stud played by Michael Dietz, is actually Margo's son.) 'I was stunned to get the call,' says Koslow, who left the B&B in 1992. 'I wouldn't have been surprised if NBC nixed the deal.' Why the inter-networking goodwill? To secure Koslow Bell offered Days the short term use of Joe Mascolo(now B&B's Massimo), who was hugely popular as Days villian Stephano. Some in Bell's camp doubted tht Mascolo, who quit Days in a huff last year, would agree to go back. But he did.(Airdates aren't yet set.) It's a good thing he didn't burn that Days bridge. NOBODYis safe at B&B. On her message board soon after, Hunter said: "Yes I did post (on Scott's board - he removed the entire thread though) that Michael Logan's interview is completely false and no quotes were even given by my friend Marv Dauer. It is a complete falsehood and based on no facts whatsoever. I did not go ballistic. What? Was he here at my home when I received the call or was he in Brad's office? Mr. Logan should watch slanderous things he says in his articles. Oh, I can clear up here that it has been about 3 or 4 weeks that Mr. Logan has been repeatedly declined by me, with the actual week this began being September 5. Thanks, Hunter" And also: "I have not read the TV Guide article, but I assure you whatever it says is pure conjecture and an attempt to force an interview out of me SINCE I DECLINED MR. LOGAN FOR THE PAST 3 WEEKS. This is commonly how he is known to do business. Thanks, Hunter" Part Two: Forum Message This is what Hunter had to say about her character's last scene (from her fan club board October 26th, 2002): "Dear Everyone! As you may know, yesterday was the airshow of Taylor's death. I knew lots of people would be sad (some also cheering) but I didn't want to wallow in sadness - I suppose, yes, for me - even though I am still sad about leaving my friends behind, I have come to terms with going. In my own way, I often deal with sadness with humor. Some people thought I was rather "odd" during the time Katya was going through all the chemo and anesthesia eye exams... Ronn Moss even commented to me once that it has always amazes him how I am able to have a sense of humor in the face of the worst of times. The thing is, I did love the character too, which makes it even harder for me. (You know how you think you're past something sometimes and then and "event" or memory will bring it all back again?) This brings me to my point: I have been humorous the last couple of days online. It was not meant to be insensitive to the "memory" of "Taylor" by any means. The way I've come to accept what has happened is to understand why the character "failed" or shall I say in Bradly's words "had no place to go." The way I feel is that for the past 3 or so years, especially since the "Morgan" story, the character became incongruous with her integral basic character description. She was suddenly not the clever doc. She was gullible and over the top nice and then had no real human response to being cheated on. At the time, in order to make it work as best I could, I had to rationalize that sometimes people DO do strange things - but because they are changing... The character didn't really change after that other than just become "good". That's all fine and everything too, as far as I'm concerned, (Lord knows the show has to have a good guy) but there were no conflicts for her. She is a psychiatrist and she had no nutty patients, no problem kids, no guys flirting with her, no jealousies about other women, no rivals, no "birthday ie.mid-life crisis - NOTHING that would be realistic. I've been dissappointed terribly on that level. Also, her mistake with James could have been dealt with. I can sympathize on many levels with "Brookies" feeling Taylor was a bit of a hypocrite and goody-two shoes. A "good-character" should be struggling with right-wrong decisions, like everyone else, not just being so perfect and never apologizing. But like I said, she didn't do A LOT of things. The last time I went up to ask Brad what was happening with the character was just before Taylor was kidnapped and tied to the fireplace. Brad said I would have the most incredible storyline of emotions to play in years. I sat back for the past 3 years and waited for HIS timing as did not want to pressure him since it appeared he was engrossed in Amber and Brooke story. I have no problem not being the focal point of the show. FYI we all get paid our guarantee no matter if we work 0 or 5 days a week. I've THOROUGHLY enjoyed time with my family and especially being there for Katya during her difficult illness. Last year I expressed that the character was not what I wanted to see her be when my negotiaions fell apart - I was somewhat romanced when Brad said if I would just come back - storylines would be awesome and challenging. Once again this last year was dissappointing and then in Sept. I was told on the phone that Taylor would be killed. I'm human though. Yes, on one level I'm glad the story was at least wrapped up the way it was (sans the dragging out life/death struggle part) and that the waning character was put to rest. On another I'm sad to leave everyone I love so much behind there. Especially Ronn. And another level, looking for work is not fun - especially in this business. But my faith in God's plan for my life is very strong and I trust in His provision! Let me get to my reason for supporting KKL/Brooke. I feel KKL deserves more continuity and integrity in her character. She is a very powerful actress and should be given the opportunity to do more than cry. I know she has wonderful chemistry with Ronn also, and none of the other men have worked with her. I mean, it's great when she's all feisty and manipulative, but Katherine can do so much more. I wish her well and that her character can somehow be redeemed. Look, afterall, it IS just a show. I understand you all only really see who we are according to the character we play. I see the longterm effects on someone's career and life. I do also think it's weird to have put another character just like Taylor in as her rival. That to me, is not fun or challenging for KKL. Oh well, I wanted to put it on the line. Please feel free stay here and chat - I'll check in and be hangin here! Thanks for the years of letting me be your "Taylor" the past 12 years, with love, Hunter" Part Three: HunterTylo.com Photos in 2003 Click here for a small presentation. 2004: Joe Blow Strikes Back - Part One - click here.