CBS This Morning
Thursday, October 4, 1990
Stephen Nichols Talks About Leaving Days of our Lives
Co-Hosted by Paula Zahn
Stephen Nichols is saying good-bye to the daytime soap “Days of our Lives” after five years on the show. The role of Patch has made Nichols so popular that last year a consumer survey ranked him second to Bill Cosby as the celebrity who’s best-known and best-liked by TV viewers. Patch started as a shadowy character and ended a hero.
Zahn: And Stephen Nichols joins us now. Good morning.
Stephen Nichols (“Days of Our Lives”): Good morning.
Zahn: Trademark patch gone?
Nichols: Yeah, well, it’s gone today. I–I’m going to hang it up.
Zahn: That’s going to make a lot of people very unhappy out there.
Nichols: Yeah, actually I was at a fan gathering yesterday, and there were a lot of fans–a lot of women and a lot of them were crying. And I asked them to please remember the character because I’m going to hang the patch up and the character will be put to rest. And I love the character and so do they, but it’s time–it’s time to move on.
Zahn: The producers tried to mess with your character before. That isn’t the first time they’ve heard from fans, is it?
Nichols: Yeah, you know, they took the patch off and there wasn’t a problem with that. I felt–my slogan is: If it works, don’t fix it. And if they see you five days a week with a patch on your face, that’s a very dynamic image and they get so used to that. And to take that away really does alter the character, I think.
Zahn: Number two to Bill Cosby on the list. What was your reaction when you heard you were that popular?
Nichols: Really, really blew my mind. And they put a little asterisk by my name, ‘soap star,’ and also Mary Beth Evans, who I work with, was on that list of 10 people. So it was–it was a mind-blower to find out that it was–that I was that popular.
Zahn: So now you’re going to give it all up. Why?
Nichols: Well, a friend of mine at work who is a costumer–is also an actor, said to me one day, “So you’re leaving?” I said, “Yeah.” He said, “It’s time, isn’t it?” I said, “Yeah.” He said, “You know, an actor’s soul is like a gypsy, it has to wander and move on, or it dies.” And that’s the feeling that I have–that I must move on. You know, I can’t continue to do this forever.
Zahn: So what’s going to happen to Patch?
Nichols: Well, I think he’s going to be snuffed out.
Zahn: No.
Nichols: Yeah.
Zahn: Not that–come on, tell us how.
Nichols: It’s really the only way. Well, you know, it’s the typical soap opera story. You chase around after some bad people and you–you get killed, you get blown up, you get shot–you know, something like that.
Zahn: You’re going to break so many hearts out there.
Nichols: Yeah. I’ve been trying to prepare them gently for this. And–but this is the way it’s got to be.
Zahn: So where do you go from here?
Nichols: Well, I have many irons in the fire, as they say, so that when I’m out there and available something will pan out. I have a dramatic series in development and a couple of TV movies possibly with another network. And I have a couple of feature scripts that I’d like to produce independently.
Zahn: What was the toughest thing about the discipline of–of doing a soap?
Nichols: I think the toughest thing was bringing the material up to a level where I could be comfortable with–with it, where I could feel good about it. It was every night two hours sitting down with the script wrangling with these scenes and trying to make something–make some sense out of it. Not always, but that was usually the case–was trying to get it to–to sing, you know, get it to work and make sense.
Zahn: Does that mean your wife knew your lines almost as well as you did?
Nichols: She certainly did. She ran lines with me every single night for almost the entire five years that I’ve been on the show–ran lines with me, so that I would know them in the morning, so I could really get into the scenes and rehearse them and not have to worry about the lines.
Zahn: Are you at all nervous about letting go and–and moving on?
Nichols: Well, I was when I made my final decision a few months back, but I’ve had a few months now to–to go through all the fears and to work through all of the–this stuff with my children. And, you know, there are questions about it. And I’m very comfortable now, and I feel–I feel really excited about it.
Zahn: Well, good luck. We’ll be looking for you…
Nichols: Thank you.
Zahn: …with the patch or without. Nice to meet you.
Nichols: Thanks.
(Transcript and pictures courtesy of nicholsevansfan)
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