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Gary Tomlin is an American
soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
actor, writer, producer and director.


Career

Tomlin's career on daytime serials began in 1973 when he was cast on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
's ''
Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show focu ...
'' as Bruce Carson. He also made a guest appearance on "The Nightwalker" episode of the Waltons (1976). He later appeared as Morgan Simpson on the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
soap opera '' Another World'' in 1979. Both series were produced in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
by
Procter and Gamble Productions Procter is a surname, and may refer to * Adelaide Anne Procter (1825–1864), British poet, daughter of Bryan Procter * Andrew Procter (cricketer) (born 1968), English cricketer * Andrew Procter (born 1983), British association football player for ...
. Tomlin served as the co-
head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...
of NBC's ''
Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'', which tapes in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, from 1980 to 1981. He then returned to New York as the head writer for ''Another World'' from 1984 to 1985 (at times sharing the position with others). Tomlin next wrote scripts for the Los Angeles serial '' Santa Barbara'' (NBC) from 1987 to 1990. At the same time, Tomlin directed episodes of ''Another World'' from 1987 to 1991, later directing on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
's ''
One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...
'' from 1992 to 1995. Tomlin became a producer in New York for ''
All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...
'' from 1995 to 1996, next rising to
Executive Producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
for the Los Angeles-based NBC serial '' Sunset Beach'' from its debut in 1997 until its cancellation in 1999. He also directed episodes of the series during its run. Following ''Sunset Beach'', Tomlin directed episodes of NBC's new series ''
Passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and pro ...
'' in Los Angeles from 2000 until he was hired by ABC as the new Executive Producer of ''One Life To Live'' in January 2001, replacing
Jill Farren Phelps Jill Farren Phelps (born July 7, 1950) is an American television producer. She is known for her work with American soap operas, having served as executive producer of '' Santa Barbara'', '' Another World'', ''Guiding Light'', ''One Life to Live ...
. He also directed episodes of ''One Life to Live'' during his stint there. Tomlin's time at ''One Life to Live'' saw the return of 1980s villains
Allison Perkins Allison Perkins is a fictional character on the American soap opera '' One Life to Live''. Barbara Garrick originated the role from 1986 to 1987, returning from August 15, 2001 to August 27, 2002 and then making brief appearances from October 24 ...
and
Mitch Laurence Mitch Laurence is a fictional character from the ABC daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live''. He was portrayed by Roscoe Born from 1985 to 1987 and again from 2002 to 2003. Born returned from November 9, 2009, to April 6, 2010. Born reappeared ag ...
in a storyline creating a
secret history A secret history (or shadow history) is a revisionist interpretation of either fictional or real history which is claimed to have been deliberately suppressed, forgotten, or ignored by established scholars. "Secret history" is also used to desc ...
for events from 1986 and 1987, as well as a renewal of the on-again, off-again
multiple personality Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality, personality sta ...
storyline of character
Victoria Lord Victoria Lord is a fictional character and matriarch of the Lord family on the American soap opera ''One Life to Live'', played for over 41 years by six-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning actress Erika Slezak. The character was created as one of the ...
, as played by multiple
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning actress
Erika Slezak Erika Alma Hermina Slezak (; born August 5, 1946) is an American actress, best known for her role as Victoria "Viki" Lord on the American daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live'' from 1971 through the television finale in 2012 and again in the ...
. The series won its first and only
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series is an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was first awarded at the 24th Primetime Emmy ...
for the 2001–2002 season. In late 2002, ABC announced that it was replacing Tomlin with
Frank Valentini Frank Valentini is the executive producer for the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital''. He previously held the position of executive producer, director, and composer for the ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live''. From 1986 to 1992 he worked as stag ...
. Tomlin returned to directing ''Passions'' in 2003, leaving in December 2007Because of
DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
's extended broadcast schedule for new ''Passions'' episodes, shows directed by Tomlin will continue to air through Summer 2008.
and replacing
Ron Carlivati Ronald David Carlivati (born November 25, 1968) is an American screenwriter. He is best known for his tenures as head writer on the ABC Daytime soap operas ''One Life to Live'' and ''General Hospital''. He is currently serving a position as head w ...
as head writer of ''One Life to Live'' during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike

In April 2012, Tomlin was named co-headwriter with Christopher Whitesell of Days of our Lives. He was previously co-executive producer, 2008–2011, before being let go from that position


Positions held

''
All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...
'' *Producer (1995–1996) '' Another World'' *Actor: Morgon Simpson (1979) *Associate head writer (1984) *Co-head writer (July 1984 – January 1985) *Head writer (January 1985) *Director (1987–1991) ''
Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'' *Head writer (with
Michelle Poteet Lisanti Michelle Poteet Lisanti is an American television soap opera writer. Positions held '' Another World'' * Screenwriter: 1995 – 1996 '' Days of Our Lives'' * Head Writer: October 10, 1980 – October 20, 1981 *Breakdown Writer: 1987 – 1994, Jun ...
; October 20, 1980 – October 20, 1981) *Co-executive producer (hired by
Ken Corday Kenneth Robert Corday (born June 16, 1950) is an American television soap opera producer and music composer. He is the son of Ted Corday and Betty Corday, the co-creators of ''Days of Our Lives''. His production company Corday Productions owns 1 ...
; September 17, 2008 – September 2, 2011) *Co-head writer (with
Christopher Whitesell Christopher Whitesell is an American television soap opera writer. He has served as either co-head writer, associate head writer, or a breakdown writer on the shows he has worked. In April 2012, he was named co-head writer of ''Days of Our Lives' ...
; hired by
Ken Corday Kenneth Robert Corday (born June 16, 1950) is an American television soap opera producer and music composer. He is the son of Ted Corday and Betty Corday, the co-creators of ''Days of Our Lives''. His production company Corday Productions owns 1 ...
; August 17, 2012 – August 18, 2015) ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...
'' *Director (November 15, 2016 – present) ''
One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...
'' *Director (1992–1995; 2001–2003) *Executive producer (January 2001 to February 2003) *Script writer (December 2007 – February 2008; May 2008 – 2008) *Head writer (February 15, 2008 – May 1, 2008) ''
Passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and pro ...
'' *Director (2000–2001; April 2003 – December 2007) '' Santa Barbara'' *Script Writer (1987–1990) ''
Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show focu ...
'' *Actor: Bruce Carson (#3) (1973–1974) *Head writer (1982–1984; 1985–1986) '' Sunset Beach'' *Executive producer (entire run, 1997–1999) *Director (entire run, 1997–1999) ''
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
'' *Writer ''
W.I.T.C.H. ''W.I.T.C.H.'' (stylised as ''W.i.t.c.h.'') is an Italian fantasy Disney comics series created by Elisabetta Gnone, Alessandro Barbucci, and Barbara Canepa. The series features a group of five teenage girls who become the guardians of the classi ...
'' *Creator


Awards and nominations

*
Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...
: Win (2002; Best Drama; ''One Life To Live'') *Daytime Emmy: Nomination (2001; Best Directing; ''Passions'') *Daytime Emmy: Nomination (1995; Best Directing; ''One Life To Live'') *
Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...
: Nomination (2001; ''One Life To Live'')


Head writer history

, - , - , - , - , -


Executive producing history

, -


Notes and references


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomlin, Gary American male soap opera actors American soap opera writers Living people Soap opera producers Year of birth missing (living people) American male television writers