This week TVGuide.com reported that Guiding Light is killing off Ross Marler, who has been MIA in Springfield since Jerry ver Dorn jumped to One Life to Live last fall. This classic character's off-screen death is a downer indeed, but there is an upside: Liz Keifer — who plays Ross' redheaded wife, Blake — gets sprung from story-line limbo.
"This opens the door for Blake to be a free agent again," Keifer tells TVGuide.com. "She has been paired with Ross for 14 years. We've been known as 'Bloss' for a long time! Jerry and I had so much fun playing together. He's such a professional; I learned so much from him. Of course I'm sad that's over, but I prefer confronting the loss of Ross than continuing to pretend he's still here and everything's fine."
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Last September Jerry ver Dorn left his signature soap role as politician Ross Marler on CBS' Guiding Light to step in as the new Clint Buchanan at ABC's One Life to Live. Since the move was abrupt, GL covered for Ross' absence by explaining that he'd gone off to Washington, D.C. Next week viewers will get the sad news that Ross has died in an off-screen plane crash. TVGuide.com asked GL's longest-running cast member how he feels about his character's grim exit.
TVGuide.com: How has the news of Ross' death hit you?
Jerry ver Dorn: I feel kind of bad about it because I invested 26 years, but there's no way the show could have given me resolution to the character. Even if they wanted to, there's no way I could've gotten out because Guiding Light took me off contract, and two days later I was on contract with One Life to Live. It's sad.
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