Writing Solutions

"We Can Right It For You"

By  by Gail A. Paparian

If you said John Callahan is Edmund Grey, pat yourself on If you said John Callahan is Edmund Grey, pat yourself on the back and accept the honors on the first tee. While the character won his Pulitzer for chasing down and writing about hard news stories around the world, Callahan the actor garnered a Soap Opera Award nomination for Best Actor in 1996, and picked up the Soap Opera Award for Best Actor in 1997.

When not working on "All My Children" and other projects, Callahan can be found on golf courses in the desert. Most recently, he played in the Pro-Am of the Skins Game played at Landmark Golf in Indio, California. The pro part of the tourney was aired on Thanksgiving weekend.

Callahan, an avid golfer, wants to get his handicap down to a single digit. "That’s pretty tough to do," he noted, "when I’m thinking about the desert where it’s 75 and working in New York where it’s 22 degrees."

Callahan has played in the celebrity Pro-Am Nabisco Championship Golf Tournament (formerly the Dinah Shore) for over 10 years. This tournament is played at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage. With his schedule permitting, Callahan plans to play in the Frank Sinatra Celebrity Golf Tournament this February played at the Desert Willows Golf Resort in Palm Desert, CA.

Before joining the hit series, "All My Children" in 1992, Callahan was regularly featured on the daytime drama, "Santa Barbara," portraying Craig Hunt. Callahan had a three year stint on "Falcon Crest," playing the character Eric Stavros, the playboy son of Cesar Romero.

He also made guest appearances on "Murder, She Wrote," "Three’s Company," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," "Fantasy Island" and "Hotel." He was also featured in made for TV movies, "M.A.D.D." and "When She Says No."

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Callahan headed west to pursue his studies as a pre-law student at the University of California, Berkeley. He worked his way through college as a bartender and nightclub manager.

When he decided to pursue entertainment, he landed leading roles such as Petruchio in the San Jose Repertory stage production of "The Taming of the Shrew," He also starred in "The Rainmaker" at the Berkeley Stage Company and in "Tequila" at the Eureka Theater in San Francisco.

For the millions of people who watch daytime dramas, also known as soaps, the characters are as real to the viewers as are the actors who portray them. Edmund Grey (Callahan) found lasting romance with the character of Dr. Maria Santos (Eva La Rue). In soapdom, they were wed in 1994 and destined to live happily ever after in the wonderful world known as Pine Valley.

Like life in the real world, daytime dramas are not always predictable. Just when you thought happiness had come to Maria and Edmund, Maria was killed in a plane crash. While the body was never recovered, it is unlikely that Maria will ever return to Edmund, or "All My Children."

In the case of life imitating art, John Callahan and Eva La Rue were wed in 1996. "I had to do something to keep my eye on her," Callahan said smiling. Would they now be a duo on the golf course?

"When I was wooing her," Callahan said, "Eva always complimented me on my swing and told me I was such a great teacher. We’ve been married for nearly five years and she hasn’t once touched a club."

Professionally John Callahan and Eva La Rue Callahan have shared hosting duties on Lifetime Television’s "Weddings of a Lifetime" and the 1998 Miss America Pageant. Like his Edmund Grey character, John Callahan is tenacious. While Grey might be seeking an award-winning story, Callahan still wants to get his wife out on a golf course.

He might just get his chance during the 2000/2001 winter season in the Coachella Valley. Callahan loves playing golf, he is dedicated to helping the charities these tournaments serve and he said, "it’s a relatively effortless way to meet people who watch our show."

Watch for John Callahan and Eva La Rue Callahan – on television and on the links.

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