Gary Tomlin is an American

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

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 (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

'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 f ...

'' as Bruce Carson. He also made a guest appearance on "The Nightwalker" episode of ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural mountainous Western Virginia of the Appalachian Mountains / Allegheny Mountains / Blue Ridge Mountains chain, during the economic hardships and mass unemp ...

'' (1976). He later appeared as Morgan Simpson on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

soap opera '' Another World'' in 1979. Both series were produced in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

by Procter and Gamble Productions. 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 A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio ...

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 aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

'', which tapes in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, 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's ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

'' 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, 2 ...

'' from 1995 to 1996, next rising to

Executive Producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

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'' 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. 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 United States of America, 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 ap ...

and Mitch Laurence in a storyline creating a secret history for events from 1986 and 1987, as well as a renewal of the on-again, off-again multiple personality storyline of character Victoria Lord, as played by multiple

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

-winning actress Erika Slezak. The series won its first and only Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for the 2001–2002 season. In late 2002, ABC announced that it was replacing Tomlin with Frank Valentini. Tomlin returned to directing ''Passions'' in 2003, leaving in December 2007Because of

DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

's extended broadcast schedule for new ''Passions'' episodes, shows directed by Tomlin will continue to air through Summer 2008. and replacing Ron Carlivati as head writer of ''One Life to Live'' during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Tomlin, formerly a member of

Writers Guild of America West The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 me ...

himself, left and maintained financial core status during the strike. In April 2012, Tomlin was named co-headwriter with Christopher Whitesell of ''

''. He was previously co-executive producer, 2008–2011, before being let go from that position.

Positions held

'' *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) ''

'' *Head writer (with Michelle Poteet Lisanti; 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, ...

; September 17, 2008 – September 2, 2011) *Co-head writer (with Christopher Whitesell; hired by

; August 17, 2012 – August 18, 2015) ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'' *Director (November 15, 2016 – present) ''

'' *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'' *Director (2000–2001; April 2003 – December 2007) '' Santa Barbara'' *Script Writer (1987–1990) ''

'' *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 ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

'' *Writer

Awards and nominations

* Daytime Emmy: 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 director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...

: 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 American soap opera producers Year of birth missing (living people) American male television writers American television writers