When Walter met Erika: Kathy Hontz, my forever friend from my “Dark Shadows” days, and I first met Erika in the spring of 1971. As a Dark Shadows (DS) “studio kid” I became friendly with George Smith, who was the security guard at the DS studio. After DS was cancelled he moved over to the One Life to Live studios on West 67th St.  (All My Children and OLTL shared the same studio.)  I had always been a OLTL fan as it had then preceded Dark Shadows at 3:30 in the afternoon.

When the “new” Viki was recast with Erika, I became instantly smitten and desperately wanted to meet her. At the studio in the spring of 1971, Kathy and I went to see George Smith and I asked  George if the actress who was playing Viki was working that day.  He assured she was and said how much he liked Erika.  Erika was leaving the studio late afternoon (with packages in hand—which was always typical of Erika) when I asked if I could get an autograph.  Erika could not have been friendlier or more gracious.  She asked my name and when I replied Walter, she said “oh, that’s my father’s name”.

Fan Club Agreement: After several visits hanging outside the studio throughout the summer and into early fall I finally mustered up the courage and on October 7, 1971 asked if I could start a fan club for her. Erika said she really didn’t know much about fan clubs but knew her father had fan clubs that were connected with the studios when he was making films in Hollywood. I explained a bit about what it would entail (as I had run a fan club for the actor Thayer David when he was on Dark Shadows) I tore out of piece of paper from my high school looseleaf book and wrote up a a couple of sentences giving me authorization for  me to start a fan club for her.  Erika signed this not so official document and that started my journey with this fan club.

The fan club started sending out newsletters in January of 1972. Then in March of 1972, Kathy and I actually appeared on OLTL as courtroom spectators (extras) during Steve Burke’s trial. Of course “Viki” was present in the courtroom for that episode and it was such a fun experience.

Fan Club Officers: I then met Arlyne Zinstein because of our mutual interest in Erika and the show. In those early days Arlyne ran a fan club for David Snell, who played Jack Lawson on the show. Kathy and Arlyne hold the distinction of being my longest and most faithful friends from those early years. In the 70s, both Arlyne and Kathy were officers of the club…Arlyne being the VP and Kathy was the secretary who typed all of the newsletters. But the very first VP was Debbie Furie, a kind, quiet gal who adored Erika. If anyone out there has any information about Debbie, please drop me a line, as I would love to catch up with her after all these years. Both Arlyne and Kathy held their positions through 1976.

First Gathering: In 1975, Arlyne ran Lee Patterson’s fan club, and we hosted the very first Erika Slezak/Lee Patterson Fan Club Gathering! Erika’s fan club and other clubs held back-to-back OLTL fan club gatherings, which the entire cast attended. At our 1976 OLTL gathering, fan club member and friend, Louis Serpe, who also served as an officer in our club in 1977, wrote and made a speech entitled, “Thoughts on Daytime Television,” which was well received by all the actors and honored guests, including producer, Doris Quinlan, and other ABC executives. In fact, he also spoke at the 1977 OLTL luncheon and, according to the press, his speech was greeted by “thunderous applause!” (Please make sure to check out the “Fan Club Gathering” link which includes luncheons, gatherings, press coverage, and candid photos.)

Walter