Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Casting News: Officer Down! Parnell Exits 17 Year Role

According to SON, Charles Parnell has left the role of Derek Frye. The role will not be recast. Parnell took over the role of Derek in 2005 from William Christian who originated the role in 1991. The role will not be recast and no air date for an onscreen exit will be arranged.

Christian played the contract role of Derek until 1991, but continued in a recurring basis. The Frye family continued to grow throughout the 1990's, but saw its numbers diminish in 2007. Tanisha Lynne (ex-Danielle Frye) was the last Frye family member on contract. Hopefully, the writers will reunite estranged father and daughter offscreen to account for this longtime resident's absence.

The writers have been referring to Derek offscreen since the Hubbards came back to Pine Valley. It was somewhat ironic that Derek was not called to The Season's East Casino to respond to the shooting at the Hubbard Wedding.

This begs the question that in light of the growing diversity on canvas with the reintroduction of the Hubbard family, can Pine Valley only accommodate one African American family at a time? Derek shares a lot of history with many of the characters on canvas, including a short lived engagement with Dr. Angie Hubbard (Debbi Morgan).

The SON report also confirms the exit of Billy Miller (Richie Novak), Leven Rambin (Lily Montgomery) and the conclusion to Cady McClain's run as Dixie Cooney's spirit.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

awe, I'm sad to hear this. I really liked him on AMC. Thanks for letting me know.