Hold onto your hats and get ready for a fun blast from the past, Days of our Lives fans. Actress Marilyn McCoo is about to return as Tamara Price, the former love interest of Abe Carver (James Reynolds) and mother to the couple's daughter, Lani (Sal Stowers).
DAYS' head writer Ron Carlivati opens up about the fun casting coup in the latest issue of Soap Opera Digest, admitting that there were huge questions behind the scenes about whether or not Tamara was dead or alive -- which was obviously a question that needed to be answered before they could bring her back!
Speaking about the Internet sites that have Tamara listed as deceased, Carlivati says, "Reports of her death are greatly exaggerated. When we discussed bringing her on, I asked the writing team, 'What is the story with Tamara?' We did research, and even though we knew there were some rumblings that she was not alive, we, in our research, could not find anywhere that confirmed her death. In fact, when the character Lani was brought on, which was just before my time, it was explicitly said Tamara was alive. In the most recent history, it had been confirmed that she was alive, so even though we had heard some rumblings that perhaps she had died, we could not really find this anywhere."
That's good news for fans of the character, who will be popping back onto the canvas on Friday, November 1, for Lani's wedding to Eli (Lamon Archey) -- which Carlivati says he and the show wanted, like all of their weddings, to be "as big and festive as possible" with the limited budget they have to work with.
"We wanted to build it up and we wanted to play the romance as much as we can because we know that because of this threat from Gabi (Camila Banus), things may go awry..."
McCoo originally appeared on DAYS from 1986 to 1987. The actress -- who was the lead female vocalist of the band the 5th Dimension, of which her husband was a founding member -- has also performed as a singer on the NBC soap opera on numerous occasions. However, the multi-Grammy winner is arguably best known for hosting Solid Gold from 1981 through 1984 and again from 1986 through 1988.
McCoo and Davis' upcoming DAYS appearance isn't the first time that the couple is tackling a project together. They frequently perform as a musical duo, having had hit records during 1976 and 1977 with "I Hope We Get to Love in Time", "Your Love," and "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)" -- the latter of which won a Grammy Award. The couple made history in 1977 as the first African American married pair to host a network television show with The Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. Show. They also appeared as themselves on Santa Barbara back in 1985.
What do you think about Marilyn McCoo stepping back into the role of Lani's mother, Tamara? What are your most vivid memories of the actress' time on DAYS? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
