Often Guiding Light would try out an actor in a small part and then bringing him or her back in a larger part some time later. I’m continuing an irregular series of posts showing clips of these actors before and after. My sixth entry is about Jeff Branson better known to Guiding Light fans as the last Shayne Lewis. This angry and damaged young man returned from sweeping mines in Bosnia in a wheelchair. He regained his legs and created some magic with Dinah and even managed to make Marina marginally more bearable at the end.
Find out about Branson‘s other roles here:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0105226
Branson actually appeared in two different roles a few years apart before he was brought on full time as Shayne. The first role was in 1999 when right at the end of the Michelle Bauer Santos is framed for Ben Warren’s murder saga, Branson appeared as a rude cop, an obstacle to Manny learning where Ruth Lockhart was.
Jeff Branson as a rude cop at 5:25 into the clip:
Later Branson returned in a short term role as Alan Spaulding in created flashbacks who is explicitly years younger than Alan was when we SAW him on screen in 1977, but that’s the least of the holes in this utter Swiss Cheese of a story. This flashback sort of explains what happened to Maryanne Curruthers, except it makes no sense and actually she made it to shore after the car went into the river and her aunt killed her for some crazy convoluted reason.
Jeff Branson as Alan Spaulding in flashback at 8:35 into the clip:
Branson took on the role of Josh and Reva’s son Shayne when Dinah discovered him in Bosnia. He was temporarily stuck in a wheelchair after being injured while clearing a field of bombs. His fellow worker was Edmund’s unknown illegitimate daughter. They had fallen in love and while she was killed by a bomb their baby was saved. This baby was initially illegally adopted by Marina and Mallet, but by the end of the show his parentage had been revealed and Marina and Shayne reconciled to raise him together. Here Branson is as Shayne with Dinah.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn9Ta0UZEMo&list=HL1326910236&feature=mh_lolz
Tags: Guiding Light, Jeff Branson, Shayne Lewis
