The situation at Guiding Light continues to grow more and more dire with each passing day. With an announced across-the-board salary cut, the show was supposed to avoid having to trim its roster of veteran players. However, that is apparently not the case as 26-year veteran Jerry ver Dorn (Ross Marler) has announced that he will be taken off contract later this year.
"During the past month I've been having some medical problems, and on Wednesday, June 1st, Guiding Light took me off contract as of the end of the summer," ver Dorn said in a statement. The actor declined to elaborate on the nature of his medical problems.
A two-time Daytime Emmy winner for Outstanding Supporting Actor and four-time nominee in the same category, ver Dorn has been a part of the Guiding Light cast since March 1979. A setside source tells Soap Central that the show would like ver Dorn to remain with the show in a recurring capacity.
Last year, after speculation that he might be bumped to recurring status, ver Dorn was signed to a new contract with Guiding Light. However, the actor was asked to agree to appear in fewer episodes -- and presumably to take a pay cut.
Guiding Light does not comment on contract status.