BAHL's Babes: Kristian Alfonso

Although almost a dozen BAHL's Babes have been presented, at or near the top of the list for decades has been Kristian Alfonso. Alfonso, who is best know for her portrayal of Hope Williams Brady on NBC's Days of Our Lives, is simply stunning and has always been anchored near the top spot on the list of BAHL's Babes.

Alfonso started on Days as a teenager, and has stayed with role for almost 30 years. Early on, Kristian was accomplished figure skater, winning a gold medal at the Junior Olympics, in her early years, but got the acting bug and began her career on Days in 1981. Soap Opera Digest has on three occasions named her one of the most beautiful women on television, and I would concur with that.

I had occasion to meet Kristian, along with her Days co-star Peter Reckell (Bo Brady), at a mall opening in 2002 and she was as friendly and gorgeous as advertised.

Outside of television, Kristian employed her entrepreneurial spirit and founded a jewelry company called Hope, Faith and Miracles, which offers a complete line of jewelry and accessories. Many of the pieces offered are many of the pieces Kristian wears on Days of our Lives, and that is great advertising as many of her customers are Days fans. The line has been met with great success with a wide assortment of neat and unique items.

Ever since I was a teenager, I have admired the beauty and talent of Kristian Alfonso and the BAHL's Babe list could not be complete without her. Although I don't get a chance to follow DOOL much anymore, I do try to catch her from time to time, which I did recently as she was featured on a float for the 2011 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

She has without question always been my favorite.

Royal Wedding Spencer Style

On Friday, April 29, 2011, Prince William will marry Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey in a wedding sure to be watched by millions around the globe.

The only Royals I am into play hardball in Kansas City, but I do recognize the impact of this event. Certainly, from what I can tell, both Prince William and Miss Middleton seem to carry themselves well and I do wish them all the best.

Without a doubt, this is the biggest Royal deal since Prince Charles married the former Miss Diana Spencer in July of 1981. I thought highly of Princess Di, and her tragic death was most unfortunate. I suspect she would be proud of William.

I do recall the wedding of Miss Diana Spencer and Prince Charles in 1981, but it was not the wedding event of the year.

That was the wedding of another Spencer, one Lucas Lorenzo Spencer, as he married Laura Webber Baldwin on November 16, 1981 in Port Charles, New York. Some 30 million daytime viewers took in the wedding of Luke and Laura on ABC's General Hospital. I remember it well, with Robert Scorpio standing tall as Luke's best man and Elizabeth Taylor in attendance.



Recently, ABC has announced plans to cancel two running soaps in All My Children and One Life To Live. Although AMC ran against NBC's very popular Days of Our Lives, it was well done and star Susan Lucci is a household name. OLTL seemed to never materialize as a top notch soap, but hung on for decades airing between AMC and GH. General Hospital and Days of Our Lives are still running strong, but many long running soap operas have been gone to sunset.

Given the demise of these long running programs, while looking back this weekend a very significant television event against the backdrop of a royal wedding, it is amazing to contemplate the demise of most all of the soaps. The soap opera, diminishing in its gallantry in recent years, remains a historically interesting and valuable part of our entertainment culture, as does the goings on of the royal family in Great Britain.

Horton Family Matriarch Signs Off

I was saddened to learn today of the death of Frances Reid, Daytime Emmy Award winner of the NBC daytime drama Days of Our Lives, who passed away Wednesday at the age of 95. Reid played the matriarch role of Alice Horton since the inception of the program in 1965. The soap centered around the family of Tom (McDonald Carey) and Alice Horton and their extended family. I grew up watching the goings of the Horton's in Salem, and in particular, Alice's granddaughter, Hope Williams Brady, played by the gorgeous Kristian Alfonso. Alice made some outstanding doughnuts, so I am told. The Horton family Christmas will never be the same! RIP Frances Reid!

BAHL's Babes: Krista Allen

A former Miss Texas and University of Texas graduate, it was in the Emmanuelle series where we were first treated to the amazing beauty of Krista Allen.

The big break for Allen, and where I first became of aware of her, was here performance as Billie Reed on NBC's Days of Our Lives. Since then, she has been spotted in various television shows including The X-Files, Smallville, CSI, Friends and had a two year stint on Baywatch.

Allen has appeared in Stuff and Maxim Magazines and was named among Maxim's Hot 100 of 2005.

Krista, a tall drink of water at just over 5' 7'', has appeared in many movies including Anger Management, Totally Blond and a notable elevator scene from Liar Liar.












On the rise to stardom, Krista did do some softcore X stuff during the Emmanuelle movies which is probably the only thing holding her back from being a real big star, who knows? Anyhow, she is the total package combining beauty with brains, and even owns her own clothing company.

It is after the first of the year and many of us need to drop a few and are looking to get in better shape. Good thing for us Krista has a workout video to help us which you may want to check out.