THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS' Eric Roberts (ex-Vance) loves portraying bad guys, and the one he's taken on in the upcoming film, West End, is doozy! "I play a classic 'family' -- aka mob -- guy, embroiled in an emotional story fueled by a screwed sense of loyalty," he tells Soaps In Depth with a grin. "I'd kill for my brother, but I'd also sleep with his wife."

Actually, it's his grown son, played by Neal Bledsoe (Gary, AS THE WORLD TURNS; Quinn, GUIDING LIGHT) that Roberts' character will have to look out for: he's come home gunning for answers! But first the young man will have to deal with his own past. Namely some complicated feelings for his ex-girlfriend, played by ONE LIFE TO LIVE's Melissa Archer (Natalie).

Although he'd already wrapped his scenes on the Asbury Park, NJ, set and headed off on a trip to Europe, Roberts was happy to share his experience. "The fun of the project was the cast, the director, and the location," he confides. "You can't beat the Jersey Shore!"

Los Angeles residents can check out a segment on Thom Bierdz (ex-Phillip, THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS) set to air tonight, Wednesday, May 16, on the Channel 2 CBS news, which starts at 11 p.m. The interview will also appear on CBSLA.com starting tomorrow. "This piece will also be part of a much longer interview - a half hour episode on my life and art - which will be on CBS' new show called CROSSROADS about people who have overcome many obstacles and changed paths," Bierdz shared in an email.

The actor says that he continues to enjoy living in Lake Arrowhead where he works as a painter, creating commissioned portraits. "After decades in Hollywood, this escape to nature makes this the best year in my entire life."

Check out Bierdz's segment on CBSLA and his revamped website www.ThomBierdz.com where the actor displays about 100 of his portraits.

Actor/teacher/poet Brian Gaskill (Dylan, GUIDING LIGHT; BJ, AS THE WORLD TURNS; Ozzie, THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL) is hosting "Make it Real," an evening of poetry to raise funds for the Garden State Players' summer musical, Footloose. The production benefits Meridian Healthcare's new Pediatric Care Center located at Bayshore Community Hospital in Holmdel, NJ. Bring your original prose for a chance to take the stage with Gaskill and read. Later, enjoy a free meet and greet opportunity after the show. Additional entertainment to be provided by singer/songwriter/acoustic guitarist George Wirth. The event will take place on Monday, June 4, at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity Restaurant in Keyport, NJ. Tickets run $25 each, with an additional $30 three-course meal option available. Call (732) 497-2998.

It may feel like only yesterday that the long-running GUIDING LIGHT signed off the airwaves forever, but it was actually back in September of 2009. As part of their ongoing series of soap opera DVD collections, Soap Classics has today released GUIDING LIGHT: Farewell To Springfield, a 2-disc set that contains the final 10 episodes of the legendary daytime drama.

Click here to order your copy for just $19.99 and own a piece of soap history.

THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL delves into its first lesbian storyline this week when Crystal Chappell debuts on Thursday, May 17, as Karen Spencer's partner (and Caroline's other mom), Danielle. This marks the fourth gay character the actress has played in recent years, and she said it was without hesitation that she accepted the recurring role. "I said yes even before we got into any of the negotiation stuff," she notes.

As a celebrity ambassador for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, an organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, Chappell is proud to help B&B tell this story. "I appreciate that they are willing to represent the people out there who need to be represented," she says.

B&B executive producer and headwriter, Bradley Bell, told Chappell that he'd admired the work she'd done on the Emmy-winning webseries VENICE: THE SERIES, of which she is a creator, executive producer and star. "He told me he was very impressed with what we'd put together. Obviously, that meant a great deal to me, coming from him!" she says.

In addition to VENICE, Chappell is helming another web soap this summer called THE GROVE, and she'll begin taping a role in a third web series, THE TEAM, next month. So while she'll have limited time on her hands to keep Dani in the mix at B&B, the actress feels it's certainly doable. "At B&B you can go in and tape two or three shows in a day," she explains. "Even if [I can only get back for one day], you can absolutely get a lot done. So the role is really perfect for me."

With DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES having aired its final episode this past weekend, Darcy Rose Byrnes (ex-Abby, THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS) posted this original composition "Curtain Call" to YouTube as a farewell to her DH friends and family. Byrnes played Penny Scavo on the primetime soap, on-screen daughter to Felicity Huffman and Doug Savant's Lynn and Tom Scavo.

"Already missing my TV family & friends like crazy! ;D" Byrnes tweeted.

THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL's Maeve Quinlan (ex-Megan) will be guest-starring in the season finale of HAWAII FIVE-0, which is set to air on Monday, May 14, at 10 pm EST. In the episode, entitled "Ua Hala," Quinlan will be playing the wife of Chief Vincent Fryer, played by Tom Sizemore. And since the description of the finale has one of the Five-0 team members "forced to choose which of their kidnapped loved ones will live," she might be the one with the uncertain fate. You'll have to tune in to find out for sure!

Sorry, ladies! Jordi Vilasuso (ex-Tony, GUIDING LIGHT) just announced via a Facebook status change that he is now engaged to girlfriend Kaitlin Riley. All our best to the happy couple!

In addition to releasing classic episodes of AS THE WORLD TURNS and GUIDING LIGHT on DVD, Soap Classics has also been streaming single classic episodes on their Web site. It's just one, and usually linked to the most recent DVD set that they're releasing.

But to celebrate Mother's Day, Soap Classics is streaming a true ATWT classic: The game-changing episode where Lucinda learns the shocking identity of Lily's birth mother. (Spoiler alert — it's Iva!)

You can click this link to watch the episode, but don't put it off too long, because they only stream one classic episode at a time, and there's no telling how long this one will be up before it's replaced by a new one!