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The following was the very first piece of information I ever got on Lane Davies: can you imagine just how
excited I was!
1994 (in Russia it was the time of the Lily Light s/l)
My cutting is from ‘EVENING EKATERINBURG’ (newspaper), and this copied it from KOMSOMOLSKAYA
PRAVDA
Author: Irina Mastykina
MASON FROM “SANTA BARBARA”
Two small rooms, divided by a plastic wall. A wide bed, a mini bar with Moskovskaya vodka ($32 a bottle)
and Bacardi rum ($7), a auto regulating air conditioner. Everything that’s needed for comfort. Even
champagne and flowers and fruit. When I peeped into the price list in the hotel hall, I saw the suite Lane
stays in is quite common. Not a presidential one. Far from Victoria Ruffo’s and Veronica Castro’s (these are
Mexican soap stars – Olga).
As they explained to me in the committee organizing the “White Nights” festival, in the USA the actor is not as
popular as he is in Russia. Lane does not agree with this. Before Santa Barbara he was really not so well
known, but after it premiered he started getting mail in big buckets. Unlike Russian fans, American ones
express their love for actors in this very way.
Q: Lane, how did it happen so that you've become a member of the jury of this festival in Saint Petersburg?
A: This trip was organized by Larry Namar (?), the president of COMPSPAN company that sold SB to
Russia. He learned I was very popular here and suggested I go. I hope to get to know Russian people better
and to make contact with the theatrical world here: I've been managing my own Santa Susana theatre
company for six years already.
Q: Is the company big?
A: About 50 people. I hope it will soon grow into an Art Center with a capital of $64 million.
Q: In Russia you’re known as the actor who played the role of Mason Capwell. What role does this character
play in your life?
A: Practically, it’s a friend that I had and that was gone then. When I was still doing SB, Mason was a part of
me, his life was my life.
Q: Is the show over yet?
A: It was finished two years ago.
Q: And how long had it lasted?
A: Seven years. And it aired as long.
Q: How many episodes are there all in all?
A: More than two thousand.
Q: Can you tell us what it ended with?
A: I left the show two years prior to its ending, so there was much I just do not know.
Q: Why did you leave?
A: Five years of one’s life is long enough a period. I wanted to do something else.
Q: What way out did the writers, the Dobsons, find for Mason?
A: They sent Mason to Europe. I did the same, I traveled for more than half a year. What did I not see!
Q: So, there was no Mason in the later episodes?
A: Yes, there was, but played by a different actor.
Q: Are you any different from your personage?
A: I do not drink as much and I am much happier. My mind is not Machiavellian, unlike Mason’s.
Q: Do you have the same sense of humor and irony Mason possesses?
A: Yes, I do; that was the main reason for the Dobsons to invite me for the role.
Q: Are you as faithful in real life as in the show?
A: Yes, I think I am. In Saint Petersburg I've met many beautiful women. There were many temptation, but I
fled them. If I came to Russia earlier, when I was not married yet, who knows what would happen.
Q: If you could choose a partner for yourself in SB, who would you choose?
A: Mary, of course.
Q: Say, is Harley Kozak as self-sacrificing in life, is she as kindly?
A: She’s different, but still she’s a very good person.
Q: Did your onscreen romance tell on your private life?
A: You see, making long soaps when your character is in love with somebody, you tend to overlook the
difference between real life and the onscreen life.
Q: Did your real life romance help you?
A: Only on the screen. In reality it led to us having many problems.
Q: Are you in touch with Harley now?
A: I can’t say we dine out together very often, but sometimes it happens. We write to each other, as we’re still
very good friends.
Q: Why did the writers decide to kill Mary off? Was it the actress’s decision, or were there other reasons for
this?
A: I still cannot understand why it happened.
Q: Who, besides Harley Kozak, are you friendly with?
A: A Martinez, the actor playing Cruz, and Todd McKee, my younger brother in the show.
Q: How did you shoot the soap?
A: In San Francisco, SB was a special industry. There were many pavilions with permanent interiors where
different storylines were being shot simultaneously. After this they cut the film and made the episodes, so
that there always were some in store for the future.
In Saint Petersburg Lane Davies did not see a single episode of the soap that had been awarded all the
prizes and awards in existence. He did not have the time to, as he had not had the time to watch the show up
to the end at home. Mason Capwell is far away from him now…
excited I was!
1994 (in Russia it was the time of the Lily Light s/l)
My cutting is from ‘EVENING EKATERINBURG’ (newspaper), and this copied it from KOMSOMOLSKAYA
PRAVDA
Author: Irina Mastykina
MASON FROM “SANTA BARBARA”
Two small rooms, divided by a plastic wall. A wide bed, a mini bar with Moskovskaya vodka ($32 a bottle)
and Bacardi rum ($7), a auto regulating air conditioner. Everything that’s needed for comfort. Even
champagne and flowers and fruit. When I peeped into the price list in the hotel hall, I saw the suite Lane
stays in is quite common. Not a presidential one. Far from Victoria Ruffo’s and Veronica Castro’s (these are
Mexican soap stars – Olga).
As they explained to me in the committee organizing the “White Nights” festival, in the USA the actor is not as
popular as he is in Russia. Lane does not agree with this. Before Santa Barbara he was really not so well
known, but after it premiered he started getting mail in big buckets. Unlike Russian fans, American ones
express their love for actors in this very way.
Q: Lane, how did it happen so that you've become a member of the jury of this festival in Saint Petersburg?
A: This trip was organized by Larry Namar (?), the president of COMPSPAN company that sold SB to
Russia. He learned I was very popular here and suggested I go. I hope to get to know Russian people better
and to make contact with the theatrical world here: I've been managing my own Santa Susana theatre
company for six years already.
Q: Is the company big?
A: About 50 people. I hope it will soon grow into an Art Center with a capital of $64 million.
Q: In Russia you’re known as the actor who played the role of Mason Capwell. What role does this character
play in your life?
A: Practically, it’s a friend that I had and that was gone then. When I was still doing SB, Mason was a part of
me, his life was my life.
Q: Is the show over yet?
A: It was finished two years ago.
Q: And how long had it lasted?
A: Seven years. And it aired as long.
Q: How many episodes are there all in all?
A: More than two thousand.
Q: Can you tell us what it ended with?
A: I left the show two years prior to its ending, so there was much I just do not know.
Q: Why did you leave?
A: Five years of one’s life is long enough a period. I wanted to do something else.
Q: What way out did the writers, the Dobsons, find for Mason?
A: They sent Mason to Europe. I did the same, I traveled for more than half a year. What did I not see!
Q: So, there was no Mason in the later episodes?
A: Yes, there was, but played by a different actor.
Q: Are you any different from your personage?
A: I do not drink as much and I am much happier. My mind is not Machiavellian, unlike Mason’s.
Q: Do you have the same sense of humor and irony Mason possesses?
A: Yes, I do; that was the main reason for the Dobsons to invite me for the role.
Q: Are you as faithful in real life as in the show?
A: Yes, I think I am. In Saint Petersburg I've met many beautiful women. There were many temptation, but I
fled them. If I came to Russia earlier, when I was not married yet, who knows what would happen.
Q: If you could choose a partner for yourself in SB, who would you choose?
A: Mary, of course.
Q: Say, is Harley Kozak as self-sacrificing in life, is she as kindly?
A: She’s different, but still she’s a very good person.
Q: Did your onscreen romance tell on your private life?
A: You see, making long soaps when your character is in love with somebody, you tend to overlook the
difference between real life and the onscreen life.
Q: Did your real life romance help you?
A: Only on the screen. In reality it led to us having many problems.
Q: Are you in touch with Harley now?
A: I can’t say we dine out together very often, but sometimes it happens. We write to each other, as we’re still
very good friends.
Q: Why did the writers decide to kill Mary off? Was it the actress’s decision, or were there other reasons for
this?
A: I still cannot understand why it happened.
Q: Who, besides Harley Kozak, are you friendly with?
A: A Martinez, the actor playing Cruz, and Todd McKee, my younger brother in the show.
Q: How did you shoot the soap?
A: In San Francisco, SB was a special industry. There were many pavilions with permanent interiors where
different storylines were being shot simultaneously. After this they cut the film and made the episodes, so
that there always were some in store for the future.
In Saint Petersburg Lane Davies did not see a single episode of the soap that had been awarded all the
prizes and awards in existence. He did not have the time to, as he had not had the time to watch the show up
to the end at home. Mason Capwell is far away from him now…
Provided and Translated By Olga. Thank You!