CELEBRITY CARETAKER: Robert S. Woods (Bo, ONE LIFE TO LIVE)
DADDY’S LITTLE DARLING: Tanner, 7
WORDS OF WISDOM: “Nearly everything in life is an opportunity for a lesson, whether it’s counting numbers in an elevator or explaining the moral of a story you’re reading.”
Most soap actors agree that working in daytime is excellent, schedule-wise, when it comes to parenting. And you won't hear any argument from Robert S. Woods (Bo, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) on that score. "It's great because we don't work every day," he declares.
That's why Woods got to tag along with 7-year-old son Tanner and his classmates on a recent field trip to the Philipsburg Manor, a restored, 18th-century farm and gristmill near Tarrytown, NY. While watching the folks there make candles and weave clothing was eye-opening, riding in a bus filled with feisty first graders was, well, ear-opening. "It was pure cacophony," Woods recalls. "Everybody was laughing and singing" But despite the noise level, Woods savors the fact that he and his wife, Loyita, get to do a lot of things with Tanner and his school.
Actually, that's just one unexpected perk of being a parent, Woods observes. "One thing you notice is how your circle of friends is broadened by this whole school experience,'' he asserts. "Tanner's friends' parents have become part of our circle of friends."
Moreover, becoming a dad has also changed the way Woods defines himself. "When Tanner was born, Erika Slezak's [Viki,OLTL] husband, actor Brian Davies, said to me, 'You no longer have your old identity. Your new identity is Tanner's dad.'" Indeed. "These days," Woods continues, "when I go to school, all of Tanner's buddies call me 'Pops.'" Well, not quite all -- some of Tanner's pals have another name for Woods. "Tanner doesn't watch the show," says Woods, "but some of his friends do. One told him that I'd pulled out a gun and arrested this guy. So for the longest time, his friend, Michael, called me 'The Commissioner.'"
While he takes all the nicknames lightly, Woods, a Vietnam veteran, takes the notion of guns very seriously. No doubt that's because some kids have an uncanny way of pretending that anything -- from a pencil to a hockey stick-- is a firearm. "I explained to Tanner that the gun I carry on the show isn't real, it's rubber" states Woods, adding that he emphasizes how hazardous guns can be to people. Asked if that means he's The Commish With A Conscience, Woods laughs, "I don't know. On the show, I make huge mistakes. But, you know, I do my best."
By Joe Dziemianowicz (Soap Opera Digest 2-24-98)