Stars Jonelle Allen and Vivica A.
Fox share their memories of filming that iconic showdown.
The amount of publicity we got from mainstream media was off the charts, recalls Sussman.
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Time,Newsweek,New York Times, everything.
This show was so far ahead of its time.
However, it wasn’t designed that way.
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Generationspremiered Monday, March 27, 1989, opposite the No.
1 show in daytime,CBSThe Young & The Restless.
Had the internet existed then, you and I both know that show would never have been canceled.
Former jazz singer Doreen Jackson (Jonelle Allen) fell hard for Dr. Daniel much to Mayas consternation.
BIRTH OF A RIVALRY
Both Jonelle Allen and Vivica A.
The Tony-nominated Allen joinedGenerationsearly in the shows run, while Fox came on board shortly before 1990.
Today, the former model believes her height 57 helped her land the role of Maya.
They decided to do a screen test with me and write a scene that was a little more provocative.
She looked at it and she said, I like her!
So, I was cast as Doreen.
Kristoff was 61, something like that.
So, when I saw my scene partner was Kristoff, I was like, Yes!
Because here’s this girl coming in with Adam and I have his baby.
And I was like, Get out of here!
My character just came in and took off.
Kristoff and I, we got so much wonderful press.
I remember feeling like, Oh my gosh, I made it.
They were both dressed in these elegant dresses, and then they would go at it.
I was the new kid on the block.
He goes, We got to write a fight scene with those two.
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“COME GET ME, BITCH!”
The dialogue on the page was already priceless.
(I watched you tonight, hangin all over daddy like a cheap suit!
Daniel Reubens loves me, and no little piece ofstreet trashis gonna tell me otherwise!)
ANTHONY MORINA (Director):They were fearless.
And the two of them were like, What are you talking about?
We not using stunt people.
I’m a dancer, and she is as well.
We rehearsed a lot.
A stunt coordinator came in and worked with us and did the blocking for the camera.
As it’s possible for you to see, I kind of dig doing fight scenes.
It was still daytime TV, so it had to be agirlycatfight.
She got the one punch at the end.
It was a lot of slapping and destroying of furniture.
ALLEN:The lines were scripted.
What we were doing while we were saying them the earrings and all of that stuff was not.
I added the kicking off the shoes and the pulling up the train.
They were like, You should have let us know that was coming!
Because in rehearsals, that move wasnt there.
It blew across the studio.
[Laughs]
A line I added was, My train!
People think, Oh my God, they’re really fighting!
That gives it more of an intensity.
But we were absolutely choreographed, and we had to be very exact with what we were doing.
FOX:We did that whole choreography in one take, and we were so proud of each other.
I mean, we were out of breath.
It was like a beautiful dance more than anything else.
And the production team was thrilled.
They were like, Yes, we got it!
It always looks more impactful than what it really was.
MORINA:They were never irresponsible about it, but there was nothing that was going to stop them.
They had developed a really great relationship, but it was also a competitive relationship, which was normal.
They were challenging each other, but they also protected each other.
SUSSMAN:You know how many times we watched it?
It put the show in a different stratosphere.
And I remember less than a year later,Y&Rcopied it.
A lot of people copied it.
All the subsequent [catfights] that have been forced upon people were not motivated.
This one was so motivated, that even though Maya was the aggressor, you agreed with her.
ALLEN:When Kristoff came into the scene, he almost got beaten up.
We were so in it, and he’s trying to break us apart, but we were pumped.
The fight itself was choreographed.
Him walking in and breaking it up was not, so he could have gotten hurt.
He just thought he’d come in and separate us, but we were still going at it.
Sussman, Allen, and Fox all say theyre open to the idea of a revival.
(What are you waiting for, Peacock???)
ALLEN:It has grown through the years.
And it turns out that one of the guys sitting at a table nearby, that was his ringtone.
I walked over and I said, That’s me!
And he went, [screams] Doreen!!
That catfight has taken on a life of its own.
FOX:I remember getting a lot of fan mail.
It always makes its way on Instagram at least a couple of times a year.
Everybody loves acting out our scenes.
Im going to tell you, the training that I received from working onGenerationswas immeasurable.
ALLEN:There are a lot of fans worldwide who are asking for a revival.
There are these social mediaGenerationsgroups from over the world.
I mean, they know the show better than I do, really.
FOX:There is this one fan on Twitter that just keeps on asking for a reunion.
They should bring this back.
And I’m like, Well honey, a couple of people ain’t here no more.
[Kristoff St. Johnpassed away in 2019, and Richard Roundtreedied in 2023.]
But they loved the show, and its lived on on in perpetuity.
It played all over the world.
They say how much they love the show, and that I must try and do a revival.
And Sally’s a great storyteller.
FOX:I would be totally game for a revival.
Some of the young actors and I, we all still stay in touch.
Kelly Rutherford and I stay in touch with each other.
Even the writer, Michelle Val Jean, we still go out maybe every three months or so.
We have dinner at Ruth’s Chris…. Id love to see soap operas make a comeback.
