This I Know: Shelley Curtis Litvack, TV Extraordinaire

Shelley Curtis Litvack dishes about turning 50, changing career paths and her American Express Black card.

By Juliette Dominguez
Published: Dec 01, 2007

Shelley Curtis Litvack was once the “Queen of Soaps.” She directed and produced all of the majors—General Hospital, All My Children and Days Of Our Lives. But when she was first starting out, she had high hopes of becoming an actress. It took her five years to realize that her talents really lay behind the camera.

Curtis Litvack’s big break came in 1979, when she landed a gig as a production intern at General Hospital. “I just hurled myself in there, and was blessed to have producer Gloria Monty as my mentor—she was a huge pioneer of daytime television,” she says. “I think my whole career was—and is—based on my hands-on experience. I was always on set, on location, or in an edit room.”

It wasn’t long before Curtis Litvack was tapped to direct the show. In 1983, she decamped for Days of Our Lives, only to return to Luke, Laura and Dr. Noah Drake a decade later. In all, she spent 25 years in the industry, raking in six Emmy awards. But in 2003 she decided she was ready for a change—both in the types of shows she directed, and in her workaholic schedule.

“I’m going in a totally different direction. I’m done with soaps—they’re not fun anymore, they’re monochromatic, they’ve lost their audience. It’s just not what I want to do,” says Curtis Litvack. “So I’ve taken the time to figure out my life. Last year, I directed a mini-series for Lifetime called Monarch Cove, which was like the O.C. It was huge fun to be able to put into practice 25-years’ worth of knowledge and channel it into pulling that whole show together.”

A side benefit of taking a career pause has been having more time to spend with her children—William, 17, Harrison, 15, Erika, 10—and her cardiologist husband, Frank. “I’ve loved being a normal mom, attending their soccer games,” she says. “I regret missing some of their growing-up due to my crazy hours, though I’d squeeze in time by taking them to the studio. My schedule was tough on them, and on me. The children resented me—“the mother”—far more than they resented Frank for not being there. Children want you there, all the time. Now that they’re older, they want me here but they don’t want me here. The fun part has been to re-meet them.”

There’s only one other regret Curtis Litvack has. “I wish I’d gotten out of daytime television sooner. A lot of us were so good at it that we stayed too long at the party. I would have taken more risks, but at the time I was too afraid. Fear holds you back,” she says.

It’s clear that Curtis Litvack is exactly where she wants to be. “Being 50 is a great age,” she says. “You have all your accomplishments, you can reflect on what you’ve done, and you still have the time and opportunity to go up another level. It’s true that I’m no longer the powerhouse woman I was because I know I can’t be that person anymore—and that’s part of the beauty of being in your fifties. I can take a moment to think. I only know for sure what I don’t want to do.”

Here’s what else Shelley knows:

Three words to inspire success:
Commitment, passion and flexibility.

Three words to banish failure:
Realism, diligence and perseverance.

How do friends and family describe you?
You’ll have to ask them! But what they don’t know about me is that I’m sentimental, and a soft touch.

Colleagues?
Ditto.

Breakfast at home or coffee on the commute?
Always on the commute – coffee and egg whites.

If you had to swap professions, with whom would you swap?
A few years ago I would have said Katherine Hepburn, but now I think someone in politics, especially one involved in combating global warming.

Personality trait I'd like to lose:
Ten pounds...

Best advice I ever got:
Marry my husband. It was his advice, and he was right. Part of the key of my success has been his support. He’s truly my soul mate.

Best advice I can give:
Be honest with yourself.

Advice never to take:
You can’t...

High Maintenance or Low Maintenance?
We are all high maintenance. All my friends think they’re low maintenance, but we’re not. We are all spoiled.

Plastic Surgery is:
…to die for.

If we were having a party, what would you bring?
A cellphone, so I could speak with my children, especially my daughter.

Favorite childhood toys?
When I was little my father was a stand-up comedian, and we lived everywhere. I had these tiny bears that traveled with me, and now my daughter has them. She loves them more than anything.

Favorite grown-up toys?
American Express Black card.