Part of my job in running this One Life to Live Web Site for the past three years is to find and list the best OLTL sites available on the Web. It has always been a great pleasure to include the Roger Howarth Fan Club as one of these sites! It takes an extreme amount of hard work and dedication to maintain one of the hottest actor sites on the Internet, and Kristen and Stacy, co-presidents, have done a tremendous job over the years in maintaining this site. It was my honor to recently interview Kristen and talk about this wonderful site to find out what goes into it, discuss Howarth, and what fans can expect during their visit. If you have never visited this site, I encourage to do so soon! Read on to find out more.

The name of your Official site, and URL? 
RHFC/Roger Howarth Fan Club http://rhfc.tvheaven.com.

How long has the site been up?
4 years

How did you first make contact with the star/manager you are representing? 
Bob McGowan was his manager at the time and we were just persistent with our phone calls. Finally, when we made contact with Bob he had visited the site and gave us permission to be the one and only official site and club for Roger.

Have you meet them in person?  
I have met Roger personally, but my partner Stacie has not. Roger does not do public appearances or fan events, but I went to one of his performances while he was doing the play “THE LION IN WINTER” on Broadway. I was able to spend some time with him after the performance. I have never had the pleasure of being on the set of OLTL, but would love to go someday.

Is there an Official Fan Club for members to join? If so, what are the benefits? Where do fans mail to get more information?
We do have a club for fans to join. They need to go to the site and click on the “BECOME A MEMBER” button and follow the directions from there. They can also email me at mrsdrbean@aol.com and ask for me to send them the link to the site. Benefits include having private and fun conversations with other Roger fans and being on an exclusive mailing list to get official news and information on what Roger is doing. We also have message boards and an online store for ordering merchandise.

Does the star visit the site often, or do you just keep them updated on a regular basis?
To our knowledge Roger has never visited the site. All our contact has been thru Bob who did visit the site to see what we were doing and he kept Roger informed.

Can anybody submit fan photos to be included on the site?
Yes, and at this time we are looking for someone to manage a photo gallery for us.

What is your favorite part in doing this site?
Contact with the fans.

Is there any product lines or merchandise the star is participating in?
No L

Will the star be appearing in any upcoming fan events?
No, Roger does not do personal appearances or fan events.

Is there an online newsletter for fans to sign up for?
Yes, they can contact me at mrsdrbean@aol.com and ask for OLTL news

Do you run any other star sites? If so, list the URL.
Yes Stacie does but I don’t know which ones…I know it has to do with Buffy though. She can be reached at rhfc@ureach.com if you would like to ask her directly.

Does it take a lot of time to run an Official site?
YES! Updating and keeping the site clean takes a lot of time. Keeping up on the news of what they are doing, contract status, etc, and making sure the news gets to the fan members is an everyday job.

Is this something you have always wanted to do?
YES! I have been a fan of Roger’s since his first day as “FRAT BOY #1” I have followed his entire story on OLTL, followed him to “PREY”, back to OLTL and now onto Dawson’s Creek. Stacie had already started the site when we met and shortly after meeting she asked me to join her in running the site and club. I have enjoyed me time working together with her and for the fans.

Do you work outside of this job?
Oh yes, running a fan club is for pure enjoyment and love of the actor. It’s not a paying job so I do my fan club work on my off time from my paying job.

Are there any great benefits to you for doing this site?
Just personal satisfaction to know that there is a place that fans can come and feel safe to talk about Roger and find reliable news about him. The Internet is a big and scary place and unfortunately there are people out there that like to play games. All the work I do is worth it when someone within the club takes the time to write a note just to say “thank you” for what you do. Getting that email makes everything worth it.

Is there anything special or unique you could tell us about the star? Perhaps something most fans don’t know.
Roger is a very shy and private person and most do not believe me when I say that. Most misinterpret his not doing personal appearances and fan events as being snobbish and ungrateful to his fans. That is not the case at all. In fact, it’s quit the opposite. Roger is very giving, gracious and very thankful of all his fans.

Tell the fans what to expect to find when they visit the site. Photos, chat room, guestbook, forum, etc. Include any other important information you would also like to include. Including e-mail contacts, upcoming updates to the site, etc.
Fans can find news, photos, a chat room, private mailing lists, message boards and an online store to purchase Roger merchandise (like t-shirts, etc). We try and hold weekly chats on Friday or Sunday nights and email is received every day from other members plus news & tidbits from me, co-president.

____________________________________

I want to personally thank Kristen for giving us fans this inside look into one of the best OLTL actor sites on the Web! Both Kristen and Stacy have put many hours into this site, and your hard work does not go without much appreciation from all of us. Thank you gals!

On a related note, WELCOME BACK ROGER HOWARTH TO OLTL!

Any questions concerning the Roger Howarth Fan Club, you can contact Kristen directly by e-mailing her at mrsdrbean@aol.com.

© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, August, 2002

Photos used with permission from Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly.