Judi Evans, Wally Kurth Off Contract at ‘Days of our Lives’

Days of our Lives fan favorites Judi Evans and Wally Kurth have been taken off contact according to reports.

Janet DiLaurio of About.com reports the actors received the news November 30. Both actors were upped to contract status earlier this year heading into the soaps’ 50th anniversary.

Evans began her soap opera career playing the role of Beth Raines on Guiding Light from 1983 to 1986 before moving on to the role Days’ Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis. In the ‘90s, she took over the popular role of bad girl Paulina Cory on Another World. She also played Maeve Stone on As the World Turns. Evans won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1984 for her work on Guiding Light. Outside of acting, she also works as a sales director for Rose Hills Memorial Park.

Kurth made his television debut as wealthy playboy Justin Kiriakis on Days in 1987. After leaving the role in 1991 (he later returned in 2009), he joined General Hospital in the role of Ned Ashton, which he played until 2007. Beginning in 2012, Kurth recurred on both Days and GH until March of this year when he signed a contract with DAYS. He returned to GH in October for a one-day appearance to wrap up Ned’s storyline.

Stay tuned for more information.

My Take: Contracts don’t necessarily mean what they used to, so it’s hard to know what effect this will have on Evans and Kurth’s screen time, if it has any effect as well. Viewers may not notice much difference in Adrienne and Justin’s current story. I’m a fan of both actors and the roles they have brought to life on multiple soaps. While contracts do guaranty a certain level of work, the downside is that they can also limit the amount of outside work an actor can take. Evans and Kurth are good at what they do and I’m confident that their fans will be able to continue enjoying their work.

Photo Credit: ©John Paschal/jpistudios.com