Liza Walton Sentell
Encyclopedia
Liza Kaslo Sentell was a fictional character
on the now cancelled American
Soap opera
, Search for Tomorrow
. She was played, most notably, by Kathleen Beller; actress and writer, Meg Bennett
; the late actress Sherry Mathis, who was most identified in the role; and Louan Gideon
, who played her to the show's end in 1986.
Liza was the daughter of Janet Walton
and her second husband, Dr. Dan Walton. This makes her the granddaughter of Stu Bergman
. As a young girl, she was devoted to her father, which explained why she was so against her widowed mother's remarriage to psychiatrist Wade Collins. She felt that it would have been an affront to his memory.
After he skillfully made her see and understand what her unhappiness was doing to her mother, she gave her blessing and Janet and Wade married. She also warmed to her new stepfather.
Liza met a young musician named Steve Kaslo (Michael Nouri
); the brother of her friend, Amy Kaslo (Anne Wyndham). They fell in love and were eventually married. Steve also discovered he had leukemia, and was near death. For a while, it went into remission, but it became malignant again, and eventually Steve died while recording a song.
After his death, Liza was courted by Travis Sentell
(Rod Arrants), a wealthy businessman who had just brought Tourneur Industries into the community of Henderson. His uncle, Martin Tourneur (John Aniston
) eventually became Joanne Gardner
's fourth husband until she divorced him because of his infidelity.
He had funded Steve's rock opera, when her mother refused to help Liza, on legal advice. They shared many exotic adventures including kidnapping, almost getting killed and blown up in Hong Kong, and dealing with many very shady people, which included his own parents. This culminated in their marriage. Even after Travis's death and her remarriage, Liza is usually best remembered as Liza Sentell, just as her mother is best remembered as Janet Collins
. This is because of the longevity of her marriage to Travis.
They were married for a good part of the eighties until Travis was killed. She eventually remarried into the Kendall family. In the show's final episode, Liza had seen someone who was a spitting image of Travis and was intrigued. However, this hadn't been pursued, since Search was cancelled. In many ways, the Travis and Liza story was Search for Tomorrow's answer to General Hospital's Luke and Laura storyline, which had been very popular at the time due to the adventuresome nature of the story.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the now cancelled American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
. She was played, most notably, by Kathleen Beller; actress and writer, Meg Bennett
Meg Bennett
Meg Bennett is an American television soap opera writer and occasional actress. She is married to General Hospital Head Writer Robert Guza, Jr.-Early life:...
; the late actress Sherry Mathis, who was most identified in the role; and Louan Gideon
Louan Gideon
Louan Gideon is an American actress best known for her role as Danielle Atron, the Antagonist, on Nickelodeon's The Secret World of Alex Mack. She was also the final actress who played Liza Walton Sentell on the soap, Search for Tomorrow.-Biography:Gideon, born in Erath County, Texas, was a jazz...
, who played her to the show's end in 1986.
Liza was the daughter of Janet Walton
Janet Bergman Collins
Janet Gardner Walton Collins is a fictional character in the now-defunct American soap opera, Search for Tomorrow. She was played by several actresses including actresses Ellen Spencer, who originated the role in 1951, and Fran Sharon, but actress Millee Taggart is most identified in the role...
and her second husband, Dr. Dan Walton. This makes her the granddaughter of Stu Bergman
Stu Bergman
Stu Bergman was a fictional character in the now-cancelled American soap opera, Search for Tomorrow. The part was played for almost all of the show's 35 years by the late Larry Haines.- Jo's best friend :...
. As a young girl, she was devoted to her father, which explained why she was so against her widowed mother's remarriage to psychiatrist Wade Collins. She felt that it would have been an affront to his memory.
After he skillfully made her see and understand what her unhappiness was doing to her mother, she gave her blessing and Janet and Wade married. She also warmed to her new stepfather.
Liza met a young musician named Steve Kaslo (Michael Nouri
Michael Nouri
Michael Nouri is an American television and film actor. He may be best known for his role as Nick Hurley, in the 1983 film Flashdance. He has had recurring roles in numerous television series, including NCIS as Eli David, the father of Mossad officer Ziva David, The O.C. as Dr...
); the brother of her friend, Amy Kaslo (Anne Wyndham). They fell in love and were eventually married. Steve also discovered he had leukemia, and was near death. For a while, it went into remission, but it became malignant again, and eventually Steve died while recording a song.
After his death, Liza was courted by Travis Sentell
Travis Sentell
Rusty "Travis" Tourneur Sentell, Jr. was a character in the now-cancelled American soap opera, Search for Tomorrow. He was played by actor Rod Arrants.Travis was the son of Rusty Sentell, Senior and his wife, Mignon...
(Rod Arrants), a wealthy businessman who had just brought Tourneur Industries into the community of Henderson. His uncle, Martin Tourneur (John Aniston
John Aniston
John Anthony Aniston is a Greek-American actor and the father of actress Jennifer Aniston. He is best known for his role as Victor Kiriakis on the NBC daytime drama Days of our Lives, which he originated in July 1985 and has played continually since then.-Early life:Aniston was born Yannis...
) eventually became Joanne Gardner
Joanne Gardner
Joanne Gardner was the main character on the long-running soap opera Search for Tomorrow. For 35 years, the role was played by actress Mary Stuart...
's fourth husband until she divorced him because of his infidelity.
He had funded Steve's rock opera, when her mother refused to help Liza, on legal advice. They shared many exotic adventures including kidnapping, almost getting killed and blown up in Hong Kong, and dealing with many very shady people, which included his own parents. This culminated in their marriage. Even after Travis's death and her remarriage, Liza is usually best remembered as Liza Sentell, just as her mother is best remembered as Janet Collins
Janet Bergman Collins
Janet Gardner Walton Collins is a fictional character in the now-defunct American soap opera, Search for Tomorrow. She was played by several actresses including actresses Ellen Spencer, who originated the role in 1951, and Fran Sharon, but actress Millee Taggart is most identified in the role...
. This is because of the longevity of her marriage to Travis.
They were married for a good part of the eighties until Travis was killed. She eventually remarried into the Kendall family. In the show's final episode, Liza had seen someone who was a spitting image of Travis and was intrigued. However, this hadn't been pursued, since Search was cancelled. In many ways, the Travis and Liza story was Search for Tomorrow's answer to General Hospital's Luke and Laura storyline, which had been very popular at the time due to the adventuresome nature of the story.