Soap star Deas has Connellsville roots

Emmy Award-winning actor Justin Deas called Connellsville "true small-town America," and he should know. He has lived all around the world. He also knows from experience that Connellsville "is a great place for the arts. It's a good location." He has extensively been on stage and screen.

Deas hasn't lived in Connellsville for decades but says, "When you don't really have roots, a town like Connellsville reminds you that you do."

Deas was born here in 1948, moved when he was 6, returned for fourth grade at South Side Elementary School and visited for many summers. In between, he lived in Mexico City, Tehran and many eastern communities.

His latest hometown visit was five years ago when he performed "Guys and Dolls" in Pittsburgh. He and his family, wife-actress Margaret Colin and their sons, Sam and Joe, stayed at the Newmeyer House Bed and Breakfast, once owned by Deas' family, and the home in which he lived. They now have residences in New York and New Jersey.

"I think I shocked my boys when I told them, 'This is the sink where my mom washed me as a baby,'" he said of staying in his former home. He also visited with childhood friend, David McIntire, who grew up across the street.

Deas has fond memories of Connellsville.

"I went swimming out by that rock in the river. I remember going to Keggy's Drug Store on Pittsburgh Street for penny pretzels and penny candy."

Keggy's Drug Store has since burned.

McIntire remembers the young Deas as "well-mannered, always polite and self-assured, but more worldly than the rest of us. He'd lived in more places. Remember, there were only three television stations then."

McIntire, Deas and other boys took advantage of the Toby tree (Northern Catalpa) growing next to Deas' house. "It had these long, thin pods that we'd dry out and smoke," McIntire said. "It was an awful smoke, bad; none of us could inhale the smoke. One day, someone, probably a neighbor, saw smoke coming out from under Justin's porch and called the fire department on us." McIntire did not discuss any consequences.

He remembers participating with Deas and other children in big snowball fights, with opponents lined up on either side of Race Street. "We always had something to do."

While they were only young, McIntire knew Deas had a gift. "It wasn't a surprise to me that he became an actor. He had so much self-assurance."

Deas returns to Pittsburgh for Sunday's Soap Star Spectacular.

"I've done three or four of these," Deas said. "You certainly get up close and personal with these people. Some of their stories can make you weep. They'll talk about how your show helped them get over losing someone or other ways it touched their lives."

He played Frank "Buzz" Cooper on the "Guiding Light" from early 1993 until the show ended in 2009. He won Emmy Awards for 1994, 1995 and 1997 for his role as Buzz.

Deas won his first Emmy in 1984 playing Tom Hughes on "As the World Turns," and two more in 1988 and 1989 for playing Keith Timmons on "Santa Barbara." But he never watched an episode.

"I hate watching myself or hearing myself perform," he said. "It got so my wife and children would turn off the TV if it was on when I came in."

Deas became interested in performing through his interest in Shakespeare. "I saw (Laurence) Olivier's 'Hamlet' and was blown away."

He was offered a job in equity theater in Florida and worked as a professional actor in New York. He pursued the opposite course of most aspiring actors, who stereotypically wait tables as they await their big break.

"I couldn't get a job as a waiter," he said. "I pounded the pavement for three weeks. I was in my 50th restaurant telling more and more elaborate lies, like I'd waited tables in Paris. I was always found out. They would ask something like 'How do you like your steak tartare?' I'd say, 'well-done,' which exposed my ignorance. So I became an actor."

Never forgetting his love of Shakespeare, he has appeared onstage in both comedies and tragedies, including the Duke in "Measure for Measure," Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet," Brutus in "Julius Caesar" and, returning to his original inspiration, played the title role in "Hamlet" at the Manhattan Theater club.

With the "Guiding Light" ending in 2009, Deas has slowed down his stage work and enjoys home life in New Jersey. He plans to return to more acting once his children grow older.

"You're either around your children or not. With eight plays a year, I couldn't be around them," he said.

Additional Information:

Soap Star Spectacular

• What: One day chance to meet and chat with 11 CBS soap stars, hear their memories and re-enact scenes with a director, with some audience members joining the professionals.

• When: Sunday

• Where: Petersen Events Center

• Time: VIP autograph signing meet and greet (open to 300), 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Main event, 2:30 to 5 p.m.

• Tickets: VIP package, $145, main event only, $35. To purchase tickets, log onto www.celebrityeventsgroup.com or call 1-866-364-0330. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Pittsburgh.

• Who: Actors from 'The Young and the Restless,' 'The Bold and the Beautiful,' 'As the World Turns,' and the 'Guiding Light,' canceled in 2009 -- Christian LeBlanc, Michelle Stafford, Daniel Goddard, Doug Davidson, Brandon Beemer, Don Diamont, Heather Tom, Van Hansis, Kim Zimmer, Robert Newman and Justin Deas are scheduled.