Soap Queen Named Esther r high these days — in more ate Linder is flying than one. When she's not playing the delightful house- eeper, Esther Valentine on CBS' The Young and the Restless," she works as a flight attendant for United Airlines. "It gets crazy," admits Linder. "I usually fly on the weekends and do the The Young and the Rest- less' during the week. I arrange my trips around my schedule at the studio." Linder, who is from California and majored in drama at San Francisco State University, became a flight attendant as a means to support herself while pursuing an acting career. "When I did get the job at the The Young and the Restless,' I continued to work at the airlines because I see so many people who develop huge egos and start to believe their own press," Kate Linder, who says Linder, who performed in plays Esther numerous productions in sum- Valentine on "The mer stock before landing her role Young & The Restless," is one of on the soap. "Forgive the pun, but I thought a job as a flight two Jewish actors on the number-one attendant would keep me grounded." rated soap. he was in a nice storyline, was still a stereotypical Jew," she says. "I also remember once on `Days of Our Lives,' they had Robin, an Orthodox Jew, and in the storyline she and her boyfriend were trapped in a cabin. After being there for six days without food, they found a can of beans and there was an electric can opener in the cabin. But it was Shabbos, and Robin said they couldn't eat the beans because it was the Sabbath and they couldn't use the electric can opener. Now, that is ridiculous. I asked an Orthodox rabbi and he verified that was untrue. You don't sit there and not use electricity if opening a can of beans can save your life." Hirsch hopes that this time on "One Life To Live," Jews will be de- Character picted realistically. ex-Kendall "I am really, really impressed with 'One Life To Live' doing this Alan Quartermaine Jewish holiday dinner—but if they A.J. Quartermaine do it wrong, they shouldn't be do- Lois Cerullo Ashton ing it at R11." El Bobbie Spencer Meyer Brock Jones Make sure to see today's relat- Wanda Wolek ed stories on WOMC's "Matinee Mindy" Markowitz, syndicated Elliot Durbin soap opera columnist Lynda Dorian Cramer Lord Callison Vickers Hirsch and the Soap Opera Fun Fair that will be held in Detroit Brad Carlton next weekend. Esther Valentine Personally, I would love to see a melting pot. But their idea of a melting pot is to suddenly have one particular ethnic group move into town. 'General Hospital' had an Asian Quarter years ago, and now we have a Hispanic community living in Angel Square on 'One Life To Live.' I'm not say- ing that's wrong, and I give them credit for it, but there needs to be all kinds of eth- nic, not just one it's a trendy thing to do." On the occasion when they do have Jews on the soaps, Hirsch points out that, some- times, they are misrepresented or por- trayed inaccurately. " 'Ryan's Hope' " had a family that was terribly stereotypical, and Jake on 'General Hospital,' although PHOTO BY CRAIG SJODI N/AB C In fact, it's rare to see a Jewish storyline at all. "Maybe it's because soap operas are set in small, fictitious, Midwestern towns, where typically there are not many Jews," theorizes Kate Linder, a Jewish actress who plays Esther Valentine on "The Young and the Restless," daytime's num- ber one soap. According to syndicated soap opera columnist Lynda Hirsch, certain ethnic groups, such as Latinos, are fashionable, but Jews never have been in vogue on day- time television. "Maybe they don't want to get into a re- ligious thing," she speculates. "But what- ever the reason, it's really too bad. For the first seven of the 14 years that Linder was with "The Young and the Restless," she kept both jobs. Then, after a five-year hiatus, she returned to the friendly skies. "I missed flying," says Linder, who usually works the short West Coast runs. Fans of the show are more than just a little sur- prised when they are greeted by their favorite maid at the airplane door. "I have had some very funny experiences," says Linder, who gets many autograph requests. "The other day this woman got on the plane and said, `gosh, you look just like Esther,' and I said 'well maybe it's because its me.' She kept saying 'no,' and she got so excited that she punched me. The captain was standing next to me and couldn't believe it" Lucky for Linder, her character is likable. "For- tunately, I am not the kind of character that people want to hurt," she laughs. "Esther is an under- dog, and the fans relate to her positively. Other- wise, I might be in real trouble." Soap Opera Mishpachah Daytimes Jewish Actors All My Children General Hospital Actor Sara Geller Stuart Damon Sean Kanan Rena Sofer Jacklyn Zeman One Life to Live Marilyn Chris Stephen Macht Robin Strasser The Young and the Restless Don Diamont Kate Linder Opposite page: The traditions of Rosh Hashanah will be celebrated on "One Life to Live" in a special episode at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, on ABC. The sharing of the Jewish customs is the first-time ever for the soap opera that first premiered on July 15, 1968, as a half-hour daytime serial. Above: "General Hospital's" Wally Kurth and Rena Sofer (Ned and Lois Ashton) had planned to attend the Soap Opera Fun Fair in Detroit Sept. 20-22, but the real-life marrieds are expecting a baby that weekend. Sofer, whose father is a rabbi, plans to quit the show following the birth to become a full-time mom.