Character: Ben Warren (Guiding Light) 1997-1999
The character of Ben Warren on Guiding Light was HB's first role in soap opera daytime. Ben quickly became the man fans loved to hate, earning HB a a Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Best Villain as well as several soap-related front page magazine covers: Jan 2, 1998 Soap Opera Magazine; July 28, 1998 CBS Soaps In Depth; September 8, 1998 Soap Opera News; etc. (see photo gallery below).
What were Hunt's thoughts about his role on Guiding Light?
"What a shock. First daytime experience. The job came up quickly. I'd never had to memorize and forget so much. Day after day. Brutal. The technical aspects are slightly more theatrical. Happily, I had Jerry ver Dorn [Ross]. He knows a thing or two about three... Daytime pace is furious, numbing occasionally. The fabric is loose, sometimes sloppy... But Ben Warren, as conceived, had this incredibly clear singular psychology. Easy. He was just a shark. No equivocation. Kind of a problem memorization-wise because as a lawyer, he had lots to say and as a shark, he never misspoke... There were some good people there, but it was a grim place."
YouTube - A soap fan's best friend:
There is a vast library of archived Guiding LIght episodes available on YouTube. To ease in your Hunt Block/Ben Warre search, I've created several play lists - starting from HB's first appearance on GL in October 1997 (watch play list: GL1 - Meet Ben Warren)
Check out www.youtube.com/hbfansite to watch.
Brief History of Ben Warren
(courtesy of www.soapcentral.com)
Ben Warren came to town for one reason only, to destroy his half-brother Ross Marler. Since Ross decided not to tell Ben that they shared the same mother, who had Ben in secret and gave him up for adoption, Ben felt he was denied his birthright and came to Springfield to take everything that Ross loved away from him: including his career, his sons, and his wife.
In a short time, Ben was successful. He got Roy Meechum, Abigail's attacker off the hook, propositioned Blake, dated Dinah, and threatened to represent Rick in his quest to gain custody of Kevin. He helped Annie Dutton get out of town and then turned his attentions full time to winning Blake. He nearly slept with her, but called it off until Blake really truly wanted him, which she eventually did. When Blake left town to get her head straightened out, Ben turned his attentions to Beth and her confession to killing Carl. Eventually, Ben confronted Blake about her feelings. This time, Blake gave in and they made love on the Marler living room floor. Soon after, Ross came in and, believing that Ben raped Blake, he tried to shoot Ben only to shoot Blake instead. Blake soon admitted that it was consensual. Meanwhile, she was paralyzed from the shooting and could not walk until she feared Ben's life was in danger because her mother, Holly, had poisoned him and he fell in the tub and nearly drowned. Blake and Ben were an item until Ross came back into her life. After a while, Blake found letters from Ben and Ross's mother and showed them to Ben. The letters proved that his mother did love him and was only trying to do the best thing by giving him up for adoption. After that, Ben and Blake were a full time couple. That is until Blake confided to Ben that Holly was the stalker and he had her locked in a mental institution without telling Blake.
Ben and Alan Spaulding met up again when Ben was chosen as executor of Annie Dutton's estate and Alan was obsessed in finding her. Alan sought Ben's services in finding Annie by offering his connections in return. After Annie's return, Alan hired Ben to defend Annie. For his getting her off completely, Ben was to receive control of Lewis Oil after the Spaulding take over. Unfortunately for Ben, that never happened. When Alan eventually double-crossed Ben, Ben decided he would get his revenge on Spaulding. His opportunity came when his employer and lover, Carmen Santos, offered him the presidency of SanCorp. Ben used Vicky Spaulding and Bill Lewis to exact his revenge.
Later, Ben was shocked and pleased to discover that Drew Jacobs was his daughter from an affair with Selena Davis years ago. Pleased with the prospect of having a daughter, their time together was cut short when tragedy struck: Ben was shot by his lover, Carmen Santos, who saw him kissing her daughter, Pilar. The killing shot, however, came later from Vanessa Reardon who accidentally discharged the gun when Ben grabbed her.
Ben Warren died November 16th, 1999.