Gary Tomlin

Gary Tomlin is an American actor, writer, producer, and director whose career has spanned Broadway and decades of work in daytime television. He appeared on Broadway in 1975 in My Fat Friend.

Tomlin's television career began in 1973 when he was cast as Bruce Carson on the CBS daytime serial Search for Tomorrow. He later played Morgan Simpson on NBC's Another World in 1979. Both productions were based in New York City and produced by Procter and Gamble Productions. In 1976, he made a guest appearance in "The Nightwalker" episode of The Waltons.

His transition into writing began with a co-head writer position on NBC's Days of Our Lives, shared with Michelle Poteet Lisanti, which he held from October 1980 to October 1981. Tomlin subsequently served in various writing capacities on Another World from 1984 to 1985, including roles as associate head writer, co-head writer, and head writer. He also held head writer positions on Search for Tomorrow from 1982 to 1984 and again from 1985 to 1986. From 1987 to 1990, he wrote scripts for the NBC serial Santa Barbara.

Concurrent with his writing work, Tomlin began directing episodes of Another World from 1987 to 1991, then moved to ABC's One Life to Live as a director from 1992 to 1995. He received a Daytime Emmy nomination for directing One Life to Live in 1995 and a Directors Guild of America nomination for the same series in 2001. He also earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for directing Passions in 2001.

Tomlin became a producer on All My Children in New York from 1995 to 1996 before rising to Executive Producer of the NBC serial Sunset Beach, overseeing the series from its 1997 debut through its cancellation in 1999, while also directing episodes throughout its run. He then directed episodes of NBC's Passions in Los Angeles beginning in 2000.

In January 2001, ABC hired Tomlin as Executive Producer of One Life to Live, replacing Jill Farren Phelps. During his tenure, the show reintroduced 1980s villains Allison Perkins and Mitch Laurence in a storyline that revisited events from 1986 and 1987, and continued the multiple personality storyline of Victoria Lord, portrayed by multiple Emmy-winning actress Erika Slezak. One Life to Live won its first and only Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for the 2001–2002 season. ABC replaced Tomlin with Frank Valentini in late 2002.

Tomlin returned to directing Passions in April 2003, continuing through December 2007. During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, he replaced Ron Carlivati as head writer of One Life to Live, serving in that capacity from February to May 2008. Tomlin, formerly a member of Writers Guild of America West, maintained financial core status during the strike.

He subsequently joined Days of Our Lives as co-executive producer, hired by Ken Corday, from September 2008 to September 2011. In August 2012, he was named co-head writer of that series alongside Christopher Whitesell, a position he held until August 2015. Since November 2016, Tomlin has worked as a director on ABC's General Hospital.