Where Are They Now? The Legends Of Dynasty John James And AMC Alan Dysert

It’s been a bit since I’ve posted a blog, which hopefully someone out there has noticed. I had to take a brief hiatus from my daily Days viewing to get a real job (temporarily!). But I didn’t completely leave the soap world behind. For the past six week, I served as the production coordinator for a civil war feature filming in middle Tennessee produced by All My Children veteran Alan Dysert (ex-Sean Cudahy) and featuring Dynasty legend John James (ex-Jeff Colby).

Yes, that’s right. Nashville is not just home to the DiMera warehouse in which all the dead bodies of Salems finest and not-so-finest are resurrected when the storyline serves. It is also home to quite a few daytime alums. Melissa Reeves, Scott Reeves, Jonathan Jackson. So it should come as no surprise a movie filming just outside of Nashville would feature not one but two former sudsers. (Dysert also has a cameo in the film as well.)

AMC And Dynasty Alums Go Back In Time!

The Legend of Van Dorn is a historical retelling of General Earl Van Dorn, a complex yet charismatic general who reluctantly aligned with the Confederacy during the Civil War.

He was respected for his horsemanship and was an infamous lover of the ladies. It was this love that eventually lead to his death at the hands of Dr. Peters, husband of Van Dorn’s lover, Jessie Peters.

The film stars Lee Wilson as Earl Van Dorn, Ellie Patrikios as Jessie Peters, Joe Lando (lacking the luscious locks of his Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman fame) as Dr. George Peters, David Meadows at General Nathan Bedford Forrest, D.B. Sweeney as Stansted, Rascal Flatt’s drummer Jay DeMarcus as General Grant, and everyone’s favorite 1980’s California oil tycoon John James as Mayor Haynes.

The Legend of Van Dorn is directed by Emmy-award winning director Shane Stanley with cinematography by Joel Layogan. It is written by Lee Wilson and produced by Brad Wilson (no relation), Scott J. Jones and Alan Dysert.

Where is All My Children’s Alan Dysert now?

Truth be told, I’ve known Alan Dysert for years. He owns an acting school in Franklin, Tennessee, just south of Nashville and I have both studied and taught there. He has had to step back in recent years due to health issues and lets his protege do most of the facilitating at the school now.

12 years ago, Dysert was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive, and sadly incurable form of cancer. You can read all about it in his inspirational book Lights, Camera, Cancer!:

A Farm Boy’s Journey From Soap Opera Bad Boy To Cancer Survivor. But don’t let the cancer fool you! He hasn’t let it slow him down at all. Van Dorn is the third movie he’s produced since his diagnosis! He continues to act and teach when he can.

He also created the “Fight the Fear” program helps individuals overcome their fear of speaking and performing in public. Alan is dedicated to encouraging others to take risks and overcome fears like those he fought for years.

Where is Dynasty’s John James Now?

John James is obviously best known for his role as loving but unloved Jeff Colby on Dynasty, but he had notable tenures on some daytime dramas as well. Coincidentally, he appeared as Jeff Martin on All My Children, though long after Dysert had left the series.

He also portrayed Rick Decker on As the World Turns. Since his soap days, James has done a bit of everything. In the 90’s he did several stints off Broadway including starring in the national tour of Dial ‘M’ for Murder alongside Roddy McDowall.

He has starred in a slew of independent movies including Icebreaker with Sean Astin, and Bruce Campbell, The Cursed aka Peril with Morgan Fairchild and Lightning: Fire from the Sky with Jesse Eisenberg. He has even produced two of his own films. Illegal Aliens in 2007 And a the sci-fi action adventure, Axcellerator which featured his daughter Laura in one of the roles.

And it turns out portraying the mayor of a small Tennessee town in The Legend of Van Dorn wasn’t James’ first time diving into the political scene. In 2014, he ran as a Republican for New York State’s 21st congressional district. And in 2022, he depicted sitting president Joe Biden in the independent film My Son Hunter.

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So what was it like spending six weeks working along side two faces that took up so much of my family’s screen time during my formative years? An absolute blast! I’ve worked on many TV shows and movies of all different styles, genres, and budgets and I have to say, this was probably my favorite to date. Getting to work with legends like Alan Dysert and John James, who never acted like they were anything special and both treated me like an equal (sometimes more than equal!), was something I’ll never forget.

James introduced me to his daughter, a budding star in her own right, and his granddaughter, who is the focus of most of his attention these days. He also remembered me telling him what a fan my mother was and for her birthday brought me and a personalized autographed headshot for her.

Dysert entrusted me to be his right-hand woman, seeking my advice and feedback on so many decisions and protocols. He always checked in with me to ensure I was taking care of myself as much as everyone else. He always made sure I was going okay.

They were both the upmost professionals, never asking for special treatment. They delivered top performances despite acting in heaving costumes in the hot, humid, Tennessee September weather. And they both had fun playing their respective parts, even though we were filming in locations so remote we often didn’t have cell service!

And we ended the whole thing with a wrap party, complete with a visit from Santa Claus ! Because, why not?

It was the time of my life and I hope to have the chance to do it again!

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com