Louisiana

Louisiana actor Monti Sharp looks back at 1990s ‘Guiding Light’ role

Published

3 months ago

November 24, 2025

More than 30 years after his Emmy-winning turn on “Guiding Light,” Monroe native Monti Sharp still remembers the moment that changed his life − when a small-town actor heard his name called on national television.

“And the winner is − Monti Sharp from Guiding Light.” The words, spoken by “The Young and the Restless” actress Kimberlin Brown at the 1993 Daytime Emmys at New York City’s Marriott Marquis Hotel, are still embedded in Sharp’s memory.

“Something shot through me and my body jerked,” he said. It took his “Guiding Light” co-star Amelia Marshall − his onscreen sister − to give him a little push toward the stage.

“It was a very surreal moment,” Sharp said. “It was just all kind of a real enchanting time. Huge surprise to me.”

From Ouachita Parish to daytime TV

Sharp, the youngest of five children born to an attorney and educator, described himself as a “ferocious reader” who spent weekends at the Ouachita Parish Library devouring books. It was there, he said, that he discovered Richard Corson’s “Stage Makeup” − the book that first opened the door to the world of theater and set him on his artistic path.

“I was just fascinated by that book and I checked it out and I kept it for quite a while until they came out a subsequent edition − third, fourth and fifth edition,” Sharp said. “I used to send away for catalogs where I could order things like nose putty and all these different things. I just wanted to try them out. I think that opened my mind up to the reality of theater.”

He spent several years on the road performing in regional theater before landing the role of David Grant on “Guiding Light.” He said he a casting director saw him in a production at The Public Theater in New York City and left a note in his mailbox alerting him about an audition she thought he should pursue.

“I think my manager or my agent at the time reached out and they scheduled the audition ,” he said. “That was a whole new audition process to me. Totally different from auditioning for theater. So I went into it with a kind of − looking back − naive view of it. I thought ‘I’m used to audition for plays. Ok’ but that process lasted a long time and eventually got to the point where we did a screen test. I showed up to the studio to do a screen with Nia Long and that was kind of interesting because I didn’t have the role but I knew I was this close. I think there was maybe two other guys there. I think Flex Alexander [and] I forget the other gentleman’s name. So I did it. I just had fun and we just really got along very well and then I went home and I just kind of forgot it because I was doing plays and other stuff.”

Sharp said his agent called and asked him to come by the office, delivering the news in person that he had won the role. Hearing he’d gotten the part was “exhilarating,” Sharp said.

Sharing the screen with Nia Long and more about Sharp’s turn in Guiding Light

Sharp’s first major storyline on “Guiding Light” centered on a forbidden romance between his character and Kat Speakes, portrayed by Long. The relationship put his character at odds with Kat’s father, Hampton Speakes, who was dating David’s sister, Gilly Grant. The storyline ultimately cemented his Emmy win.

“My character was introduced on the show as sort of this mysterious guy who no one really knew if he was a good guy or a bad guy,” he said. “Kat and I ran away together and we spent the summer on the run, trying to be in love and escape her father [and] the community who thought I was bad. That was a pretty exciting entrance. They really milked that entrance of my character and played into the mystery and all that and I think that’s what really captured people put me in the position to be nominated certainly.”

Sharp believes audiences connected with his earnest portrayal of David Grant because he approached the role with the discipline shaped by his theater background. Sharp said he was determined to do more than simply show up, tape his scenes and collect a paycheck. He wanted the work to matter, he said, and approached the role with a genuine effort to find artistic and theatrical meaning in it.

His portrayal helped cement his character’s fanbase and earned him the 1993 Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Male Newcomer in addition to his Emmy. He was also named one of TV Guide’s ‘Soaps’ Sexiest Stars’ and went on to receive additional Emmy and Soap Opera Digest Award nominations.

Coming from the theater, Sharp said he and like-minded co-stars “were like magnets,” pushing one another to elevate the material beyond soap-opera conventions.

“It’s a very, very fast and very demanding workflow,” Sharp said. “Very different from any other type of work, certainly episodic television where you might be doing one script that whole week as opposed to one script per day.”

What Monti Sharp noticed about the treatment of Black daytime actors in the 90s

Sharp said the soap world of the early 1990s didn’t feature many Black actors as central characters, and issues surrounding race sometimes surfaced behind the scenes.

“There were some wild things that happened that needed to be dealt with,” he said. He approached those situations “not combative, but pretty cocksure,” a stance he believes challenged the show’s writers and producers to respond in kind.

Sharp said he began noticing that Black daytime actors weren’t getting the same visibility as white actors. Walking past newsstands, he said, he would see Black magazines featuring Black talent, but white publications almost never featured them on the cover unless they were part of a group, which he said was rare.

“There was a lot of segregation in the coverage and in the presentation of the product to the public,” Sharp said. “I recall we were doing these − because I was popular at the time − we were doing these public appearances. Go Maine for a couple of hours and sign some autographs with other people from the show and I went on one of these things at some point with a popular character from another show and we just started talking about what a gig this was and he said something like ‘Can you believe for like two hours we’re getting x amount of dollars’. I was like ‘You’re getting ‘X’ amount’. He was like ‘How much you’re getting?’ I said ‘I’m getting ‘Y’ amount’.”

Sharp said that when he questioned the pay gap, he was bluntly told that Black talent did not earn the same as white actors − even with his rising popularity and recent award wins. He recalled being told he should feel “fortunate” to be invited to fan events and was asked whether he wanted to continue, a response he described as a “gut punch.” Sharp said it was one of the first moments that ‘soured’ his relationship with the industry.

Despite his award wins, Sharp’s character’s storylines and screen began to shrink. When he said he raised questions, he was told a major story was coming − one that never materialized. He recalled speaking with one of the show’s writers who later confided that they had been fired after pushing for more material for Sharp and the actress who played his onscreen sister.

Beyond Guiding Light

Sharp’s post-“Guiding Light” career spanned daytime, film, and primetime television. He took on roles in “As the World Turns” and “General Hospital,” appeared in the film “Dead Presidents,” and made guest spots on shows ranging from “ER” and “Modern Family” to “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” and most recently “9-1-1.”

Sharp said these days, between television and film auditions, he has shifted more of his creative energy towards visual art − a passion that long sat in the background of his acting career but moved to the forefront during the pandemic.

He returned to Monroe in February 2024 to exhibit his work at the Northeast Louisiana African American Heritage Museum.

For updates on his artwork, he encourages visitors to join his mailing list at sharpartstudio.com.

Follow Ian Robinson on Twitter @_irobinson and on Facebook at https://bit.ly/3vln0w1.

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Louisiana

Louisiana bill would impose tougher penalties for operating unlicensed gambling websites

Published

8 hours ago

February 27, 2026

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Louisiana bill would impose tougher penalties for operating unlicensed gambling websites

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New legislation in Baton Rouge would reclassify some illegal gaming-related offenses as racketeering law violations, elevating potential consequences.

Louisiana has already stepped up its enforcement of its gaming laws related to potential illegal gaming but a new bill in the state legislature would give prosecutors’ actions more teeth. The proposal would elevate certain crimes involving unlicensed gaming in the state to a racketeering charge with more severe penalties linked to convictions.

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Louisiana bill changes classification of gaming-related charges

Louisiana Rep. Bryan Fontenot has pre-filed HB 53, which could rewrite the state code as it pertains to unlicensed gaming sites. The legislation has been provisionally assigned to the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice, as the 2026 session does not begin until March 9.

Under the proposal, the state’s definition of racketeering would expand to include “gambling, gambling by computer, gambling on cockfights, gambling by electronic sweepstakes, unlawful wagering, and bribery of sports participants.” Under current statutes, racketeering convictions carry penalties of fines of “not more than one million dollars, or imprisoned at hard labor for not more than 50 years, or both.”

Additionally, racketeering convictions that result in sentences of fines of at least $10,000 revoke recipients’ eligibility for parole. The enactment of this bill as currently composed could have a significant impact on the operation of sweepstakes-based online casino sites for real money in Louisiana.

At the same time, many of the companies in that space have already ceased potentially infringing actions within Louisiana.

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Louisiana has already been off-limits for sweepstakes casinos

In 2025, Louisiana gaming regulators and law enforcement took multiple actions to restrict residents’ access to unlicensed platforms for playing casino games online. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill shared a public notice about the illegality of sweepstakes-based online gaming sites, in addition to issuing cease-and-desist orders to the companies affiliated with those sites. As a result, many of the operators of those sites geofenced Louisiana out of their service areas.

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board supplemented that action with its additional cease-and-desist letters. Fontenot’s bill could add additional weight to these demands if it becomes law.

There is currently no legal framework for playing online casino games or redeeming casino bonus codes in Louisiana. While online sports wagering is legal in most of the state, officials in Baton Rouge have not yet tackled the issue of iGaming.

Even if voters in Louisiana someday do clear the way for the utilization of Fanatics Casino promo codes, that would involve licensed gaming and not affect the implementation of Fontenot’s bill. However, such deliberations do not seem imminent.

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If HB 53 becomes law, Louisiana could levy some of the toughest penalties for illegal gaming activity in the United States. Many potential targets of prosecution have already pulled out of the state.

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Louisiana

Governor’s Office of Strategic Community Initiatives | Office of Governor Jeff Landry

Published

20 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Governor’s Office of Strategic Community Initiatives | Office of Governor Jeff Landry

Driving Louisiana Forward Program

Commerical Driver’s License (CDL) Training

In partnership with the Louisiana Workforce Commission and South Louisiana Community College, this program aims to provide African American males with financial assistance to obtain Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training, strengthening the resilience and contributions of this key demographic and improving equitable access to workforce opportunities. This initiative aims to reduce high unemployment rates within this community but also focuses on ensuring participants come from rural and economically disadvantaged areas.

Earn your CDL Class A license with this comprehensive classroom and behind-the-wheel program to drive tractor[1]trailers, dump trucks, tow trucks, delivery trucks, tanker trucks, and flatbed trucks.

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Landry asks Louisiana’s Washington delegation to redraw federal judicial districts

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

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Landry asks Louisiana’s Washington delegation to redraw federal judicial districts

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Gov. Jeff Landry is asking Louisiana’s congressional leaders to amend the state’s federal judicial districts, citing caseload growth and public safety concerns.

Landry sent letters to Speaker Mike Johnson, Sen. John Kennedy, Congressman Cleo Fields, and Congresswoman Julia Letlow requesting the change.

The request

Louisiana is currently divided into three federal judicial districts: Eastern, Middle, and Western. Landry is asking that West Feliciana Parish be moved from the Middle District to the Western District.

In the letters, Landry cited significant growth in the Middle District and an increased caseload for its judges. He said a major driver of the Middle District docket is Louisiana State Penitentiary.

Public safety argument

Landry said moving West Feliciana Parish into the Western District would improve judicial efficiency and better address public safety needs in East Baton Rouge Parish and the state.

He said East Baton Rouge Parish continues to battle violent crime. According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, recent numbers show violent crime in the parish has decreased.

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