IT’S DAY <i> AND </i> NIGHTTIME FOR HILLARY B. SMITH

Hillary B. Smith is on a crusade. She currently plays Nora Gannon on “One Life to Live” on the East Coast while co-starring with Gene Wilder as Annie Bergman in the prime-time series “Something Wilder” on the West Coast.

“I really wanted to open the doors between daytime and prime time,” says Smith of her reasons for undertaking both roles. “To bring some respect back to daytime where it belongs. Daytime is just another job choice, not someplace where people are exiled. There should be no stigmas. Daytime is just a different form of the same medium.”

The actress says that she is no martyr--she just loves what she does.

“I wanted to show the people in daytime that you can do both,” she says, “and to show management that the more you let your actors leave, the more they will want to stay.”

When Barnett Kellman, who directed Smith when she played Margo Hughes on “As the World Turns,” approached her about the nighttime role, she had just negotiated a new two-year contract with “One Life to Live.” Although the contract had not been signed, Smith says, “I had given my word. Leaving ‘One Life’ was not an option. Luckily my character was going on back-burner mode so ABC encouraged me to do it. It’s a cooperative effort--all the more so since ‘Something Wilder’ is on a different network (NBC).”

The logistics of doing shows on both coasts are mind-boggling. Says Smith: “I can do it only because of my husband (Phillip Nip Smith). He runs his own business while also taking care of everything for me so that all I have to do when I’m in New York is my job and be with my family (an 8-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son).”

The actress calls her husband “the most incredible, supportive man I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. He is my best friend, my confidant, my love. And one of the best fathers I know. I can’t say enough that would describe how wonderful he is.”

To get an idea of Smith’s bi-coastal schedule: “Something Wilder” is in production three out of four weeks. She tapes “One Life to Live” all day on Mondays, then catches a redeye from New York to Los Angeles. She reports for work on Tuesday morning and works all week until the Friday night taping. She returns to her apartment after midnight before catching an early flight back to New York on Saturday. Sunday is reserved for her family. The week she is off from the sitcom is spent working on the soap.

“When I get on the set of ‘One Life,’ I’m like a big Saint Bernard greeting everybody with glee,” she says with a raspy laugh. “They just wait for me to calm down. But they’re my buds and I miss them so much when I’m away.”

“I’ve had nothing but support from everybody there for what I’m doing,” adds Smith. “Being on ‘One Life to Live’ will always be like coming home.”

“One Life to Live” airs weekdays at 1 p.m. on ABC; “Something Wilder” airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. on NBC.