NAME: Mary Kay AdamsRANK: 28
SOAP ROLES: India von Halkein, GUIDING LIGHT (1984-1987, 1990-1991, 1998-1999, 2002, 2005); Diane Lacey, ALL MY CHILDREN (2003); Neal Alcott, AS THE WORLD TURNS (1992-1993); Death, ONE LIFE TO LIVE (1992)
AWARDS:
1986 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Villainess in a Daytime Serial
COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Nelson Aspen: India came to Springfield when GL was riding high. MK was immediately a force to be reckoned with because of her physical stature, her immense talent and dramatic beauty. They wrote her with high camp, which she played to the hilt, but always with a vulnerability behind it that made you buy it. Every time India came back over the years, MK always managed to maintain that integrity and embody even the worst writing with a sense of history and a flair that delighted fans. Doug Marland was as entranced by her as her legions of fans, which is why he brought her to ATWT where she did some of her finest TV work. Alongside Terry Lester and Liz Hubbard, it was the ultimate triumverate!
Roger Newcomb: Mary Kay Adams brought class and intelligence to her roles. In the mid-1980s the Lewis family and Reva had taken over GUIDING LIGHT, so India's arrival, and her scenes with Beverlee McKinsey, were like a breath of fresh air. It's unfortunate the show in later years was not able to find a place for her character.
COMMENTS FROM CO-STARS/CO-WORKERS/INDUSTRY:
Robert Newman: (worked with Adams on GUIDING LIGHT) Mary Kay is all energy all the time. Funny and smart and always that twinkle in her eye. Always some kind of mischief going on with her. She would throw out this deadpan delivery with a smirk. You could tell how much she just loved her craft. One of those actors who could move seamlessly between soaps and Shakespeare. Oh…and whole lot of fun off-camera too.
DAYTIME SOAP OPERAS
