NAME: Beverlee McKinseyRANK: 4
SOAP ROLES: Myrna Slaughter, GENERAL HOSPITAL (1994) Alexandra Spaulding (1984-1992); Iris Cory, TEXAS (1980-1981) Iris Cory, ANOTHER WORLD (1972-1980); Emma Frame Ordway, ANOTHER WORLD (1972); Julie Richards, LOVE IS A SMANY SPLENDORED THING (1970-1971)
AWARDS:
1993 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress
1992 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress: Daytime
1991 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress: Daytime
1986 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role on a Daytime Serial
1980 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
1979 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
1978 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
1978 Soapy Award win for Favorite Villainess
1977 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
1977 Soapy Award win for Favorite Villainess
COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Mimi Torchin: Beverlee wasn't only a ballsy actress with a phenomenal range, she was a mercurial star who was famously press shy and didn't care much for all the fuss and bother. But when she did speak, we hung on her every word. And she was very funny. I loved that about her. My favorite memory of Beverlee was a conversation I had with her about the all the new "criticism" that was suddenly a part of soap journalism and the new opportunity for fans to voice opinions on the Internet, which had just begun to show its power. She sighed and said wistfully, "It was so much nicer when everyone just liked us.
Connie Passalacqua Hayman (Marlena De Lacroix): Chills, thrills, guts and tears. As the ultimate show stopper, there is no other! May she rest in peace.
Jonathan Reiner: Quite simply, the gold standard for acting, soap and otherwise. You were one of a kind, Bev!
Alan Carter: How many actresses still have fans debating which role she was best in...decades after she stopped playing both of them?
Roger Newcomb: An incredible actress. I was so sad the day she passed losing such a tremendous talent and because, even though she had been off daytime for many years, I always held out hope she would make a triumphant return to soaps someday. I'm thankful to have been blessed with so many wonderful memories of her oustanding performances.
COMMENTS FROM CO-STARS/CO-WORKERS/INDUSTRY:
Harding Lemay: (wrote for McKinsey on AW) I could write anything for Beverlee McKinsey, she could use language any way you wanted her to. I think [spinning her off onto TEXAS] was a big mistake because it didn’t use her correctly. I mean Bevey was a wonderful actress, and she had an edge. That edge was used best in a somewhat unsympathetic part. They made her very sympathetic in TEXAS, and it didn’t work. And she knew it. She told me once that she made a big mistake, but she made a lot of money [laughs]. She was a delight to work with.
Robert Newman: (worked with McKinsey on GL) Beverlee was a funny, classy, beautiful woman. Her humor off-camera was smart and sassy. He work on-camera was smart and full and passionate. She was an early mentor for me in the art of approaching daytime with dignity. I miss her. They don't make 'em like that anymore.
DAYTIME SOAP OPERAS
