Beverlee McKinsey dies :
Cher
McKINSEY, Beverlee Died May 2nd, 2008 in Los Angeles from
complications due to a kidney transplant. She was 72 years old. Ms.
McKinsey was an actor best known for roles in daytime television. She
created the character Iris Carrington on NBC's Another World, and
played the part from 1970-1979. She also created the role of Alexandra
Spaulding on CBS's Guiding Light, and performed it from 1984-1992. In
1980, NBC developed the program Texas to capitalize on the popularity
of her character, Iris Carrington; and Ms. McKinsey was the first and
only performer in the history of daytime drama to receive star
billing. In 1998, the editors of Soap Opera Magazine voted her the
best actor in the history of daytime television. TV Guide's, Michael
Logan, wrote of her in 1992, "For my money, Beverlee McKinsey is the
greatest actress ever to grace daytime drama." Ms. McKinsey performed
the lead role of Corie on Broadway in the original production of Neil
Simon's, Barefoot in the Park, where she was directed by Mike Nichols,
and co-starred with Robert Redford. She also originated the role of
Honey in the London production of Edward Albee's, Who's Afraid of
Virginia Woolf? She guest starred on multiple prime time television
series, including The FBI, Hawaii Five-0, The Mod Squad, Mannix and
The Defenders. She appeared in films for Clint Eastwood (Bronco
Billy), Sidney Pollack (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?), and Mark
Rydell (The Reevers). Ms. McKinsey was nominated four times in the
lead actress category for a National Daytime Emmy Award. She is
survived by her son, Scott, (who directed her on Guiding Light), and
her grandson, Marley. No memorial service is planned.
Published in the Los Angeles Times on 5/4/2008.
Pidge
Sad to hear.
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To send email, replace "antispam" with "xplornet"
Cory
Aw, no...
--- Cory
MsLiz
wrote:
>Beverlee McKinsey
>McKINSEY, Beverlee Died May 2nd, 2008 i
This obituary from the LA Times has a guestbook, fans.
I took the liberty of speaking for the group:
"The members of the newsgroup, rec.arts.tv.soaps.cbs, express their
sadness at the death of Beverlee McKinsey. She was beloved in her
performance on Guiding Light as the original and incomparable
Alexandra Spaulding. We were sorry when she departed the show, and
are even more sorry that she has departed this life. I hope she
realized how loved she was by her fans."
MsLiz
Johnson
phil
"Cher" <randi...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:b8a5faac-c6f3-495a...@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
chicagofan
Bravo, MsLiz! Love it! It certainly speaks for me...
bj
Kolbard
wrote:
>Beverlee McKinsey
Oh, no... this is very sad to hear. She'll be greatly missed. R.I.P.
Beverlee McKinsey, you were a legend.
=(
Kolbard
Grace Noble
"MsLiz" <Ms...@msliz.com> wrote in message
news:481e58b0...@news.charter.net...
Thank you, MsLiz. I feel as if I've lost a dear friend. I always hoped she
would come out of retirement and return to the soap screen. She was an
amazing actress and a joy to watch.
MarkH
Wow, what a gift with words. Just beautifully written!
MarkH
"Texas! Starring Beverlee McKinsey"
KC
wrote:
>Beverlee McKinsey
This just breaks my heart. I was telling my mother about her just
recently (she only knows Desay as Alex) and I was thinking that we
might be hearing this sad news any time now. Dreading it, but oddly
expecting it. She was magnificent.
KC
DonnaB shallotpeel
<b8a5faac-c6f3-495a...@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com> Cher
<randi...@aol.com> wrote:
I am heart-broken.
--
: ^> DonnaB Yahoo Msgr: shallotpeel <*> http://tinyurl.co.uk/h193
http://tinyurl.co.uk/wdp8 http://tinyurl.co.uk/byv9
"I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles
me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls." - Anais Nin 1903-1977
MarkH
>
> I am heart-broken.
>
I'm so sorry Donna. I thought about you particularly when this broke.
Your tie with her shows -- AW and GL especially, and I don't know about
Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing -- seems longer, deeper, and more
current than that of many others.
For all her fans, for her survivors, the finality of this exit from the
stage is so painful. It is a testament to her personal power that she
has been off-screen for over a decade (her last GH appearance was in
1994, I think), but she has been continuously missed.
DonnaB shallotpeel
Thanks!
Link:
http://www.legacy.com/LATimes/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=108941217
The text:
Beverlee McKinsey
MarkH
with Michael Logan in 1992. Since she essentially dropped out after
that (save for that 1994 GH appearance as Myrna Slaughter), and didn't
do press (as explained below), this essentially became her farewell
interview. Note her opinion about goodbye parties...which explains (to
me) why "No memorial service is planned" in her obituary.
http://iriswheeler.tripod.com/tvguide19920811.html
> As any savvy soap reporter will tell you, there are almost as many juicy scandals going on behind the scenes as there are on screen. But in all my years in the biz, none will ever compare to the day Beverlee McKinsey -- who for my money is the greatest actress ever to grace daytime drama -- took a hike from Guiding Light. The day was August 5, 1992. After quietly taping what nobody but she realized was her final scene as Alexandra Spaulding, she exercised an outclause in her contract that then-exec producer Jill Farren Phelps didn't even know she had -- a clause that allowed the queen bee to abdicate on only eight weeks notice no matter how crucial she was to the plot.
> Like everybody else, I was dying to get the scoop! But dealing with La McKinsey -- who is reclusive, tempestuous, mysterious and extremely leery of the press -- isn't easy. Let's put it this way: She makes Greta Garbo look like a chatterbox. But she and I did have some semblance of a relationship (stemming mostly from my endless gushing about her in my TV Guide column), so several days after she took a powder, I got up the nerve to give her a buzz.
> Of course, one never dialed Bev directly. If you were among the relative few lucky enough to have her answering service number, you had to call it and leave a message. The service would then call Bev and then Bev either would or (as most often was the case) would not call you. It was a maddening system, to be sure, but within three minutes of my leaving a message, she dialed me back and said -- in that gloriously sexy voice that drips equal parts honey and cyanide -- "Well, what the hell took you so long?" And she proceeded to give me her only farewell interview.
> I squeezed as much of it as I could onto my one dinky page in TV Guide, but I have always wanted to share the whole thing with my fellow McKinsey Maniacs. Soap Opera Digest's Online tribute to Guiding Light's 60th anniversary seems like the perfect opportunity -- so here it is. Bev Rocks!
>
> Interview Date: August 11, 1992
>
> Michael Logan: Everybody is in shock over this departure, Beverlee. What on earth were you thinking?
>
> Beverlee McKinsey: It was time for me to go. This last year has been too difficult in terms of the hours that I've been asked to work. The hours got entirely too long. At first, I thought I'd ask them to cut me back -- but I didn't want to anger my fellow actors. So, the more I thought about it, the solution was simply just TO GO. The show has been working me way too hard and the day finally came where I need to exercise that clause. That, after all is what it's there for. I no longer want to get up every morning at 4:45 and sit in a studio every night until 10. I want my life back. But I won't say anything bad about Guiding Light. I just won't.
>
> Logan: Oh-kaaay......so what are your plans? Rumor has it you'll be moving to California to be closer to your son, Scott.
>
> McKinsey: I don't know that I don't want to be in California, but I certainly don't have any plans. I'm leaving on Sunday on a European vacation I've had planned for some time and when I come back, I'll figure out what I'm going to do. But Lord, I have a home in Connecticut, two apartments in New York. It would really be major if I decided to move.
>
> Logan: Would you consider a west coast soap?
>
> McKinsey: I don't want to do a soap again. The only thing I'd like to do is a sitcom. Of course, I don't even have an agent! You know what I'm saying? I've worked for so long in daytime with no plans of ever doing anything else. How do you get a sitcom without an agent? How do you get an agent when you haven't had one for 15 years? So, you see, I really have no plans. I just know that I don't want to do Guiding Light anymore. My friend [exec producer] John Conboy says I can get any agent I want, but I don't know that I can. I'm a big deal in daytime but nobody else gives a rat's hip about us soap people. And I think I'd only want to do a sitcom. I don't want to do guest shots. Oh, my God, the thought of driving the L.A. freeways in my little Subaru scares me to death! I'd love it if Linda Bloodworth Thomason would just ring my phone -- but I don't think that's gonna happen! I'm not even in the Academy Player's Directory. If you wanted to find me, you wouldn
't know how.
>
> Logan: Did you realize what a shock your departure would be?
>
> McKinsey: No, I didn't. They're going around saying, 'She's irreplaceable.' What foolishness! Meryl Streep is irreplaceable. Everybody else you can replace. It's silly. I, myself, can think of ten women who can play Alexandra.
>
> Logan: So what's the deal with this 'outclause' no one knew you had?
>
> McKinsey: I've had outclauses in my contracts for years. Maybe they didn't read the contract. It's not my job to tell 'em what's in their contracts -- and it's not my fault they're surprised. And they were to a degree. They didn't see this coming. I didn't see this coming. I didn't make the decision until July. Actually, I've been considering leaving soaps since 1978. That's the first time I quit daytime. I only had to work 14 more years to make it stick.
>
> Logan: Rumor is you've been miserable for quite some time.
>
> McKinsey: There are about 15 people at Guiding Light who would leave if they could afford to. Did I run around the halls screaming, 'My God, my God, this is driving me crazy! I've got to do something about this!'? No. I weighed all the possibilities, thought about it very strongly from about last February on. I thought about presenting them with the idea of cutting me back, fewer days, shorter hours, but you can't do that. It affects all the other actors in your storyline, many of whom have been at Guiding Light longer than I have. Decreasing my story could mean decreasing theirs and [consequently] their work days, their income. They have homes in the suburbs, they have families. You don't want to do that to your friends.
>
> Logan: Who knew about this?
>
> McKinsey: I discussed it with no one. I didn't even discuss it with my son until the end of June. Somehow talking to him and his wife about it, I just woke up. We went to a restaurant one night and I said, 'I'm really very unhappy. I'm depressed. I don't have much of a life. This show is my life. and they're working me too hard. I'd like to [hang in] for another year to the end of this contract but I don't think I'm gonna make it.' And somehow just saying that out loud helped my head to clear. And within the next week, I woke up one morning and said, 'It's time to go, Beverlee. It's time for you to stop this getting up at 4:45.' That's crazy. These hours I've worked the last year have been the longest I've put in on any job ever.
>
> Logan: You never voiced this?
>
> McKinsey: I did complain at two actor/producer meetings about the hours. I did not go to Jill one on one about me specifically but I complained on behalf of me and all the rest of the actors because I was sort of like the matriarch figure there. 'If anything's wrong, Beverlee'll speak up. She'll take the heat. She doesn't care.' I said, 'On behalf of your company and your crew, I think you should cut back these hours a bit. Conduct a study and find out why the day has gotten so much longer and then fix it.'
>
> Logan: What was the response?
>
> McKinsey: I guess they didn't hear me. Or they didn't pay attention. Or maybe they didn't think it was really that important to me. But let me tell ya, I don't stand up in a meeting and complain about something unless it's really, really important to me. I did that twice, so for them to say they didn't see it coming...well...
>
> Logan: Word is you've been unhappy with the unsympathetic turn Alexandra has taken.
>
> McKinsey: I was very unhappy. What they've done with Alexandra during the last six months is close to assassination but I would have continued to play it if I'd been happy. That was not the straw that broke this camel's back. I've been doing daytime 22 years now. When you do it as long as I have, you go through a lot of periods where you don't like what they're writing for the characters. Or you don't like the person you're playing opposite. Or something, there's always something. But you're able to keep going for various reasons: One, you need the money and, two, you like the people you're working with, the family feeling you have there. But when you get tired, when you find that you just don't have a minute in the week that you can do anything but that show, then those things get bigger. When you're spending 12 or 13 hours a day there, those things suddenly get huge. When you're tired, you can't get past the other problems. But this should be no secret to anyb
ody. In 1978, I told Procter & Gamble, 'I can put up with a lot. Bad writing. Bad acting. Bad working conditions. But when I'm tired, I get angry. And when I get angry, you don't want me around.' I'm very professional. I behave really well. And I always do my work really well. But when I get tired and angry, I begin to behave in a way that is not me. I'm not proud of it and it shocks people. I was that tired when we started Texas because Another World had done that to me.
>
> Logan: Quitting was the only solution?
>
> McKinsey: (Getting a little testy) I'm burnt out and the only solution to that is to stop -- and stop immediately. It's like trying to doctor a major wound with a bandaid. If they had said, 'Well, [McKinsey's favorite head writer] Nancy Curlee is coming back and that'll put Alexandra back to where she used to be,' that would have been wonderful but that wouldn't have fixed it.
>
> Logan: Tell me about your final scenes.
>
> McKinsey: When I played my final scenes, nobody knew. The next day, Vincent Irizarry said to somebody, 'My God, if I'd known those were her last scenes, I don't think I could have made it through.' And that is one of the reasons I didn't tell anyone, because that would have been wrong for the scenes. Nick doesn't feel about Alexandra the way Vince feels about Beverlee. It would have been wrong to see heartbreak on his face. We got the scenes in the can true to the story because absolutely nobody at that moment knew except me. They didn't take "The Shot" 'cause it's the last time we'll ever see Beverlee. No they just did what they would normally do. And when it was over, I said, 'That's the name 'o that tune, guys, I'm outta here.' I was able to say goodbye one on one to all the members of the crew and the actors that I feel close to. And those that I didn't encounter, I called them, but that's the way I wanted to do it. I didn't want weeks and weeks of people r
unning through my dressing room and crying and going, 'Oh, my God, you've only got four more shows!' and 'Why are you doing this!? -- Oh, and by the way, could I have your shoes?' You know, that kinda crap. And I didn't want a surprise party with balloons and stale tacos and bad margaritas. I've been to sooo many of those at Guiding Light, I really didn't want one of those for me. I wanted to leave the way I came, without any fuss -- just saying goodbye to the people I cared about on a one-to-one level without some Mexican band playing in the background. When people leave, we always go to Mexican restaurants and everyone gets drunk and says things they regret the next morning. No, no, I did not want to do another one of those.
>
> Logan: Do you really realize how much you are missed? Somehow I don't think so.
>
> McKinsey: There are some people there who don't like me at all. But there are a lot who really do. I had a really strong year and they felt, as you did, about the Emmy situation [Note: Like many in the industry, I was outraged that McKinsey did not receive an Emmy nomination for the 1991-92 season and said so in print]. But I can tell you now that I was relieved not to be nominated. By the time they were announced, I was contemplating going. So when I didn't get nominated, I thought, 'Oh, thank God' because how would you leave your show if you had an Emmy in your hand? They'd say that was really tacky. 'She won and she walked.' This way, I didn't have the burden of that. I didn't want it to appear that I took the goodies and ran. When the nominations came out, I thought, 'It's meant to be like this.'
>
> Logan: The young actors especially love you.
>
> McKinsey: I've always had a special relationship with the young people on the show. That goes all the way back to Texas and Another World. The young ones are so frightened when they come on the show. They really need someone to reach out and make them feel safe and secure and I love doing that. It makes for a very special bond. Grant Aleksander, Robert Newman, Michael O'Leary [Note: None of them had returned to the show at this point] -- I still hear from these people and have a very special relationship with all of them.
>
> Logan: Why have you always been so publicity shy?
>
> McKinsey: When I started on Guiding Light, my husband was very ill and p.r. was the last thing on my mind. The CBS or P&G types, whoever they were, took me to lunch one day and discussed, among other things, my going on David Letterman. Like a fool, I turned it down because in those days it was, 'Who the hell is David Letterman?' Now, I'm sorry I did that. Otherwise, I do not even think about publicity -- and never have. I don't avoid it to be elusive or create mystique. It was a necessity in the beginning because of my husband's health. I didn't have time for it. Then [after his death], I was in such a state of depression for so many years that I didn't really want to talk to anybody about anything. I was just soooo depressed. I thought, 'Who wants to read about that?' Then, after reading all the junk in the magazines, I came to realize that most of what everybody says is so dumb and so trivial that I thought, 'Hey, this is a good policy. Just stay quiet.' Yo
u look better that way, you know? I'm not trying to be Great Garbo or anything. I always looked at acting as just a job. I don't think of myself as any kind of star or celebrity. Every now and then, somebody on the street goes, 'Oh, my God -- look who that is!' But it's not like I'm Robert Redford, for pity sake, you know? Nobody gets carried away with me, so why would anyone want to read what I had to say in a magazine? I'm just a working stiff. And I don't consider my life important enough to talk about it to a magazine.
>
> Logan: But people do care what you have to say. You're a very big deal.
>
> McKinsey: But, you see, you've got an awful lot of people out there in this business trying to build bigger careers. I was never trying to do that. I was very happy being in daytime. I intended to stay there until I basically just stopped -- and that's what I've done.
>
> Logan: Any qualms about the ill will this seems to have caused?
>
> McKinsey: I was sorry I couldn't hang on for one more year. I know they're angry and I suspect they feel vindictive -- which I won't go into. But that has to do with nothing I did. I abided strictly by the terms of my contract. I did not violate anything in my contract. I did my work to the best of my ability, then I left. So if they're angry about that, there's nothing I can say or do about it. I'm not angry with them. I could be, but I'm not. And it's not as though I left at the peak of a storyline. Sherry Stringfield, for Christ's sake, that was a bigger shock. This storyline with Alex has been going on for a year and should have climaxed and been over by now and she should have been on to something else. All there has been to do is rehash and rehash. It's not as though they're desperate to have Alexandra right at this moment. They could take her off and bring her back when they've got something more interesting for her to do. That would be better for all
concerned, particularly the actress who will play the part. I think to myself, 'What in the world is there left for you to do on this show, Beverlee? You've acted every possible scene and emotion there is.' Daytime is a strange job. It's not like being in show biz -- and I like that. I can just do what I do best, which is act, and not have to deal with any of the other junk that others have to put up with. Now don't imply that I said anything derogatory about Guiding Light because I didn't.
>
> Logan: OK, OK! How has the cast reacted?
>
> McKinsey: Michael Zaslow called me up. He was on vacation and didn't hear about it for a week. He said, 'You do have a flair for the dramatic. You love to shock, don't ya?' Well, I do sorta, but that was not the purpose. I wanted this to be so simple. And it was. When I walked out of that building that night and had had the chance to hug every member of the crew and say goodbye one on one, somebody said, 'Well, what are you gonna do now?' And I said, 'Go home to feed my dog.' I walked out of there feeling wonderful that I had not had three or four weeks of people saying, 'Why is she doing this? Is she angry with somebody? Is she unhappy with her story?' I didn't want any of that.. I just wanted to go.
>
> Logan: But can you understand why people would be shocked, even hurt?
>
> McKinsey: I guess it was a shock. But they should respect my right to do it the way I want to do it as long as I didn't violate my contract. And if they don't, that's their problem, not mine.
>
> Logan: Alright, let's discuss this contract stuff.
>
> McKinsey: They didn't read the contract! I read it very closely. I knew every word. The next day, they were all combing over the contract. Somebody said, 'Maybe Beverlee's not familiar with the contract.' Well, of course she was! She wrote it, you bozos. She wrote it! I've had this outclause since 1986. I asked for it and it was P&G that determined how much notice they wanted me to give -- and they chose eight weeks. When I decided it was time to go, I went to the calendar, counted back eight weeks from the end of my current cycle and went, 'Oh, no, they're never gonna believe this! That 8-week notice fell on August 7, and that was the day I was to begin my six week vacation. Since the show was two weeks ahead, that made eight. I thought, this is unbelievable, you're gonna give your notice and do your last show on the same day! It's so wild. They're gonna think there's some major plot. But it was just a coincidence, really. So all you have to do is send
written notice to the advertising agency that's due on that date and we, in fact, sent it August 6. I said goodbye on August 5 because I wasn't due to work the 6th and 7th.
>
> Logan: Why didn't you at least tell Jill Phelps?
>
> McKinsey: I tried to reach Jill that week to tell her first. She was on vacation. I tried for two days and they wouldn't give me the number where she could be reached and I got crazy. I'm thinking, 'Oh, my God, my God, I'm gonna do my last scene and be standing there and then what do I do?' Because the notice was going the next morning to the ad agency and then everybody would know. Jill's assistants claimed they didn't have a number for her. Well, that wasn't true -- but I understand not wanting to be bothered on your vacation. So I said, 'If she calls in, come and find me wherever I am in the building. It's very important that I talk to her.' And on that last afternoon, at four o'clock when I got ready to go to the studio floor to work straight through till I finished, I still hadn't heard from her. So I sat down and wrote her a letter. I said, 'I'm really sorry you have to read this because I wanted you to hear it from me, but I cannot leave this studio witho
ut saying goodbye to the crew and the people who are here.' And that's the way she found out -- in a letter. And she has never responded to that letter. And I'm sorry about that. But I read the rules and I followed them. If they're bent out of shape about anything, it's because for one of the few times in their lives, somebody left them instead of the other way around. C'mon, grow up! They fire actors there all the time. It happens to us all the time without warning. So if they're bent out of shape it's because, for once, somebody beat 'em at their own game. If somebody wants to leave after they've been working 22 years, give 'em a break and let 'em go! I didn't violate any clause. I went exactly by what the contract said.
>
> Logan: But really Beverlee, realistically, no b.s. now, who the hell can replace you?
>
> McKinsey: If they hire some blond bimbo with a cute little nose, they're gonna be making a big mistake. They need to hire a good actress. It doesn't matter if she's 5'11" with black hair. Replacements on Guiding Light have been an enormous success in my time there, and this one will be, too. They'll look back a year from now and wonder what in the world they were so angry and upset about.
DonnaB shallotpeel
anniversary.
MarkH
Source
http://www.soapoperadigest.com/features/gl/interviews/mckinsey/index.html
> As Seen in Weekly, Nov. 7, 2000
> Wanted: GL's Beverlee McKinsey
>
> — By Mark McGarry
>
> ALL KNOWN ALIASES (A.K.A.):
> Myrna Slaughter, GENERAL HOSPITAL;
> Alexandra Spaulding, GUIDING LIGHT;
> Iris Carrington, TEXAS/ANOTHER WORLD;
> Emma Frame Ordway, AW;
> Martha Donnelly/Julie Richards, LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING
> LAST SEEN: Port Charles
> CHARGED WITH: GUIDING LIGHT suffered one of its biggest blows ever in August 1992 when Beverlee McKinsey, on the last day before her scheduled annual eight-week vacation, announced she was quitting the show after almost a decade. Not many people knew it — not even the show's executive producer at the time, Jill Farren Phelps, according to McKinsey — but daytime's grande dame had an out in her contract: Every six months she had the option to quit. And she did. McKinsey rarely grants interviews — "Like, never," she cracks, her voice raspy and twangy as ever — so one would expect her to be cagey. Instead, she's incredibly candid, her tongue and wit as sharp as Alexandra's.
> WHILE ON THE LOOSE: Enjoying retirement
> IF CAPTURED BY DAYTIME: Not likely
>
> Soap Opera Weekly: What have you been up to?
> Beverlee McKinsey: I'm not up to much. I live in California now. I was sick for a while. Two years ago I received a kidney transplant, so I'm good as new now. I could work, but I don't want to. I'll tell you a secret: I didn't like it all that much when I did it.
>
> Weekly: It looked like you were having fun?
> McKinsey: Well, it probably was during the time I was performing, and everything else was a real drag (laughs). The hours just made me crazy. They were too long. I loved it when we were a half-hour show, but once we went to the hour, it was a nightmare. You worked all the time, and then you studied all weekend, and I just found it too much. That's why I quit, eventually. You'd find yourself sitting there at 10 or 11 o'clock on a Friday night. It's like, "I don't know what else there is to do out there but there must be something better than this." The only thing I miss are the people. The laughter. I miss that a lot. But I'm in touch with quite a few of them, so that helps.
>
> Weekly: Do you miss New York?
> McKinsey: Not really. I haven't been back even once since I left. I had a magnificent view from my apartment, and I miss that. When I see it on The David Letterman Show or something, and the snow is falling and all that, I miss that. I say 'Oh, yeah, that's really fabulous.' The weather is pretty boring out there. We have rain and they make a big deal.
>
> Weekly: When you took that out in your contract, were you worried about leaving them high and dry, or hurt feelings?
> McKinsey: No, I wasn't. I gave them eight weeks' notice. I had warned Jill (Farren Phelps) — although I don't think she paid attention to me — that I was not happy. I was not happy with the storyline. I don't believe she'd read my contract, and she was not aware that I could quit every six months. I said to her at the time that I discussed that I was unhappy, "I may just have to quit." And she said, "You have a contract." And I said, "You better read it." I don't think she ever did. So she was really stunned when it happened. I didn't tell anybody in advance because I didn't want a big fuss made. I didn't want a party and all that stuff. So I just did my last scene and left. Plus, I was leaving for this long eight-week vacation, and the last scenes were difficult scenes, and I wanted to be able to concentrate on that and not have to worry about anything else.
> Oh, I told the head of wardrobe (David Loveless), because he was already planning what he was going to buy for me for fall. He and I were good friends, and one night at dinner I said,"Don't buy anything, because this is what's happening." So everybody was expecting me to leave that day — they just weren't expecting me to never come back (laughs).
>
> Weekly: What made you do GH?
> McKinsey: Just for my medical insurance.
>
> Weekly: Was it fun?
> McKinsey: It was great fun. They're nice people. I didn't like what I did with the character. I thought I had this great idea, and then when I saw it on the screen, I said, "That was not such a great idea." (laughs)
> Weekly: You had a say in how she'd be played?
> McKinsey: Sure. They didn't give me very many details at all. I had gone to Mark (Teschner, GH's casting director) when I first came out here and said, "If you ever have anything short-term, I'd like to do it just to maintain my medical insurance," and he never did call me. But Claire Labine wrote this character and requested me, and I was grateful for it.
>
> Weekly: Now Claire is at GL, along with Paul Rauch, with whom you worked on AW. They can't entice you to return?
> McKinsey: No. They've tried. I got two offers for a job this week. I won't tell you where. My lawyer called me and said, "I think I know the answer to this, but I have to run it by you...." I said,"Oh, yeah, you know the answer."
>
> Weekly: Have you been watching GL?
> McKinsey: No, I never watched it. Not one time.
>
> Weekly: With whom do you keep in touch?
> McKinsey: Jay (Hammer, ex-Fletcher Reade) and Grant (Aleksander, Phillip) and Vincent (Irizarry, ex-Lujack/Nick Spaulding; now All My Children's David) and Mikey O'Leary (Rick). That keeps me pretty much up on the news. Jay has all the news even though he's not there anymore.
>
> Weekly: Favorite memory?
> McKinsey: I don't really have a favorite memory. I have some favorite storylines. I loved the island storyline that I did with Jay. I liked working a lot with certain actors. But in terms of a favorite memory, I don't have one.
>
> Weekly: How did Michael Zaslow's (ex-Roger) death affect you?
> McKinsey: It was very sad that it happened. Nobody should ever have a disease like that. But Michael and I were not friends. We never enjoyed working together and we didn't get along. The second time they put us together, we got along better, because I confronted him. I said, "They're putting us back together, so obviously we were doing something right, so we've got to figure out a way to get along better." Just the fact that I said it to him seemed to make all the difference in the world. But the first time around, oooh. It either works for the person or it doesn't, and when it doesn't, it's murder.
DonnaB shallotpeel
Thank you, Mark, that means so much to me, I was thinking about her in regard
to the Emmy nominations ... because she never won won. And, yes, that's an
indictment of the system back then. And, because I knew how much a problem her
health was, and had been since she had a kidney transplant back then. I
believe she described the time after she left GL - and why - as in spending
some time in travel, then in nursing her husband's health until his death, and
then having to face her own serous health problems. Thinking about her had
made me think that we would have to face this day soon. Yeah, me, too, KC.
But the past several weeks have been bad weeks for me. Earlier today I found
out that thanks to the utter stupidity of ABC MEN IN TREES will not have a 3rd
season. And, now, the loss of Beverlee.
Jude Cormier
"Cher" <randi...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:b8a5faac-c6f3-495a...@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
A legend has passed. She was indeed part of the last truly great GL era.
record hunter
wrote:
> On Sun, 4 May 2008 16:38:29 -0700 (PDT), in
>
> "I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles
> me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls." - Anais Nin 1903-1977
I hadn't seen her since 1992, when I stopped watching GL, but she was
definitely Alexandra to me. I wish I'd gotten to see her as Iris, but
I guess she was already playing Alex when Iris was written back into
AW. GL was never as good again as it had been when she played Alex.
shawn h
> "Cher" <randiap...@aol.com> wrote in message
She really was. It's tragic that this has happened. But I have a lot
of respect for her, not just for her talent, but for moving on from GL
when she did, because she could and had other priorities in life. She
was classy.
shawn h.
leebossa
She was irreplaceable. Bravissimo, Beverlee....
Rthrquiet
<snipped Beverlee McKinsey obit>
Oh, man. This just caps an otherwise already awful day. I am *so*
sorry to hear this. I knew that she had been in poor health for a good
while now, but this is still unexpected.
I hope heaven has a stage.
Michael
DonnaB shallotpeel
<63d5a479-c352-4b4e...@k37g2000hsf.googlegroups.com> Rthrquiet
<rthr...@aol.com> wrote:
>I hope heaven has a stage.
That's beautiful, Michael.
--
: ^> DonnaB Yahoo Msgr: shallotpeel <*> http://tinyurl.co.uk/h193
http://tinyurl.co.uk/wdp8 http://tinyurl.co.uk/byv9
"There's a great power in words, if you don't hitch too many of them
together." - Josh Billings
DonnaB shallotpeel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niHrngvYgAk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ5ScTKbXFU
Beverlee McKinsey (August 9, 1940 - May 3, 2008) as Iris Bancroft (at this
point), Mac Cory (Doug Watson), Rachel (Victoria Wyndham)
AW circa 1978
--
: ^> DonnaB Yahoo Msgr: shallotpeel <*> http://tinyurl.co.uk/h193
http://tinyurl.co.uk/wdp8 http://tinyurl.co.uk/byv9
"You never find yourself until you face the truth." - Pearl Bailey
BQ
Nice, very nice, but I loved her as Iris Carrington on Another World. She
broke the mould when they cast her in that role and she shone as bright as
any star could. I never had the opportunity to watch her on Guiding Light,
but I am confident she was as loved there as on Another World.
Rest in Peace Beverlee!
record hunter
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niHrngvYgAk
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ5ScTKbXFU
>
> Beverlee McKinsey (August 9, 1940 - May 3, 2008) as Iris Bancroft (at this
> point), Mac Cory (Doug Watson), Rachel (Victoria Wyndham)
>
> AW circa 1978
>
> --
>
> "You never find yourself until you face the truth." - Pearl Bailey
Did Mac know he was Iris' father at this point? (She kept calling him
"Mac," rather than "Daddy.")
Seth J. Bookey
>=(
It's not ironic, but it is interesting that SOD just featured a page about
Beverlee, as they did a feature on the real reasons why people left. In
this case, it was BMcK leaving GL. She had a clause in her contract that
gave her the option to give 10 weeks notice, and or some such, and it
coincided with a vacation, so she sort of "shocked" the powers that be. In
the write-up, she noted that "the producers never think actors are going
to exercise these clauses, but there's a reason why they are there." [I
have this in quotes, but I am not actually quoting the mag verbatim.]
I liked Beverlee in Texas and AW. I never did watch GL, though. It sounds
like she really graced whichever productions were lucky enough to have
her! She was pretty great on AW and Texas.
--Seth
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seth J. Bookey
New York City
seth...@panix.com
DonnaB shallotpeel
<c4867814-1a50-48c1...@x35g2000hsb.googlegroups.com> record
hunter <record...@gmail.com> wrote:
>On May 6, 9:03 am, DonnaB shallotpeel <shallotp...@comcast.net> wrote:
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niHrngvYgAk
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ5ScTKbXFU
>>
>> Beverlee McKinsey (August 9, 1940 - May 3, 2008) as Iris Bancroft (at this
>> point), Mac Cory (Doug Watson), Rachel (Victoria Wyndham)
>>
>> AW circa 1978
Oh, and correcting myself, the obit said May 2nd not 3rd.
>Did Mac know he was Iris' father at this point? (She kept calling him
>"Mac," rather than "Daddy.")
Ow, my brain hurts. I can't think when she thought what at the moment.
--
: ^> DonnaB Yahoo Msgr: shallotpeel <*> http://tinyurl.co.uk/h193
http://tinyurl.co.uk/wdp8 http://tinyurl.co.uk/byv9
"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." - Plutarch
Cory
Speaking of heaven's stage (there's gotta be one... there just has to
be!), did Beverlee and Zas have much interaction on GL. I'm having a
complete brain cramp at the moment WRT how much these two GL giants
were onscreen together.
--- Cory
record hunter
> Speaking of heaven's stage (there's gotta be one... there just has to
> be!), did Beverlee and Zas have much interaction on GL. I'm having a
> complete brain cramp at the moment WRT how much these two GL giants
> were onscreen together.
>
> --- Cory
They were married, weren't they?
Cory
You mean on the show, I'm guessing... right? I don't remember for
certain, but I have a funny feeling in my gut that you're right.
--- Cory
P.S. - This is an aside to Michael (Rthrquiet) about this news being
the capper to a bad day... I'd literally found out, about maybe
fifteen minutes before I read Cher's originating post about Beverlee's
passing, that Eight Belles <sp?> had had to be euthanized at the
Derby. To some people, the loss of an animal that one never knew on a
personal level may not be a big deal, but it was such a shock to read
about... and then Beverlee's passing on top of that... I just wanted
to crawl back in bed at that point, and act like the day hadn't
started yet.
DonnaB shallotpeel
<ccb6b1cd-550d-4585...@k37g2000hsf.googlegroups.com> record
hunter <record...@gmail.com> wrote:
>On May 6, 4:53 pm, Cory <my_wheel_l...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> Speaking of heaven's stage (there's gotta be one... there just has to
>> be!), did Beverlee and Zas have much interaction on GL. I'm having a
>> complete brain cramp at the moment WRT how much these two GL giants
>> were onscreen together.
>
>They were married, weren't they?
Oh, gosh, yes. She gave Roger a rather ultimate comeuppance at the Country
Club Dining Room.
And she was involved in aiding Holly, with dealing with Roger, in Acapulco.
--
: ^> DonnaB Yahoo Msgr: shallotpeel <*> http://tinyurl.co.uk/h193
http://tinyurl.co.uk/wdp8 http://tinyurl.co.uk/byv9
"The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with
illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions
is always their victim". - Gustave Le Bon, THE CROWD
KC
YES! And that was one of her last storylines, where Roger was cheating
on Alex with Mindy. YouTube has the whole set of clips of the scenes
where Alex publicly humiliatied Roger at the Country Club in front of
everyone. No time to post the links right now, but they are worth
looking up. Beverlee was at her best there.
KC
record hunter
> On Tue, 6 May 2008 13:53:59 -0700 (PDT), record hunter
>
Does anyone know if Roger ever came back and got his million dollars
that was in a wall in a green living room? I think it was his
apartment, though I remember Mindy living there, too. And maybe
Philip.
But I don't think anbody ever came back for the million dollars.
Rthrquiet
> >Did Mac know he was Iris' father at this point? (She kept calling him
> >"Mac," rather than "Daddy.")
>
> Ow, my brain hurts. I can't think when she thought what at the moment.
>
Mac blurted out that Iris was adopted when Amanda was born, circa
1977. He didn't find out that he was actually her biodaddy until Iris
returned, played by Carmen Duncan, in 1988. So if the clips are from
1978, Iris should be calling him Mac, because the knowledge of her
adoption is fresh in her mind.
Michael
Cory
> >On May 6, 4:53 pm, Cory <my_wheel_l...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >They were married, weren't they?
>
> Oh, gosh, yes. She gave Roger a rather ultimate comeuppance at the Country
> Club Dining Room.
OMFG... I DO remember that now! That was freaking brilliant on Alex's
part, and Beverlee played that BEAUTIFULLY.
OMG... I can't believe I forgot about that. :-(
--- Cory
record hunter
You mean, Iris was adopted by Mac?
Cory
Ordinarily, I'd be saying "uh, take this to the appropriate newsgroup,
'kay?"... but there are three things preventing me from doing that...
1. Another World, even if/though I didn't care for it, is a spin-off
of ATWT.
2. Soap opera history is WAY cool, and, TO ME, very "in" these days,
given the current climate of the genre.
3. I post off-topic stuff all the time, so who am I to bitch? ;-)
--- Cory
DonnaB shallotpeel
<bf314b1d-9e82-422e...@27g2000hsf.googlegroups.com> Cory
<my_whe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Ordinarily, I'd be saying "uh, take this to the appropriate newsgroup,
>'kay?"... but there are three things preventing me from doing that...
>
>1. Another World, even if/though I didn't care for it, is a spin-off
>of ATWT.
Not really. It was created as a sister soap. People make that mistake often.
>2. Soap opera history is WAY cool, and, TO ME, very "in" these days,
>given the current climate of the genre.
>
>3. I post off-topic stuff all the time, so who am I to bitch? ;-)
I thought you were going to go for the primary reason, which is that there's
really no place for AW to be discussed in RATS.
--
: ^> DonnaB Yahoo Msgr: shallotpeel <*> http://tinyurl.co.uk/h193
http://tinyurl.co.uk/wdp8 http://tinyurl.co.uk/byv9
"Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow that talent to
dark place where it leads." - Erica Jong
Rthrquiet
> You mean, Iris was adopted by Mac?
Let me see if I can get this right (we're talking 30 years ago). Iris
was raised by Mac and the first Mrs. Cory, developing a very unhealthy
Daddy-obsession along the way. By the time we met Iris and Mac, the
first Mrs. Cory was long dead. There was never anything to indicate
that Iris was anything other than Mac's bio-daughter. When Amanda was
born, Mac, carried away with emotion, blurted out something about
having always waited for this moment, his first child's birth. (Not
nearly his exact words, but whatever he said, he made it clear he was
going through childbirth for the first time.) Iris was there and of
course demanded to know what he meant, and Mac was forced to admit to
Iris that she was adopted, that he and the first Mrs. Cory had been
unable to have children and had adopted her. Of course, Iris being as
Daddy-obsessed as she was, this destroyed her. But she tracked down
her bio-mom, Sylvie Kosloff, and brought her to Bay City for a while,
and she adjusted to the news. Or so we were led to believe.
Flash forward ten years. Iris returns to Bay City after years in
London (and a side trip to Houston), nursing one hell of a grudge. I
can't remember this part very clearly (Donna Swajeski's muddled
execution of Lemay's storyline), but I'll bet Donna (B, not Swajeski)
knows, and I'll bet other people do too, since this is part of what
was shown on SoapNet a few years ago. (I think *I* might even have
seen it on SoapNet, although I know I tuned out sometime after Lemay's
episodes finished airing.) It turned out Iris had found out in the
intervening years that Mac really *was* her biofather--he and Sylvie
had had one drunken night together, or something like that. (I don't
think anything like this was even hinted at when Sylvie was in Bay
City circa 1978.) What I can't remember is whether Mac actually knew
that and didn't tell Iris, or whether he honestly didn't realize he
had adopted his own biodaughter. Iris clearly *believed* he had known
and kept it from her, and that's what motivated the whole thing with
her being The Chief and attempting the hostile takeover of Cory
Publishing.
Of course, the irony is that Amanda wasn't Mac's *first* child, she
was actually, I think, his last. Not just Iris, but Sandy and Paulina,
preceded her. The man was busy.
Michael
Rthrquiet
> Does anyone know if Roger ever came back and got his million dollars
> that was in a wall in a green living room? I think it was his
> apartment, though I remember Mindy living there, too. And maybe
> Philip.
>
> But I don't think anbody ever came back for the million dollars.
Caroline (Call Me "Carrie") Carruthers retrieved it. She had seen him
hiding it as she was haunting the tunnels that apparently connect all
the buildings in Springfield.
Michael
kate
Was there actually history to support the Alan, Josh, Buzz, Marah etc
tunnel story a few years back? Was that also Carrie Carruthers? This was
either pre vcr days for me or Santa Barbara was on and I was taping
that instaed.
Kate - am I totally mixing this up?
Cory
> On Tue, 6 May 2008 21:28:43 -0700 (PDT), in
>
> <my_wheel_l...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >Ordinarily, I'd be saying "uh, take this to the appropriate newsgroup,
> >'kay?"... but there are three things preventing me from doing that...
>
> >1. Another World, even if/though I didn't care for it, is a spin-off
> >of ATWT.
>
> Not really. It was created as a sister soap. People make that mistake often.
You're right, on both counts. My kneejerk reaction, of course, was
"uh, no, it was a spin-off!!!", but they didn't really use characters
and carry over storylines from ATWT, so it IS more a sister soap than
a spin-off. My mistake, but you're right, also, that people mistake
AW for a spin-off more often than not.
> >2. Soap opera history is WAY cool, and, TO ME, very "in" these days,
> >given the current climate of the genre.
>
> >3. I post off-topic stuff all the time, so who am I to bitch? ;-)
>
> I thought you were going to go for the primary reason, which is that there's
> really no place for AW to be discussed in RATS.
Um, are you forgetting about RATSM??
--- Cory
Cory
I thought Carrie Carruthers came after Zas left GL. God, I *loved*
Carrie Nye. What a gifted actress. Too bad she's gone...
--- Cory
DonnaB shallotpeel
<0cb2bc19-3728-49ae...@l64g2000hse.googlegroups.com> Cory
<my_whe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Is anyone posting there? Is anyone subscribed? I thought it had been left for
dead. I continue to add it into some crossposts because I think some people
continue to watch it for any sign of real content. But, I didn't know there
was any posting there. By rights all of this OT stuff about primetime - soaps
and other - could fit there, but people don't like to subscrbe to a group that
has been left for dead except for spam.
--
: ^> DonnaB Yahoo Msgr: shallotpeel <*> http://tinyurl.co.uk/h193
http://tinyurl.co.uk/wdp8 http://tinyurl.co.uk/byv9
"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He
didn't trust me so much." - Mother Teresa
KC
There was no history to support the story of the guys having been
involved with Maryann Carruthers.
Buzz's backstory was that after Viet Nam, he didn't want to return to
Springfield, so he started a new life out West and was raising Lucy.
No way would he risk being seen in Springfield.
After Josh graduated from high school, he went to college in
California and had never been to Springfield until he arrived in 1981.
I don't recall why he came to town, though.
Alan and Ed were involved in their careers, married to Elizabeth and
whichever wife Ed had at that point (maybe Leslie?) and both had kids.
No way would they be hanging out at some carnival. Alan can barely
hang out at Company without breaking out in a rash; he would have
thought a carnival to be far beneath his status.
Who else was in that story? Billy? I can't remember, but that wouldn't
have been possible, either, since his backstory is as tightly drawn as
the rest of the guys.
The writers took longtime characters with full backstories and threw
all of it out just to tell that story. Back in the early 80s, they did
a similar story with HB, Henry, the Reardon dad, and some young woman
they all had a crush on, who died, but it worked because we didn't
know so much about those characters yet.
KC
KC
I can't remember the dates off-hand, but I know the Carrie story was
after I moved to Orlando, which was late 2002, but before our house
fire in the summer of 2005, so I think it was 2004.
KC
Rthrquiet
> I thought Carrie Carruthers came after Zas left GL. God, I *loved*
> Carrie Nye. What a gifted actress. Too bad she's gone...
I was kidding, Cory. Sorry. I didn't realize anybody wouldn't realize
it.
I blame Carrie Carruthers now for anything on GL between about 1978
and about 2005 that isn't readily explained: Carrie was hiding out in
those damned tunnels!
I agree with you about Carrie Nye. The storyline was utterly idiotic
(for the reasons KC has outlined very nicely farther up, as well as
others), possibly the most history-trashing thing GL has ever done,
but some of her performances almost made it worth watching.
Michael
record hunter
kate
Thanks, KC. I actually meant the tunnels and the Carruthers woman. I
know that other stuff was impossible.
Kate
MsLiz
Maybe this will help:
http://www.soapoperadigest.com/features/gl/interviews/nye/
She defined "fabulous."
MsLiz
record hunter
Thanks, Liz.
MsLiz
wrote:
>Beverlee McKinsey
>McKINSEY, Beverlee Died May 2nd, 2008 in Los Angeles from
Here is the link to the funeral home's guestbook:
http://www.legacy.com/LATimes/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=108941217
MsLiz
record hunter
> On Sun, 4 May 2008 16:38:29 -0700 (PDT), Cher <randiap...@aol.com>
> wrote:
>
> >Beverlee McKinsey
> >McKINSEY, Beverlee Died May 2nd, 2008 in Los Angeles from
>
> Here is the link to the funeral home's guestbook:
>
> http://www.legacy.com/LATimes/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=108941217
>
> MsLiz
Those are people who actually went to the funeral?
MsLiz
There was no funeral or memorial service, according to the obituary
(this may be a means of keeping the public from intruding on a private
function). This guestbook is online and apparently all the comments
but one came from fans.
MsLiz