Beverlee McKinsey: Salute to One of Soaps' Greatest Divas

 

When she came onto Another World in 1972 as Iris Cory Carrington Bancroft, she was all icy-blond upper-class matronly bitchiness. But in frequent vicious argument scenes with Iris' remarried father Mac Cory (the volcanic Douglass Watson), we could see that Iris was really begging for love whenever the actress would utter just one word: "Daddy!" Here she is in a scene from AW in 1978.

 

 

The exquisite vulnerability of McKinsey's soap characters -- Iris Cory on Another World and its spin-off Texas; Alexandra Spaulding on Guiding Light--was always right there clawing at your heart while the character tussled with everyone in Bay City and Springfield. The heartbreaking fragility of her characters was very Blanche DuBois.

 

That's because McKinsey started, as the best soap actors of her era did,  on the stage, including the original production of Barefoot in the ParkandWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in London.. Projecting several levels at once in a performance was what was expected of them, unlike the low expectations placed on today's model/actors. It was this depth of great natural talent and incredible range that McKinsey brought to soaps.

 

What a treat it was to see her in scenes with other actors of her caliber, especially the brilliant Watson and the astoundingly intelligent Victoria Wyndham (who played Iris’ much-hated and much-younger stepmother Rachel). On Guiding Light she had scenes and storylines to die for with such great actors as the late, always masterful Chris Bernau (who originated the role of Alan Spaulding), and the late, great Michael Zaslow (he played Roger Thorpe).

 

A few of you might remember the days McKinsey's Iris was the wife of Daniel Davis (later seen in a comic role on The Nanny), whose Elliot Carrington on Texas was pure madness and genius. For a while, Davis and McKinsey brought down the house daily on a soap few people today remember.

 

But whatever show McKinsey was on, she was unforgettable. She left Guiding Light suddenly in 1992 and did a very brief appearance on GH in 1994 as a character named Myrna Slaughter. She told everyone she took the part so she could get her actors' union insurance. I interviewed her via phone at her California home at the time and asked her the same question everyone was wondering: "Are you ever coming back to daytime?"

 

And the actress who tore down the house on three soaps quietly said something I've never forgotten and repeated often: "Oh, no. All I want now is my doggy and the sea." Rest in peace, Ms. McKinsey.

 

Read more Marlena and friends atwww. marlenadelacroix.com.