Greatest Individual Performances

[DaytimeFan]

I thought it would be interesting for everyone to post their thoughts on their favorite individual performances. In many cases storylines come secondary to the performances of an individual actor. Here are my top picks:

Jess Walton - Jill Crashes Katherine's Party. Walton, likely my favorite daytime performer, just knocked it out of the park in this memorable 1998 series of episodes in which Jill revealed that she, not Katherine, owned the Chancellor mansion and that she was evicting Kay. For me, everything about Walton's performance worked. Jill ran the gamut of emotions and eventually erupted into rage at Katherine's denials. It's on Youtube if anyone cares to relive it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cti7wj48adI...B3&index=35

Alex Donnelly - Diane Confronts Nikki About the Sperm. My favorite catfight ever. It's actually not really noteworthy for Donnelly's acting, although she was always very good, but more for her line delivery: the way she screams "Go Bitch!" to Nikki is both riveting and hilarious, pure camp. Also on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98de6devaO8...B3&index=73

Linda Dano - Felicia's Intervention and Jenna's Miscarriage. These performances are what earned Dano her much deserved Emmy. She was absolutely spellbinding as 'Drunk Felicia', constantly on the defensive about her life falling apart. Jenna's Miscarriage is exceptionally poignant as it wasn't a storyline really about Felicia and yet, thanks to Dano, it became all about Felicia. Dano, in my view displayed a range as an alcoholic which is often imitated but never successfully duplicated. On Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_YI8vGyHZw...B3&index=41

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDslHIMbN-k...B3&index=43

Lauren Koslow - The Kiriakis Mansion Burns. Like Donnelly, Koslow's signature screaming is what makes this performance stand out. Having nearly killed Victor, Kate takes comfort in knowing that at long last her problems are over and she is now the Kiriakis widow. This triumph, however, is very short lived as Kate realizes that Lucas, arguably the most important person in her life, is inside the burning mansion. Youtube once more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx2BCSjN4ac...B3&index=76

Jeanne Cooper - As Katherine Chancellor. The only actress who rivals Dano in the drunk department is Jeanne Cooper who has perfected her signature role as Katherine Chancellor since 1973. During Katherine's alcoholism Cooper demonstrated her range to be downright spiteful and wicked as Kay tore through Genoa City fueled by vodka. Katherine's pathetic attempt to hold onto Phillip Chancellor were also pitch perfect. Katherine realizing that Jill was her daughter (a horrible twist but a glorious performance) was something to watch. Katherine's 2004 Intervention was simple and perfectly executed. Youtbe...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoYDh0fA-Mg...B3&index=67

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt3QQ0tKr2E...B3&index=77

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pAqzoJ-ulk...B3&index=86

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlEHoLfnfmY...B3&index=83 (2 more parts come after)

[ReddFoxx]

Judith Light - As Karen Wolek on the witness stand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eCIAe4hLeU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez79MbbIeFA

[TC]

Often regarded as the best soap scene ever recorded.

[RoseVioletDaisy]

If there is a soap scene or performance that beats Karen on the witness stand, I haven't seen it.

[Graciecat]

Nancy Lee Grahn- My favorite daytime performer, Grahn has had countless brillinat scenes, but her performace at Alexis's sister, Kristina's funeral is at the top of my list. I get chills everytime I see it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgGsbWIvAX8

[Ponz]

Agreed.

[TC]

"Another" great one was Mac Cory from AW breaking down on, yet again, the witness stand. He finds out he could not have fathered Matthew right there in the courtroom. I remember it, remember the teary reaction to it, but can't find it on Youtube. I believe it brought him the Emmy that year. (early 80's?)

[jrhys]

I think as far as the recent past is concerned, Eden Riegel did astounding work in the Coming Out, and Rape storylines on AMC. The Coming Out was under the guidance of Nixon so the writing was decent but she turned some pretty melodramatic and overly blatant storytelling into must watch tv with the overdone in Soapland Rape storyline. Also included should be the first month of the Miranda is Gone aftermath. I'm sure Eden would have been beyond incredible and a legend if she had had the writing and space needed to do what Judith Light did on OLTL.

[TC]

Bianca's coming out to Erica was brilliant. I was in another city, in a hotel, over Christmas holidays. If I remember correctly, she disrobed from a flashy Erica style gown (for New Year's eve?) and Erica's initial reaction was something like "How can you do this to me!" or something just as typically self-centered Erica.

[DevotedToAMC]

AMC

Bianca coming out and the rape

Erica's intervention

[AMCGio83]

AMC Julia Barr Brooke learns that Laura has died. Sends chills. JB is so missed and she totally deserved the emmy.

Eden Riegel: Bianca comes out. Both her and Susan Lucci were phenominal. And the direction. I believe there was an enlarged photo of Erica that Bianca wanted no part of. Bravo Nixon's AMC.

GL: Cynthia Watros: Annie on the witness stand when she finally confesses to her misdeeds. Wow.

OLTL: Judith Light: Karen on the witness stand. Just wow.

Erica Slezak: Vicki moving from split personality to split personality in the 1995-96 story.

[AMCer]

Kathleen Noone -AMC- When Ellen confronts her husband Mark after she learns he has been hiding a secret cocaine addiction from her and later at his intervention. Noone deliverd probably the best confrontation ever on Soaps when she first confronts Mark about his addiction. This storyline was one of the first to deal with drug addiction in a serious way and it was perfectly done. Noone deliverd knock out after knock out performances as Ellen and won the Best Supporting Actress Emmy for this story, to bad AMC never gave her another shot at equalling her brilliance during this story.

Debbi Morgan - AMC - In 1988 when Angie was reuniting with Jesse after some troubling times and all seemed to be getting better, the unthinkable happend Jesse was killed at the scene of a crime with Angie there. Morgan was a revalation in those scenes when Angie saw her husband gunned down and held his hand as she watched him die and later at Jesse's funeral. Morgan won a well deserved Emmy for those two performances, the only African American actress to ever win an acting Daytime Emmy.

Susan Lucci - AMC - Never the greatest actress at AMC, normally far outperformed by the likes of Julia Barr, Debbi Morgan, Dorthy Lyman, Kathleen Noone, and Kate Collins, but Lucci amazed me during Erica's addiction to pain-killers especially at the women in Media Awards. Before the awards Erica was in her dressing room and was popping pills as if they were Halloween candy and you saw who Erica truly was, a messed up, drugged up, Diva who had been through a ton and was acting out, and then her breakdown at the awards was truly amazing.

Julia Barr - AMC -Probably the best actress ever to work at AMC and she proved it with great perfomances during the Jim Thomason, Maria is alive, and the plane crash storys, but her best was when Tom tells Brooke that Laura was killed by a drunk driver. Barr ran through the gammut of emotions during that episode, shock, anger, frustration, hope, despair, and grief. This women had me crying for days with that performance. Nothing was phoney or forced like many other scenes where characters had lost children, it was totally real, full of emotion as if Barr had just lost her own real daughter.

[Faulkner]

Agreed. She really hit all the notes with that speech...proof positive that Lucci can really knock it out of the park if given the material. I'd really like to see that clip again if someone can post it to YouTube. "Maria! St. Maria of Wildwind! Tending to the sick in her push-up bra..."

[stenbeck212]

Don't forget Lucci during Mona's funeral. She held back the emotion for days and then let it rip.

[AMCer]

Erika Slezak and Robin Strasser- OLTL- There was this one episode from I believe from January of 1995 where Viki storms into Lanfair and is furious at Dorian, over her pushing David to be the phony Lord heir and the death of her father, Victor. Viki is trying to hold in her other alters, Jean and I belive Tommy. Dorian and Viki continue to argue and while arguing Dorian tells Viki that she knows that she was abused by her father, but Viki can't remember because she developed other personalities because she couldn't deal with the pain of the sexual abuse at the hands of her father. The climax of the episode is when Jean does come out and pushes Dorian down the stairs. This episode was masterfully acted, directed and written, the dialouge was fast paced and incredibly snappy, it was constant back and forth between two of daytimes greatest actresses. Slezak won an emmy for that episode, Strasser didn't even get nominated.

Hillary B. Smith - OLTL- Nora is defending Todd against rape allegations brought on by Marty Saybrooke, and during her closing statement Nora realizes she was played by Todd and that he really did rape Marty. I can't really explain this performance because it was so good and so mesmorizing.

BTW, Michael Malone was a genious, or at least his first stint at OLTL.