AW: A clip from one of Douglass Watson's...

[Max]

I'd like to begin this post by thanking the moderators for starting up a forum dedicated to cancelled soaps. I think that this was a truly great idea.

Arguably, the most popular cancelled soap is Another World. The heart and soul of AW was Mac Cory, portrayed by Douglass Watson (whom I consider to be the greatest actor in daytime television history) from 1974 until his death in 1989.

One of Watson's final storylines centered around somebody--referred to only as "The Chief"--who was hellbent on taking over Mac's company, Cory Publishing. Eventually, it was discovered that "The Chief" was none other than Mac's daughter, Iris. Below is a clip of what happens after Rachel discovers that Iris was the Chief:

Shortly afterward, Iris herself tells Mac the awful truth, as this clip shows:

Although it was never intended to be this way, the clip I just showed you was one of Watson's final performances given on AW. (Although it was not his very last performance.) Shortly afterward, Watson went on vacation, where he had a fatal heart attack. Obviously, Watson was so popular that a recast of his character was not considered, and subsequently Mac died offscreen as well.

I find this last clip to be one of the saddest soap scenes that I have ever seen. I feel so sorry for Iris, since this was the last time she saw her father alive. Also, there was a part of the exchange between Rachel and Iris (in the first clip) that I found eerily chilling: it occurred when Iris said that telling Mac that she was the Chief would kill him (and when Rachel replied that Mac was as strong as an ox).

[Shawn]

Some of the best scenes on AW ever, bar none. I FLOVED Carmen Duncan. Oh how daytime needs her back.

[DaytimeFan]

Oh I LOVED AW and these two scenes in particular. In the Emmy section I posted the second clip on behalf of Carmen Duncan who absolutely should have been nominated for her work. She was GREAT. Absolutely loved her.

After leaving AW in 1994, Carmen was a bit of a jet setter with a very rich boyfriend in Europe. After that relationship ended in 2001 she bought a house in the ritzy Sydney area of Edgeware, was diagnosed (and was successfully treated for) breast cancer and now works as the head of fundraising for the Women's Hospital in Sydney and counts Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman as pals. She has two children and one grandchild.

LOVED Carmen Duncan.

[YRBB]

Wow. First I've ever seen of Watson and Duncan.... (Duncan is Iris, right?). Such fantastic scenes, so much painful drama.... Why can't soaps be like this these days?

[brimike]

I cried in 1989, I cried last year when they ran on Soapnet, and I cried tonight - watching Mac's heart shatter and Iris's self-esteem spiral into oblivion.

Soap opera at its finest, and exquisite actors who truly know their craft.

Thank you so much, Max!

[MTSRocks]

I don't know. Douglas Watson was excellent, but Carmen Duncan wasn't all that sensational. IMO Watson stole those scenes, because he imposed every bit of emotion necessary to make those scenes seem heartfelt. I would have loved it if Beverlee McKinsey had acted out these scenes. THAT would have been, mesmerizing.

[Shawn]

Carmen Duncan held her own against Douglas Watson, which was impressive since she had just started on the show when these clips aired.

[MarkH]

Truly moving... Does anyone know if there is a Youtube link to Watson's truly FINAL scene? It's probably morbid, but I would like to see it...even if it is pedestrian relative to the luminous scenes you just posted.

[brimike]

I wish I could remember exactly - but they're pretty anticlimactic from what I recall. It's an episode or two after the Iris confrontation, and I believe Rachel just comforts him, before he leaves town to go to the cabin and think (DW's vacation).

I could be TOTALLY wrong on this one - I'm sure someone with a better memory will (and should) correct me.

[SteveFrame]

Those scenes were so powerful. I can still remember all those months around Mac's death so vividly. I grew to like Carmen Duncan as Iris, but she never was right for the part to me. She did a very capable job, but it was not that I compared her to Beverlee McKinsey it is just I didn't think she was right for the role at all.