I couldn't remember if this had been posted already --- if so, here it is again...
TV GUIDE AUGUST 9. 1980
In 'Ryan's Hope’-and in real life — Nancy Addison tends to come on strong
By John Mariani
When Nancy Addison took the role of lawyer Jill Coleridge Beaulac on ABCs daytime serial Ryan's Hope, she anticipated the usual number of maladies for her character, and she has not been disappointed. Jill has bravely weathered the death of a young son, a messy divorce, the horror of drug addiction, and other heartbreaks that would turn most normal women into emotional porridge.
That Nancy and her character have survived five years on such a sea of troubles is proof of both women‘s strong-headedness. Which, in its own ironic way, has led to a quirky problem Nancy Addison had not anticipated. "I get very little mail from men," says the beautiful brown-haired, green-eyed ac-tress, "while the seductive sirens, the
conniving, man-chasing female characters on the show get letters from male viewers. I think men see Jill as too strong for them, too determined. Usually my character is pretty much in control of her men, even when she’s in trouble, and men are afraid of Jill.”
When a woman is as attractive as Nancy Addison, a man may very well be apprehensive about approaching her. “Even in high school, boys didn’t ask me out much because I was so shy, and they took that to mean I was snobby," she says, shaking her head.
Much of her own strength of character came from her mother, who worked as a designer of furs with her businessman father. Born in New York City and raised in New Jersey, Nancy grew up without ever watching soap operas on television. *’Now that I work so hard during the day," she says, 'I still don’t get to see them. The only time I see myself is if I get hold of a tape machine."
After pursuing a liberal arts education at Fisher Junior College in Boston and New York University, Nancy performed on the stage in dinner-theater, stock and off-Broadway productions, and studied with both Stella Adler and Sandy Meisner before taking on the role of Kit Vestid in the soap opera The Guiding Light for two years. After
that, she joined Ryan's Hope, where she was nominated for an Emmy in 1976.
But then, instead of identifying with soap-opera heroines, Nancy felt a stronger attraction to Vivien Leigh as Scarlett 0’Hara in "Gone with the Wind," a film she has seen 15 times at last count. "I love Scarlett," says Nancy, "because she’s tough too, a con artist, and knows what she wants. But I really admire Vivien Leigh the
actress, who was a little crazy and went through a lot. The great thing about that movie is that Scarlett and Rhett Butler are mirror images of each other. They’re both headstrong and complex. with all kinds of shadings.
"It’s very sexy when he carries her up those stairs and she’s kicking. On Ryan's Hope, my character has been pretty much in control of her men, even when she’s in trouble. In my own life I'll push a man to see how he’ll react, because I want a man who is stronger than I am — or as strong."
Nancy, who admits to being in her late 20s, was once married to an actor("A Southern actor at that," she laughs), but after a divorce, she became involved in the early-70s women's movement. "I was heavily into feminism then," she says, "and I guess I was a little radical in my feelings toward men — which must have put them off. But I've mellowed and now I try to see both sides of the issue. I don't just want women to change and grow; I want women and men to grow together and to nurture each other, which is not easy. You have to break down the barriers first."
One of the barriers Nancy herself broke down effectively was on one of those nights when she found herself alone at a disco in New York. "I told myself, if I feel I want to go out alone, that's my business," she explains, "and when I got there, everybody was with somebody else. Except one guy sit-ting alone. He looked strong, serious,
proud and intriguing. So I just went up to him and asked him to dance. We've
been together now for three years."
When Nancy auditioned for Ryan's Hope after a stint on The Guiding Light, she was originally up for the role of Jill's sister, the doctor. "But I gave such a strong, determined reading, "she says. "that they offered me the role of the lawyer, which was originally meant for an older woman. My character has changed over the years, of
course, and in the future I want her to be much more vulnerable and not so hard-nosed.”
The mellowing of Nancy’s personality has guided her perception of her character. “This is the best part of my life right now!" she exclaims. 'I've got a wonderful acting job. I just bought a country house in Pennsylvania that Tm fixing up, I have a terrific relationship with a man, although right now I don’t think I want to get married or have
children. and 1’ve even started up my own business."
Last year, friends she’d met in her feminist workshop produced some ornamental hair decorations that included several unique, bejeweled hair pins .With an investment of $20 in materials, Nancy and the three other women began producing them for sale around New York. "We tried to get them into Bloomingdale‘s for months," says Nancy, “and we were persistent. When they finally agreed to see us, they flipped and we had enough orders for three months. We didn’t even know how to write an invoice, and I was up till 6 some mornings, sewing sequins on to these ornaments. Now we’ve got booths in Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Henri Bendel’s, and I’m not staying up till 6 any more. But, I still promote the product — called Kirk’s Folly —
by appearing in the store and greeting customers.”
Sometimes men will wander over to the booth to find out exactly what it is that the beautiful brunette who is vaguely familiar-looking is wearing and selling. “One day this man carne over, and I was bending over. When I stood up with the ornament in my hair, he burst out laughing. Well, I went overo him and said right in his face. ‘Listen, don‘t you dare insult me or my work. You are a man of utter insensitivity, and I just can’t stand that.’ The man backed away like I was this crazy lady, but I just smiled because I stood my ground. It made me feel terrific for the rest of the day."
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