Great Women of Soaps

[DRW50]

I thought Marj and Jess quit. When Marj came back to GL in 2002 I think there was something someone said about she'd recently quit smoking and had also had major surgery. I can't remember.

[SFK]

Good for her! I saw her at a fan event in the late '90s and she lit up. I remember DTF saying that Jess had probably quit during all of that contract negotiating/recasting hoopla, some health concerns.

[DaytimeFan]

She did quit, she's on organic food and trying to lose some weight as well.

[Cat]

Enough with the Cigarette Porn! As the weather gets colder, and I increase my intake of carbs, my willpower disappears entirely (and what willpower I had wasn't any good to begin with). The most elegant smokers of cigarettes I saw were Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep and Rita Hayworth in Gilda. Just a few weeks back on Mad Men, I saw Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks) smoke so delicately, it was like she was taking tea at the Plaza. But the fact is that smoking (for me) is a dirty little habit, and I probably look quite trashy sneaking a smoke on my balcony after dinner.

Even Jess Walton (whom I adore), when I hear her gravelly smoker's voice, I can almost smell cigarettes on her and it sort of makes me feel bad because Jill should always be fiesty, powerful, alluring, magnetic -- and fragrant. LOL. I am so pleased she has quit and is working on being healthy all around. Judging by the hair she is growing out and outfits she has been wearing in recent weeks, it seems Jess is rediscovering a more glamorous side to herself as compensation for giving up smoking and hopefully this will just get better and better. Well, relatively speaking. This is the same show which dresses Amelia Heinle like a homeless person.

[Sylph]

OMG, CAT, but I have to mention Treasurer too, I forgot yesterday!

[YRBB]

No I haven't lol And I was in NY yesterday, I could have gone and got me some.

That is fabulous, JM knows how to smoke it up like a diva!

[Sylph]

Next time you better bring a thousand bucks since you're gonna buy the Cigarettellos and some others, I presume!

[SFK]

This is especially for DaytimeFan. JC looks sensational. Winter white against tan skin is always a great combo.

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Full episode, Joan's segment starting around 20:00:

http://www.cbs.com/daytime/the_talk/video/?pid=pSNdk5HoTjc6OlDTn3sPmW65HpS2g046&vs=Default&play=true

[JackPeyton]

^Thats tan skin?

[Sylph]

OMG! That video size iz huge!

Joan wore the same thing twice – and ended up in The Daily Mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1326631/Joan-Collins-sports-Dynasty-power-shoulders-dine-Beverly-Hills.html

[DaytimeFan]

I can't watch the full episode (hideous geographic blocking!)...but thank you SFK, Joan looked smashing!

[SFK]

Not George Hamilton tan, but tawny.

I know, sorry! I think because I pressed HD.

You're welcome.

[quartermainefan]

she seems like such a nice, down to earth person. It totally contrasts with her image. I wonder what would have been if she wasn't always so pretty and able to be cast in different kind of roles. Back in those days, a lot of times looks limited you, and we never really got to see Joan Collins in any kind of comedic or seriously dramatic role. And then Dynasty made her but locked her into a box at the same time.

[SFK]

I was going to comment on this in the thread re: her guest appearance on Rules of Engagement, but Steven Berkoff (who she worked with on the film Decadence) remarked on this in a bio program I caught on Ovation a few years ago. He said that Joan's a fine dramatic actress and she proved that with her dual role in Decadence, but somewhere along the way she fell into the cocoon of her own fame and out of comfort/fear/laziness, she stayed there. With very few exceptions, Joan's made no real effort to stretch herself beyond, or to be seen as anything other than "Joan Collins". Steven went on to say that he wished she'd strip herself of the wigs, the makeup, the silicone ( yes, he said silicone) and be gritty and real for a bloody minute and wow us. You could tell that he felt she was being rather selfish and lazy by not going deeper and sharing more of her gift. Joan said in comparison to the British female theatre greats (the Denches, et al), she was never all that interested in playing Hedda Gabler or Lady M., she can look back at her career and say, "Well, I did Alexis" and she's very happy with that.

[DaytimeFan]

Joan did very little comedy in her film work. The notable exception is 'Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!' which starred Paul Newman. It's the only comedy Joan did from her days at 20th Century Fox and it's the best movie she ever did for that studio. A 1995 Kenneth Branagh film, 'In the Bleak Midwinter' is another one of Joan's bests, she's plays, of all things, an agent. Joan herself has said that she prefers comedy to anything else.

Seriously dramatic work simply wasn't made available to her. Her looks likely played a part in that and the era that she did the bulk of her movie work (1950s-1970s) simply were not an era where the Joan Collins' of the world got that kind of work.

And as I've said forever, Joan is a lovely, bright, fun, sharp lady. She has her moments, to be sure, but on the whole, she's a good egg.

Steven Berkoff's comments are bang on, Joan worked like a dog at whatever part came her way and did her best and then, once she'd done Alexis and tasted the fame and fortune she'd sought her entire career, decided there wasn't any point to anything else. I think she DID try to shake Alexis with UK work like 'Tonight at 8:30' and 'Mama's Back'...but ultimately, Alexis has been paying Joan's bills for 30 years.

Leonard Maltin described Joan as "a one note actress whose career blossomed late in life with a career making turn as the scheming 'Alexis' in ABC's prime time soap opera 'Dynasty'"...that's a very fair assessment. She is one note, but damn, is it a fabulous note to hold.

Interestingly, Joan's been getting all sorts of buzz for a short film she did called 'Fetish' in which she takes off the wigs, makeup, clothing, jewels etc and wows everyone. She's picked up awards in NY and LA for it. Some say it's the best work of her career (at 77!). I haven't seen it myself, but I'm looking forward to finding it!