OLTL: Is Robin Strasser the weakest of all the actresses who played Dorian?

[IcyOne]

Obviously she's the most successful of all the casting, and the most iconic in the role, but from a technical standpoint, I think she may be the weakest of all the actresses who played the character. And that's not to even say RS is a bad actresses, I just think that the others -- even if a few of them were limited by story or miscast for the role -- were technically stronger actresses than her.

Elaine Princi could act circles around Strasser, and her version was probably the most 'full circle' of all the castings. She could be as dark, subtle and calculating as NP's, as flamboyant and stylish as RS's, and at the same time was oddly able to add more shrewd intelligence and a broader and realistic array of human emotion to the part...but still was always hindered by the shadow of RS's popularity. Nancy Pinkerton underplayed the role, which complimented her version as a quieter, more sterile, yet much more lethal version. Claire Malis's version I'm not sure about, because I never saw it, but I know that CM was a very talented actresses, and from what I've read about the storylines her version of the character was involved in, hers seemed like it was slightly more 'obvious' than NP's, but not as quite as peacockish as RS.

[applcin]

I was never sure if it was the writing of the role itself or RS' mannerisms or a combination of both but the things that never made me a fan of Dorian were that I always found her one-note, the same over-the-top personality, no growth and very redundant, even for a soap opera. The jealousy-based feud with Viki that seemed to be so popular and a cornerstone of the soap was actually something I found tedious. The only other Dorian I ever saw was EP but if you were to ask me to remember her scenes, I couldn't. Definitely a less flamboyant presence.

[quartermainefan]

Robin Strasser has gotten weaker as the years have gone by. She was not this cartoonish ham 30 years ago, giving off the impression she is constantly satisfied with her own work. Her mannerisms reek of being rehearsed.

[You're Soaking in it]

Princi was so good as Dorian, that some diehard Strasser fans tar & feather her with phony criticism over it. She became better and better in the role each day she played it. Some of her best performances happened after she knew she was being let go (anyone else remember her Dorian throwing a drink in Viki's face?). This made it especially jarring when Strasser came back with a country-signer hairdo and a complete shift to scenery-chewing, "comedic" scenes of Dorian making trouble for Viki and Sloan.

The Cramer abuse storyline (which would later be revisited quite well with Strasser under Claire Labine as headwriter) originated with Princi - who was mesmerizing in her scenes with Mia Korf's Blair. It was Princi who essentially defined the character's childhood pain that translated to her sometimes-ruthless strength in adulthood. The story occurred in her final year as Dorian, and I thought to myself that, with that storyline, her mark on the role was permanent. So I, like I think many other fans, was blown away by her sudden dismissal in favor of Strasser.

At the time, Strasser was thisclose to joining GL as Alexandra Spaulding (which ultimately went to Marj Dusay). But before she did, she went to OLTL to see if they would give be interested enough to give her a better deal. Then-EP Linda Gottlieb was game. It did show that Strasser was indeed a smart business woman, her realizing that OLTL would want her more with the idea someone else could have her.

I always wonder how Dorian would have evolved had Princi continued in the role. She certainly deserved a bigger slice of the storyline pie than she had - something that Strasser was effective at obtaining. I think Princi was just more of a straight-forward, no-nonsense actress - not a great self-promoter, nor a business woman. To me, that's where Strasser excelled. There's nothing wrong with that. I like her. But it is disappointing to see Dorian become some poor attempt at a daily comedy skit - something that would never happen with Princi in the role.

[vote4llama]

Robin Strasser only became OTT and flamboyant in recent years IMO. I definitely don't think it started with her 1993 return. Her performances in the '95 DID storyline were amazing. I think if the writers properly wrote for the character as a flawed anti-heroine as opposed to a batty old lady, Strasser would rise to the occasion.

[DRW50]

Strasser is more than capable of giving restrained performances. I think she lost interest in this, and Ron Carlivati making Dorian into such a cartoon just amped this up. I think she's had her moments on the PP OLTL, but the writing is struggling to capture who Dorian is. The main problem is so much of Dorian has been taken away beyond the stale feud with Viki. Her "girls," her career, her lust for life.

[John]

Strasser started to become campy under Cartini. All four Dorian's get a great job and were good during their time. I think ABC always thought of RS as Dorian case according to her on a podcast years ago maybe Brandons Buzz, she said the whole time EP was there they kept asking RS back and I buy that. Especially once Paul Rauch left in 1991

[SFK]

Many of us are too young to make a fair assessment. I can't really judge based on that one Daytime to Remember episode of Pinkerton or those two clips of Malis that barely amount to a minute combined. I will say that from what I've seen and read, I don't think any of the actresses deserve to be called the weakest Dorian, they all seemed like strong choices for how the particular regimes they worked under chose to utilize them. But Strasser's work during her first two stints in particular was exquisite. I never thought I could love a character as much as Erica Kane, but Robin won me big in '93.

Years ago on her hotline, Robin (who never watches her own work) made the mistake of watching her own work. She felt that she was letting down the audience by giving a dull performance that lacked energy and investment. She felt that she was coasting, not giving it her all, and she admitted that it had a lot to do with her unhappiness with her storyline (or lack thereof). She conceded that that was not the

[SFK]

audience's problem and she vowed to ©amp it up. This is where the problem began. And I feel like Cartini fed into this opposed to curbing it. I don't totally blame them because they were working with what Robin was giving them, with who Robin was showing them Dorian to be. Robin needed a good director to reign her in. And the thing is, she didn't seem all that upset about her character's turn, she seemed to delight in the kookiness which I didn't really understand. An actor as good and intelligent as Robin knows how to steer a scene without sabotaging it. I think she could have kept Dorian more grounded if she really wanted to. Meanwhile, she adores Bette Davis, so you have that similarity in the evolution of their acting as they aged. But my early/mid-'90s Dorian was flawless.

[EricMontreal22]

Yeah, I'm not sure who on here can really judge--aside from Princi.

Icy--and this is not meant as a criticism at all, as I think it's an interesting topic, but have you seen anything of Pinkerton aside from her brief bit on the Daytime to Remember episode? I know she was well loved, and she seems great for what Dorian was back then, but I just find it way too little to judge on.

I think Strasser can be an excellent actress. I remember liking her as Rachel in those two AW episodes once posted (SFK weren't you going to reupload those? )

[Soaplovers]

I remember Princi as Dorian.. she and Strasser were very similiar in their voices/mannerisms.. though I think Princi was much more subtle, snooty, and calculating then Strasser was. Actually when Strasser first came back in 1993, she actually was a lot more subtle.. even mimicked a lot of Princi's mannerisms. She was more restrained all the way up to her departure in 2000.

I do remember she played Hecuba on Passions after leaving oLTL in 2000.. and that show was very campy. Some of Dorian's personality reminds me of Hecuba now. She has had some more down-to-earth moments on the current version of OLTL especially in scenes with Jack.. but I would love to see Dorian back in business mode again. Shame she can't steal the Sun from Todd and run a tabloid paper up against The Banner.

[cassadine1991]

Would be awesome to see The Intruder again, is that the name of newspaper Todd brought from Dorian??

[Cheap21]

and why cant she? With Todd MIA, that would be one good way to make use of it

[SFK]

Yes. The Intruder is what gave us those Adam/Dorian (Princi) crossovers in the early '90s when Adam was trying to smear Natalie's name. I forget who he was threatening, but Adam picked up the phone once and asked to be connected to Dorian Lord at The Intruder by the time Robin was in the role.

Robin was not a fan of Dorian owning The Intruder. She felt that it didn't make sense that a woman who was so desperate for Viki-level respectability would run a smutty tabloid.

[teplin]

I love Strasser as Dorian, even as I'm disappointed by what the character has turned into since being paired with David. I saw very little of Princi's Dorian, but I'm biased against her because she was absolutely god-awful on DAYS. I liked Claire Malis very much, her Dorian was much more vulnerable and low-key. (So low-key that I doubt the character would have lasted very long with her in the role.) I saw a little bit of Pinkerton, and I was very young, but I remember thinking she was scary.