Classic Film Stars Who Found a Home on Soaps

[Faulkner]

From Oscar winners Kim Hunter (Nola, EON) and Celeste Holm (Isabelle, Loving) to Ruth Warrick (Phoebe, AMC) and Farley Granger (Will, OLTL, etc), lots of stars of the silver screen found a home on soaps in their later years.

 

Who are some of your favorites, and who would you have liked to have seen do soaps? Classic film clips welcome!

 

Ruth Warrick’s famous scene in Citizen Kane (starts about 0:30):

 

https://youtu.be/CMkPIW22bq4 

[Paul Raven]

Joan Bennett - Dark Shadows

She appeared in some fabulous movies .Two must sees are 'The Woman in the Window' and 'The Reckless Moment'

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Edited May 9, 2020 by Paul Raven

[Khan]

I think it would have been awesome to see Bette Davis in a short-term role on ATWT or GL.

[Faulkner]

How would you have seen her? As a long-lost relative of Lucinda? As a von Halkein? (Would have been cool to see her with Liz or Bev.)

 

She was so striking as a brunette!

 

It would have been cool to see Barbara Stanwyck on daytime around the time she did Thorn Birds and Dynasty.

[Khan]

 

Woah.  Just imagine if they HAD gotten Bette Davis to play Lucinda's abusive mother.  It would have been HISTORIC.

[Paul Raven]

Bette talked about her soap viewing in a SOD interview but rebuffed any notion that she would appear. I recall she was annoyed about the young storylines on ATWT and admired Kathryn Hays/Kim.

Several of Bette's co stars from some of her best pics made it to soaps 

Geraldine Fitzgerald in Dark Victory (1939) was on Our Private World and Best of Everything

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Our Private World 1965Best of Everything 1970

 

[kalbir]

Y&R's 1981 rebroadcast prompted me to look up K.T. Stevens. She was every medium: films, theater, primetime series, daytime dramas.

[Paul Raven]

Gale Sondergaard was an Academy Award winner

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in the trailer for The Letter (1940)

She appeared In The Best of Everything in 1970 and Ryan's Hope in 1976

 

[Faulkner]

Barbara Rush played Nola Orsini (“mother” of Ted Orsini/Tad) on AMC in the early ‘90s and I believe was a contender to replace Beverlee McKinsey as Alex on GL. She had a storied film (and TV) career, including It Came From Outer Space.

 

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[Faulkner]

And because he was so epically handsome, Farley Granger in Strangers on a Train:

 

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And him as Shannon’s uncle Earl Mitchell on ATWT in the ‘80s (at 1:44:43):

 

With Eileen Fulton:

 

 

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And of course the great Dame Judith Anderson (seen at 1:40 in the first clip), who later played Minx on Santa Barbara:

 

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by Faulkner

[Paul Raven]

I had the pleasure of meeting Barbara Rush at the Palm Springs Film Noir Festival. They were showing her movie Bigger than Life with James Mason.

Another must see is No Down Payment, expose of 50's suburban living and said to be inspiration for  Knots Landing

Edited May 10, 2020 by Paul Raven

[Faulkner]

That’s so cool! When did you meet her? (I love of lot of Martin Ritt’s films but never saw this. On my list!)

[gimmetoo]

The cast of Capitol was loaded w/ classic film stars:  Carolyn Jones, Julie Adams, Rory Calhoun and Richard Egan.

[Faulkner]

Not really “classic” film, but Rosalind Cash (Mary Mae, GH) was of course a big presence in blaxploitation, and Omega Man with Charlton Heston:

 

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In 1972’s Melinda:

 

In 1974’s Amazing Grace with Moms Mabley:

 

And we can’t forget Claire Bloom (the first Orlena Grimaldi on ATWT - replaced by, ugh, Lynn Milgrim). Bloom is seen here in Limelight in 1952 with Charlie Chaplin:

 

 

[Brolden]

I guess it depends on your definition of "classic", but I was always surprised that Richard Roundtree's short stint on ATWT as Oliver Travers wasn't a much bigger deal.