Guiding Light Discussion Group -- Beverlee McKinsey Passes Away

Guiding Light Discussion Group

Topic: Beverlee McKinsey Passes Away

Topic Posted by: laurag
Date Posted: Mon May 5 0:25:56 2008
Additional Comments: Forgive me if this has already been posted, but I didn't see it in the topics list, and I wanted to let everybody know...I was just told by a friend that Beverlee McKinsey, the original Alexandra Spaulding, passed away on May 2nd due to complications from a kidney transplant. That's really all I know, but I wanted to let everyone know. Very sad news indeed; she was one of the greats.

Posted by: yankeefan
Date posted: Sat May 10 9:26:04 2008
Message:
Beverlee was my 1st soap opera favorite, when I watched her as Iris Carrington on Another World. She was absolutely the best .......my mother & grandmother & I loved watching her. 3 generations all enjoying this great character. I remember when she left AW we were devastated, but out loss was GL viewers gain. I only saw her as Alex a few times but know she must have been fabulous as well. RIP.

Posted by: kp
Date posted: Mon May 5 23:28:08 2008
Message:

What a shame. Loved Beverlee McKinsey's portrayal of Alex, she was fantastic. One of my favorite storylines was when Alex and Fletcher were stranded on the island. I really loved them together. She's always been one of my favorite actors GL ever had.

Posted by: Soup
Date posted: Mon May 5 22:54:00 2008
Message:
Loved her with Lujack. She was very talented.

Posted by: sit down josh
Date posted: Mon May 5 22:13:43 2008
Message:

She was amazing. They don't make them like that anymore. I especially loved her in scenes like this with Maureen Garrett. They don't write scenes like this anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yEYbH1fQPI

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Thanks for posting, that was a great scene. I had been so depressed all day at her passing but I am glad we got to experience her talent, grace and class.

Posted by: edsonfan
Date posted: Mon May 5 21:59:21 2008
Message:

Here's some stuff for all interested parties to take a peek at:

http://www.soapoperadigest.com/features/gl/mckinsey/index.html

An interview with McKinsey from 2000. A fun, insightful read, albeit way too short in length.

http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2008/05/when-beverlee-m.html

True, she never won an Emmy. But what this write-up doesn’t tell the reader is that for many years of her stint at GL, McKinsey refused to have her work submitted for Emmy consideration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8DvOMmBijw&feature=related

Guiding Light Mindy – You Are Not My Daughter. McKinsey is featured; entire clip is excellent. Check out the 22 text comments on youtube. (Look at the passion in those comments, will ya?) Too bad mediadomain didn’t exist when GL was must-see TV. Imagine what this board would have been like had it been around in 1992.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSfoh9IK7MA&feature=related

Roger/Alex at the country club. This is the first of several related clips. The last of the set is the best. Love when Roger is refused a taxicab and has to walk out on crutches! (Which Zaslow needed in real life following knee surgery – GL wrote it in, informing viewers that Roger had been thrown from a horse outside the Spaulding stables).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBUvsikw5Ek

Another World: I’m not even a relative, I’m the maid*. Note to any Texas viewers out there, someone also has posted about 20 clips from that show.

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I've seen the

Texas clips. They're GREAT!

Thanks Edsonfan, you made it alot easier to access all the videos of Beverlee. I appreciate it, since GL today is not too bad today, I will tune in after it's over.

Posted by: gregn
Date posted: Mon May 5 20:05:20 2008
Message:

She was a legend -- an incredible talent that captivated everyone in each & every scene she was in -- who can ever forget the dynamic duo of McKinsey & Michael Zaslow?

I have missed her since she retired & miss her now even more knowing that future audience members will not have the chance to be mesmerized by this woman's gift.

Posted by: Spaulding Butler
Date posted: Mon May 5 17:45:32 2008
Message:

This is very sad news. I was not a regular viewer of GL during McKinsey’s run as Alexandra, but I have rewatched some of her scenes on YouTube, and she was brilliant! Every aspect of GL was top-notch then: brilliant and believable acting, superb writing and directing, stellar sets and background music, etc. GL was a completely different show then. Its present form bears little resemblance to that once-mighty show.

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edsonfan): It's a shame that you didn't see the 1990-1994 version of GL. You really did miss out, SB. I know you saw parts/all of 1993/1994...but missing 1991 and 1992...bummer. McKinsey was astounding. GL was so stacked with high calibre soap actors back then (I think they had 14 acting noms for the 1993 season alone) , it was almost embarrassing. To think that McKinsey, Zaslow and Bernau are all gone.......and Roerick and Gates, too.

Spaulding Butler} Greetings edsonfan! I regret not having become a regular GL viewer sooner. That's one of the reasons I'm so grateful for YouTube -- I can watch scenes I didn't catch when they originally aired, and I can also rewatch previously-viewed scenes. It allows me to fill in those early 1990s gaps when I only occasionally tuned into GL. I agree that the early to mid-1990s version of GL was far superior to the inane drivel being produced today. And yes, I, too, miss the brilliant performers you mentioned: Gates, Roerick, Zaslow, etc. The show was truly stellar in every aspect then.

Did you watch the one of Dinah and Vanessa, over Roger? It's 16 minutes long, I remember! It's absolutely riveting! And Dinah and Roger, and Roger and Chrissie! My GOSH, those scenes were unbelievable! fee

Posted by: DanRegionWannabe
Date posted: Mon May 5 17:35:13 2008
Message:

I can't think of a more compelling actress in the history of soaps than McKinsey. She was fantastic. She was so good as Alexandra, and when she and Michael Zaslow were on the screen together, it was the cream of the cream.

But whenever I think of McKinsey, I always think of Iris Carrington from AW. She made Iris so real, it was just off the charts. Even when Iris was completely "in the wrong," it was impossible not to feeel her pain, because of McKinsey. To me, McKinsey's work on AW with Doug Watson, Victoria Wyndham, Nick Coster, and the late Anne Meacham as Louise, was some of the most memorable stuff I've ever seen on soaps. There was also a very memorable mini-story with guest Nancy Marchand, which humanized Iris during one of her lowest points. The writing by Lemay was so good, and the performances by McKinsey were really without peer. I'm so glad I had the chance to enjoy and appreciate her work.

Posted by: edsonfan
Date posted: Mon May 5 17:30:17 2008
Message:

Thanks, Beverlee. I very much enjoyed watching you on Guiding Light. Good work. Phenominal acting.

I would hope that P&G invites Kincaid, verDorn, Aleksander, Irizarry, Hammer and/or Adams to say something on her behalf. Some lengthy on-air recognition/retrospective seems appropriate. For McKinsey's work on both Guiding Light and Another World.

When are the Daytime Emmys due to broadcast?

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The Emmys will be a three-hour broadcast on ABC on Friday June 20. I wonder if there's a way for us to contact the producers, and chime in for a tribute to McKinsey. ABC did a good job with the Emmys two years ago -- they allowed a much nicer tribute to ATWT's 50th anniversary than CBS ever would have allowed -- the tribute was narrated on stage by Helen Wagner, no less.

Posted by: Fevuh
Date posted: Mon May 5 16:39:48 2008
Message:
Very sorry to hear this - she was one of the greats.

Posted by: L.A.
Date posted: Mon May 5 15:17:59 2008
Message:
She was Da Bomb..When she played Alan's sister no one called her Alex, she was ALEXANDRA.Queen of all that is Spaulding , forever.

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nathan-More than just being called Alexandra, she was the Baronness. I loved when people called her that. It just fit for her. Bev was the ultimate Alex. You HAD to be on top of your game when you acted with her. She will be missed.

Posted by: crackers
Date posted: Mon May 5 13:49:11 2008
Message:

She was so good. My sympathies to her family, may she rest in peace.

Posted by: fee
Date posted: Mon May 5 13:34:50 2008
Message:
I never saw her Iris, but her Alex was spectacular; loved her! I was just wondering on Saturday what she was up to. Very sad.

Posted by: A.C.
Date posted: Mon May 5 12:58:09 2008
Message:
How very sad...she played so well of Vincent Irizzary that the screen lit up when they were on together. RIP-and her entrance as Alexandra Spaulding at the masked ball will never be forgotten.

Posted by: GLATWTfan
Date posted: Mon May 5 11:57:01 2008
Message:
I cant believe it and don't want too, she was probably my favorite actress in daytime history. I SO LOVED her on GL and when I used to watch Another World sometimes. I love Ron Raines and Marj Dusay but to me the real Alan and Alexandra will always be Beverlee Mckinsee and Chris Bernau. She will be GREATLY missed and my thoughts and prayers are with her family.

Posted by: AprilFool
Date posted: Mon May 5 9:51:11 2008
Message:
Very sad but her legacy will live on for me she was stellar as Alex and I will never forget those awesome storylines and scenes with Roger (Michael Zaslow) the best ever! RIP

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Weren't they wonderful together? That's what happens when you pair up greats! fee

Posted by: Pittman
Date posted: Mon May 5 9:32:10 2008
Message:

I always hoped some day she'd return to GL. She will be missed. Now, more than ever.

Posted by: Leprechaun
Date posted: Mon May 5 8:37:20 2008
Message:

What a heartbreaker! She was absolutely brilliant in all of her roles, but especially our beloved Alexandra. Thanks for posting the info and obit.

Posted by: KWF
Date posted: Mon May 5 8:16:28 2008
Message:

Sad indeed. As a little girl with my Grandmother I loved watching the Iris and Rachel battles on AW. She has been and she will be sorely missed by her soap fans.

Posted by: MamaCee
Date posted: Mon May 5 8:10:03 2008
Message:
As much as I like MD, Berverly will always be to me Alex. I loved how she played the character, and I guess deep down inside, had always hoped she would return. A sad day for daytime television. (Wouldn't it be nice if they did a nice montage on GL recognizing her turn?)

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Well said. You took the words out of my mouth.

Posted by: laurag
Date posted: Mon May 5 0:46:21 2008
Message:

Here's the obit from the LA Times:

Beverlee McKinsey

McKINSEY, Beverlee Died May 2nd, 2008 in Los Angeles from complications due to a kidney transplant. She was 72 years old. Ms. McKinsey was an actor best known for roles in daytime television. She created the character Iris Carrington on NBC's Another World, and played the part from 1970-1979. She also created the role of Alexandra Spaulding on CBS's Guiding Light, and performed it from 1984-1992. In 1980, NBC developed the program Texas to capitalize on the popularity of her character, Iris Carrington; and Ms. McKinsey was the first and only performer in the history of daytime drama to receive star billing. In 1998, the editors of Soap Opera Magazine voted her the best actor in the history of daytime television. TV Guide's, Michael Logan, wrote of her in 1992, "For my money, Beverlee McKinsey is the greatest actress ever to grace daytime drama." Ms. McKinsey performed the lead role of Corie on Broadway in the original production of Neil Simon's, Barefoot in the Park, where she was directed by Mike Nichols, and co-starred with Robert Redford. She also originated the role of Honey in the London production of Edward Albee's, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? She guest starred on multiple prime time television series, including The FBI, Hawaii Five-0, The Mod Squad, Mannix and The Defenders. She appeared in films for Clint Eastwood (Bronco Billy), Sidney Pollack (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?), and Mark Rydell (The Reevers). Ms. McKinsey was nominated four times in the lead actress category for a National Daytime Emmy Award. She is survived by her son, Scott, (who directed her on Guiding Light), and her grandson, Marley. No memorial service is planned.
Published in the Los Angeles Times on 5/4/2008.

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How very sad... She will definitely be mourned by the daytime community. In her obit, I wish they had also mentioned her role as Martha Donnelly/Julie Richards on ''Love Is A Many Splendored Thing''--also a CBS soap from 1967-1973 (replaced by Y&R). As I recall, she was a great ''manipulator'' on that show, too. RIP - DanMan869/eom

I am SO glad you said that! I was going to ask if she wasn't on that show, but then I figured she must not have been after all, and I didn't post it. I had thought she was on there! fee


Beverlee McKinsey
McKINSEY, Beverlee Died May 2nd, 2008 in Los Angeles from complications due to a kidney transplant. She was 72 years old. Ms. McKinsey was an actor best known for roles in daytime television. She created the character Iris Carrington on NBC's Another World, and played the part from 1970-1979. She also created the role of Alexandra Spaulding on CBS's Guiding Light, and performed it from 1984-1992. In 1980, NBC developed the program Texas to capitalize on the popularity of her character, Iris Carrington; and Ms. McKinsey was the first and only performer in the history of daytime drama to receive star billing. In 1998, the editors of Soap Opera Magazine voted her the best actor in the history of daytime television. TV Guide's, Michael Logan, wrote of her in 1992, "For my money, Beverlee McKinsey is the greatest actress ever to grace daytime drama." Ms. McKinsey performed the lead role of Corie on Broadway in the original production of Neil Simon's, Barefoot in the Park, where she was directed by Mike Nichols, and co-starred with Robert Redford. She also originated the role of Honey in the London production of Edward Albee's, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? She guest starred on multiple prime time television series, including The FBI, Hawaii Five-0, The Mod Squad, Mannix and The Defenders. She appeared in films for Clint Eastwood (Bronco Billy), Sidney Pollack (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?), and Mark Rydell (The Reevers). Ms. McKinsey was nominated four times in the lead actress category for a National Daytime Emmy Award. She is survived by her son, Scott, (who directed her on Guiding Light), and her grandson, Marley. No memorial service is planned. Published in the Los Angeles Times on 5/4/2008.