Monday, May 10, 2010

50 Greatest Soap Actors: #7 Douglass Watson

NAME: Douglass Watson
RANK: 7
SOAP ROLES: Mackenzie Cory, ANOTHER WORLD (1974-1989); Lloyd Phillips, LOVE OF LIFE (1972-1973); Walter Haskins, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW (1966-1968); Robert Wallace, MOMENT OF TRUTH (1965)

AWARDS:
1989 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
1981 Daytime Emmy win for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
1980 Daytime Emmy win for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series

COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Roger Newcomb: My favorite actor from my favorite soap, ANOTHER WORLD. He may not have been the original Mac Cory, but he was certainly the one who made his mark on Bay City, daytime, and is being talked about still today, 21 years after his passing. Watson could play romance and drama, business stories, family drama and everything thrown at him from numerous head writers and producers. It was Mac's long relationship with Rachel and his father-daughter bond with Iris that really took ANOTHER WORLD to new heights in the '70s. Doug Watson's death left a gaping hole in AW that would never be filled.

Jonathan Reiner: Bloody brilliant! Calculating, heartbreaking and heroic, he was one of a kind.

Connie Passalacqua Hayman (Marlena De Lacroix): A titanic force of nature and emotion as Mac on Another World, Doug Watson was literally the finest of actors -- staged trained in Shakespeare and the classics with such great artists as the Lunts and Eva Le Gallienne. Whether Mac was crying his heart out for the love of Rachel ("Rachel!") or turning his back on wayward daughter Iris ("Daddy!), Watson stirred emotions and was full of humanity.

Patrick Erwin: A great actor and a great gentleman, who made Mac a towering romantic figure and the center of Bay City.

10 comments:

  1. He's my personal choice for #1, but I'm gratified that he made it to your Top 10 these many years after his death. He was such a force of nature on screen, and displayed such depth of emotion. Who can forget his Emmy-winning scenes on the courtroom stand when he realized Rachel was carrying someone else's son? Victoria Wyndham was the star of Another World, and she was a great one, but Douglass Watson was the show's heart and soul. AW never recovered from his death.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we are auctioning his 2 Emmy's on October 3rd, directly from his daughter. You can bid live online, please pass this along. They are both for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series.
      www.jmwauction.com
      (845) 389-1933

      Delete
  2. I loved watching this show so much. My grandmother loved watching Mac & Rachel do their stuff on TV! Ahhhh, Douglass Watson was sooo wonderful. On stage he acted opposite the Lunts, Helen Hayes, Eva Le Gallienne, Katharine Cornell, Claude Rains, Ina Claire, Karl Malden, Robert Ryan, Katharine Hepburn, Philip Bosco, Zoe Caldwell, & played Romeo opposite Olivia De Havilland's Juliet in the early 1950s! Also, he performed Marlon Brando onscreen in 2 movies. He was a super-great actor & was always so well-spoken & well-spoken-of by his peers in his profession! AW was indeed never the same after his passing 21 years ago this month!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we are auctioning his 2 Emmy's on October 3rd, directly from his daughter. You can bid live online, please pass this along. They are both for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series.
      www.jmwauction.com
      (845) 389-1933

      Delete
  3. I loved watching this show so much. My grandmother loved watching Mac & Rachel do their stuff on TV! Ahhhh, Douglass Watson was sooo wonderful. On stage he acted opposite the Lunts, Helen Hayes, Eva Le Gallienne, Katharine Cornell, Claude Rains, Ina Claire, Karl Malden, Robert Ryan, Katharine Hepburn, Philip Bosco, Zoe Caldwell, & played Romeo opposite Olivia De Havilland's Juliet in the early 1950s! Also, he performed with Marlon Brando onscreen in 2 movies. He was a super-great actor & was always so well-spoken & well-spoken-of by his peers in his profession! AW was indeed never the same after his passing 21 years ago this month!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The picture is amazing, having watched AW for years, I guess I just thought that guy playing Mac came out of the womb with grey hair.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we are auctioning his 2 Emmy's on October 3rd, directly from his daughter. You can bid live online, please pass this along. They are both for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series.
      www.jmwauction.com
      (845) 389-1933

      Delete
  5. I'm with you, Roger. Like you I watch "Another World" for as long as I can remember. Douglas Watson was a force of nature. Mac Cory could be the loving husband and father one minute, and a short tempered businessman the next. Yet one thing was certain, Douglas Watson was always giving a powerful and meaningful performance.

    I was lucky enough to recently tour the "As The World Turns" studio, which was formerly the "Another World" studio. I reminisced with several crew members about that wonderful show, and Doug Watson in particular. When we were in the Fairwinds set our host turned to me and said "This used to be the Cory living room. It was very special me me. I swear that I felt his spirit there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we are auctioning his 2 Emmy's on October 3rd, directly from his daughter. You can bid live online, please pass this along. They are both for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series.
      www.jmwauction.com
      (845) 389-1933

      Delete
  6. Tom, I never knew the Fairwinds set was part of the Cory living room!

    ReplyDelete