Sunday, January 24, 2010

50 Greatest Soap Actresses: #15 Elizabeth Hubbard

NAME: Elizabeth Hubbard
RANK: 15
SOAP ROLES: Lucinda Walsh, AS THE WORLD TURNS (1984-1999, 1999-present); Sair Poindexter, GOEDE TIJDEN SLECHTE TIJDEN (2009-PRESSENT); Estelle Chadwick, ONE LIFE TO LIVE (1983-1984); Althea Davis, THE DOCTORS (1964-1969, 1970-1977, 1981-1982); Carol Kramer, THE EDGE OF NIGHT (1963); Anne Benedict Fletcher, THE GUIDING LIGHT (1962)

AWARDS:
2000 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Favorite Return
1999 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
1997 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Female Showstopper
1994 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress
1993 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress
1992 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
1992 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress: Daytime
1991 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
1991 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress: Daytime
1990 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
1990 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Comic Actress: Daytime
1989 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
1989 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role: Daytime
1988 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
1988 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Villainess: Daytime
1987 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
1986 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
1986 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role on a Daytime Serial
1976 Daytime Emmy win for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Special
1974 Daytime Emmy win for Best Actress in Daytime Drama - For a Series
1965 Clarence Derwent Awards win for Most Promising Female

COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Connie Passalacqua Hayman (Marlena De Lacroix): From the revolutionary, brainy, sexy Althea on THE DOCTORS to Lucinda, nothing becomes a legend more, darling.

Lynn Liccardo: I remember her time as Althea Davis on THE DOCTORS so vividly. But when she first appeared on AS THE WORLD TURNS, on a plane, sitting next to Larry Bryggman, for the life of me I could not remember her name. Took me weeks to remember; such was life before IMDb. She and Bryggman were gold together; not keeping Lucinda and John in the same orbit was just one the many opportunities squandered by TPTB at WORLD TURNS.

Jonathan Reiner: Her performance when Lucinda was deposed at the Walsh Enterprises stockholders meeting was an uncanny tour-de-force; she was robbed at Emmy time.

Roger Newcomb: About 10 years ago I somehow got rushed into a limo following the Daytime Emmy awards with Elizabeth Hubbard. I remember thinking, "It's Lucinda Walsh!" What a fun night that turned out to be. I remember her from the end of THE DOCTORS but it was her run as Lucinda on AS THE WORLD TURNS that is near and dear to my heart. Lucinda's relationships with Lily, John and Craig were incredibly special, the bond between Lucinda and Lily in particular. Like several actresses on this list, she has been severely underused in the past several years, a big mistake, not only from an entertainment value perspective, but from a dollars and cents one as well. You can't take your eyes off Hubbard, so if you want fans to stay tuned in, keep her front and center.

COMMENTS FROM CO-STARS/CO-WORKERS/INDUSTRY:
Martha Byrne: (played Hubbard's daughter on ATWT) There are so many stories about working with Elizabeth that are worth mentioning, I could write a book about her influence and talent. When you do a scene with Liz, you never do the same scene twice. Liz is the ultimate acting partner who always makes you listen. I've seen actors run with her during a scene and others run away. The actors that embraced her gift of play became better actors for doing so. In my many years of playing her daughter, Liz never once "phoned it in." Every script had character thoughts and rewrites scribbled on it at 7am during our first rehearsal. When fans talk to me about Liz and tell me their fondest memories, the moments they speak of were always the ones that came from Liz herself. Everyone loves Lucinda because of the woman behind the creation. Liz is probably the most fascinating person I know. I've begged her to write a book about her many adventures outside of acting, all of which are fascinating. There are so many layers to Liz the public is unaware of and I have been fortunate to have her in my life. I love her, truly, for so many reasons. My life has been enriched in so many ways for knowing her.

Kin Shriner: (worked with Hubbard on ATWT) We had fun together. I think she always had one eye one me like, "What's he up to?" She seemed very suspicious of me [laughs], but she was still fun to work with. I enjoyed the scenes I had with her.

7 comments:

  1. Yay! Liz!

    Roger, your story about meeting Liz in the limo reminded me of an interview with the Dutch actress who plays her granddaughter on GTST (Alexandra Alphenaar). She said that she always used to watch ATWT with her mother and then when she saw Liz for the first time sitting in the make-up chair she had the same reaction: "It's Lucinda Walsh!"

    I've loved Liz for many years on ATWT, but I really hope she'll come back more often to GTST now that ATWT is going off the air. It's criminal how little they use her on ATWT. In the 8 weeks she was on GTST in 2009 she probably had more to do than in 52 weeks on ATWT.

    When it was first announced she was going to be on "my" soap GTST I was of course very happy but at the same time I was wondering if I could see her as someone else than Lucinda. And even though the roles are similar (the executive producer is a Lucinda fan so they obviously got inspiration from that role), Liz is so great that I never really thought "What is Lucinda doing there with those Dutch people?".

    The Lily/Lucinda relationship has always been great to watch. I loved it more with Martha playing Lily, but only a little. Noelle and Elizabeth make it work as well. Same goes for Liz and Anita Donk who plays her daughter Irene on GTST. They have great chemistry together and are totally believable as mother and daughter.

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  2. When Liz Hubbard is only #15 on your list, I believe something is wrong somewhere...The woman is incredibly talented and, tied with Robin Strasser, I think the best actress on Daytime.

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  3. YEAH! BRAVO! EXCELLENT!

    I'm so thrilled Liz Hubbard is on the list. For a while, I was beginning to wonder if she'd make it on the list, after all (in which case I'd have so track down Roger and Damon and slap them...and not in the fun, kinky way they like, either!)

    Liz is great, and she is truly a daytime gem. Thanks, guys, for the hard work you undertook in crafting this list--it is VERY much appreciated.

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  4. So glad she made the list. I don't really watch ATWT anymore, but I do record it sometimes if I find out she's gotten some sort of storyline. My friends and I watched it in college and Lucinda was our favorite character. In fact, we STILL use some of the lines from back then--and I'm pretty sure Liz improvised all of them!

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  5. Elizabeth Hubbard is one of my all time favorite actresses. So fearless, challenging, fascinating to watch. You never know what she's going to do or say. I actually remember watching her on The Doctors at its end, so her fierce entrance onto ATWT delighted me to no end. I didn't keep up with the show after college, but have never stopped appreciating the inspiring performances I saw in my youth. If I turn on the show now and she’s on, I will watch. Lucinda and John, Lucinda/Lily/Iva... these stories and relationships are in the pantheon of daytime’s best.

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  6. What an amazing talent. I am so thankful for the many memories that Elizabeth Hubbard's Lucinda Walsh has burned into my memory. A creation like no other I have ever seen, TV, Movies it really doesn't matter Lucinda Walsh is the most fascinating character I have ever seen and it is thanks to the marvelous Elizabeth Hubbard. Number 15...hmmm, I would have to say number 1. Elizabeth Hubbard could be in the background of a scene just reading the newspaper and I would focus only on her. Truly a wonder to behold.

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