Beverlee McKinsey , 1935-2008
Browsing through my archive late last week, I ran across this piece of soap history that stopped me in my tracks: May 2 was the 18th anniversary of the passing of one of soap opera’s finest actresses, Beverlee McKinsey. This brought back a flood of memories and a few tears. Veteran soap fans will remember her riveting portrayals of two scheming, competitive women – Iris Carrington on Another World and Texas, and Alexandra Spaulding on Guiding Light. If you aren’t old enough to have seen her, well, I suggest a dip into YouTube. You’ll be glad you did. I was privileged to meet and chat with in her in what turned out to be her last interview just before she died. From our website, May 5, 2008, I share it with you here.
By Marlena De Lacroix
I feel sorry for younger soap fans who never got to see Beverlee McKinsey on soaps prior to her retirement from major roles in daytime in 1992. McKinsey, who died last week in California at 73 of complications from a kidney transplant, was singularly magnificent!
When she came to Another World in 1972 as rich, rich Iris Cory Carrington, she was all icy blond upper class matronly bitchiness. But in frequent vicious argument scenes
with Iris’ remarried father Mac Cory (the volcanic Douglas Watson), we could see that what Iris was really doing was begging for love when Mckinsey said just one word: “Daddy!” Shattering!
The exquisite vulnerability of McKinsey’s soap characters — Iris Cory on Another World and Texas; Alexandra Spaulding on Guiding Light — was always right there clawing at your heart while the character tussled or fought with almost everyone in Bay City and Springfield. The heartbreaking fragility of her characters was very Tennessee Williams.
Beverlee McKinsey and Paul Stevens in Another World, 1977
That’s because McKinsey started on the stage (the original production of Barefoot in the Park, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf in London), as the best soap actors of her era did. Projecting several levels at once in a performance was what was expected of them, unlike the low expectations placed on today’s model-actors. It was this depth of great natural talent and incredible range that McKinsey brought to soaps.
What a treat it was, in the extreme, to see her in scenes with other actors of her caliber, especially the brilliant Watson and the astoundingly intelligent Victoria Wyndham (hated stepmother Rachel). On Guiding Light, she had scenes and storylines to die for with such great actors as the late, always masterful Chris Bernau (who originated the role of Alan Spaudling) and the late, great Michael Zaslow (Roger Thorpe). A few of you might remember the days McKinsey’s Iris was the wife of Daniel Davis (later seen in a comic role on The Nanny), whose Elliot Carrington on Texas was pure madness and genius. For a while, Davis and McKinsey brought down the house daily on a soap few people today remember.
But whatever show McKinsey was on, she was unforgettable. She left Guiding Light suddenly in 1992 and did a very brief appearance on GH in 1994 as a character named Myrna Slaughter. She told everyone she took the part so she could get her actor’s insurance. I interviewed her via phone at her California oceanside home at the time and asked her the same question everyone was wondering at the time: “Are you ever coming back to daytime?”
And the actress who was so spectacular on three soaps quietly said something I’ve never forgotten, and have repeated often: “Oh, no. All I want now is my doggy and the sea.” Rest in peace, Ms. McKinsey.
No question she was great. I don’t understand why her few days on GH sustained her health insurance for the rest of her life. Can you shed any light on that?
I don’t know the answer to that but if any of you readers do please post it here.
The GH role helped to renew Beverlee’s health insurance through the Actors Guild.
Thanks Sedrick!
In 1993, to qualify for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Producers Health Plan, a performer typically needed to meet a minimum income requirement from covered SAG employment within a 12-month period.1993 Insurance Eligibility Overview:Earnings Requirement: While current requirements are over \(\$25,000\), in the early 1990s, the required annual earnings threshold was significantly lower, often in the range of \(\$5,000\) to \(\$10,000\) depending on the specific period and plan type.
I think she needed it that specific year to get a kidney transplant.
Thanks Marty!
Thank you Merlena for this beautiful, insightful tribute to the incomparable Beverlee McKinsey! There are certain actors on soaps who make an indelible impact from the moment they appear onscreen.. From the first time I heard Beverlee McKinsey’s distinctive voice I could never look away when she was onscreen. She had such brilliant range yet understood the power or quiet subtlety too. Iris’ relationship with Mac was so complex and made up such a startling yet psychologically believable triangle with Rachel. And on Guiding Light McKinsey was an instantly compelling tentpole character in Springfield. Beverlee McKinsey will never be forgotten by us grateful thinking fans.
What a beautifully written message! Thank you Trent–I’m very touched!
Thank you so much for this beautiful note!
Beverlee McKinsey as Iris was such a large yet real character. My Mom and her best friend watched Another World daily as did my sister. My sister started calling my mother’s friend Iris and the friend would call my sister Louise (Iris’s maid I think?) Fifty years later my sister still calls my Mom’s friend Iris. That was the power of the daytime acting all those many years ago. How Beverlee McKinsey never won an Emmy for Best Actress still baffles me. Rest in peace, Iris.
What a beautiful message! I too loved Iris with her maid Vivien! Thanks for writing in.
Beautiful tribute! She was one of daytime’s finest!
Thanks Greg.
Well, Connie, you’ve done it again. You have this thing where the subjects you choose to discuss happen to be very dear to me. And, this time, you struck soap opera gold. Also the divine iconic Beverlee is who I say is my Kryptonite. You know, that is the thing that you go weak in the knees from, no matter what or where.
Now, you would likely not know this but a few years ago I ran a successful campaign to try to get a Posthumous Daytime Emmy for Beverlee & if it were possible she would now have one. I got this lovely email from the President of NATAS praising me for the campaign & her for her body of work, but they have a policy of not awarding Posthumous Emmy, so it was both a success & a failure.
Marlena says: That was a very nice thing for you to do Donna!
What a beautiful tribute! Such an amazing actress with such presence, poise, and magnetism — her voice alone drew you in! I was a huge fan of Guiding Light because of her.
Thank you Rory!