From: karinc@SSD.intel.com (Karin Coffee)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv.soaps
Subject: AMC:  Susan Lucci article
Date: 29 Aug 92 23:37:17 GMT
Article-I.D.: SSD.1992Aug29.233717.25994
Distribution: na
Organization: Supercomputer Systems Division, Intel Corp.
Originator: karinc@ohood

I got the October 1992 of McCall's magazine today.  Susan Lucci is on the cover!

I thought I'd reproduce it (without permission of course) for RATS.

"How Susan Lucci Makes Her Own Luck"

Actress Susan Lucci may seem to have it all, but she also has one of the 
longest losing streaks in entertainment history.  For the past 13 years the
high-profile, highly paid star of ABC's hit soap opera _All_My_Children_
has failed to win an Emmy for her protrayal of the scheming, manipulative,
much-married Erica Kane (whom she's played for the last 23 years).  Lucci
is generally regarded as a pro and a trouper, and she is probably more
widely known than any other daytime television star.  So why can't she win?

"I think there's some jealousy," says one insider who spoke on the condition
of anonymity.  "She's the highest-paid woman in daytime television, and
she does get a lot of attention."

Lynn Leahey, editor-in-chief of _Soap_Opera_Digest_, disagrees.  Jealousy,
she thinks is an unlikely factor, since "actors and actresses are the ones
who are responsible for nominating her in the first place."  Leahey
chalks up Lucci's unprecendented losing streak to a fatal flaw in the 
so-called Blue Ribbon Panel that votes on the Emmy winners.  While the panel 
is supposedly made up of industry experts from each particular category,
non-experts--including, Leahey says, "a secretary who happened to answer
the phone in my office"--have been asked to participate.  "I think they
should completely redo the Emmy-selection process," she says.

Some speculate that Lucci's losses have metamorphosed into a self-fulfilling
prophecy.  Says Nick Nicholson, who was executive producer of _The_Edge_of_
Night_ for 19 years, "I'd hate to think [the panelists] vote this way,
but it could be that Susan's been rejected so many times they just
reject her again."

Other insiders contend that Lucci's losses are most probably due to the fact
that Erica Kane--the over-the-edge megalomaniac whom viewers love to hate--
is somewhat comedic and lightweight compared to other major daytime
drama characters.  

"Erica is played very broadly, and I don't think she's taken that seriously,"
says Mimi Torchin, editor-in-chief of _Soap_Opera_Weekly_.  "Susan, therefore,
may not be taken seriously as a dramatic actress."

_TV_Guide_ contributing editor Michael Logan concurs.  "I think Susan's
very good at what she does, but I don't think she's brilliant," he says.
"Is she Meryl Steep?  Certainly not.  Could she handle some roles with the
sensitivity of [soap opera stars] Marcy Walker or Kim Zimmer?  Probably not.
The true test, though, is to hand her a great dramatic role and see how she
does with it."

But Susan Lucci is a firm believer in turning defeat into victory--and that's
just what she's done with her losing streak.  She now gets more publicity
for *losing*--this year, for instance, her loss was covered by _USA_Today_
and _Time_--than the winners do for winning.  (Does anybody even remember
who they are?)  A spokeswoman for Ford Motor Company commercials, in which
Lucci appears, says, "the losing streak sure hasn't hurt her."

Indeed, Lucci's created a career--and a life--for herself, she says,
by following these principles:


1.  Use your luck

As a young actress, Lucci had a tough time breaking into the business-- 
producers were looking for fresh-faced blonds, not actresses with Lucci's
dark, sultry looks.  But she says she never doubted herself.  "As I was
going along, it never occurred to me that I *couldn't* do what I dreamed,"
she says, adding "I *have* had a great deal of luck in my life.  But it's
what I *did* with my luck that counts.  It was my doing.  I worked very, 
very hard."

Lucci attributes much of her drive to the support of her parents, especially
her mother.  "She's a natural redhead, and although I'm not a readhead, she
passed her temperament on to me--which serves me well in this business,"
she says with a laugh.


2.  Dare to be a woman

"My mother's also very feminine and has always been interested in fashion,
beauty and clothes," Lucci continues.  "But not as a fashion victim--never.
She's always looked beautiful, and still there's a softness to her.  That's
something I really adminre."

Lucci says she and Erica "are both very feline and flirtatious.  I've always
liked men.  I just got luckier than Erica:  I met a man who holds my 
attention."  Lucci's been married for 23 years to her manager, Helmut Huber;
they have two children, a daughter, 17, and a son, 12.  "Erica lost custody
of her daughter in a bitter divorce battle," Lucci says.  "I've never been
divorced, and I don't intend to be."

It's sometimes said that every woman is essentially either a Scarlett
O'Hara (sexual, selfish, determined) or a Melanie Wilkes (nurturing,
self-sacrificing, compassionate).  "Well, I think both women were certainly
very feminine," Lucci says.  "Melanie was frailer, emotionally and
physicially.  Scarlett loved men, but she also fought for what she believed in.
I don't find that to be in conflict with being feminine."  But which type
is Lucci closest to?  "Oh, there's no question," she answers immediately.
"Scarlett!"


3.  Be compassionate

At the beginning of her career, there was talk that Lucci was, perhaps, a 
bit too much of a real-life Erica Kane:  self-centerd, haughty, arrogant.
"I *was* all those things--and I could have gone either way," Lucci
readily admits.  "But there was something about the common sense and the
sense of humor and the sense of fairness that I saw in all the adults I
admired.... They were all giving, compassionate peiple.  Agnes Nixon 
[_All_My_Children's_ creator and scriptwriter] was my first real-life role
model:  She was a very successful, smart and lovely woman raising four 
children.  And I saw that being arrogant was really very silly, and I didn't
*want* to be that way."


4.  Don't fear change

Lucci's age is in some dispute; some sources say she's 42, while others claim
she is 46.  Does the actress--who at 5-foot-2 still wears the same size 2
whe did when she was 20--fear aging, especially since she's achieved 
success in a business where so much hinges on a star's beauty?  "Well, I
think I'm part of a very luck generation," she says.  "There have been very
wonderful, interesting, talented, beautiful women who have come before my
generation, who have made it much easier for us--women like Sophia Loren and
Elizabeth Taylor, who made it okay to be over 40."


5.  Turn hardship into strength

If Lucci could say only one thing, what advice would she give her
adolescent daughter?  "Dream your dreams," she says.  "Dream without limit.
Work hard.  And know that you can turn adversity into something positive.
It's like Dr. Seuss says in _Oh,_The_Places_You'll_Go!_:  'You have brains in 
your head.  You have feet in your shoes.'"

Lucci's biggest crisis, she says, was "when my son was born, my husband and
I almost lost him.  We almost never talk about this.  And fortunately we had
a happy ending to that story--we have a healthy boy.  But it taught me to
never, ever take anyone I love for granted again."


Aside from winning an Emmy--yes, Lucci says with determination, she *does*
hope to be nominated again next year--is there anything about her life she
would like to change?  Susan Lucci thinks for a minute, then sits up even
straighter in her chair.  "Yes!" the diminutive actress exclaims with a
laugh.  "I want to be 5-foot-8!"

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There is also a side-bar story with pictures of Erica from 1976, 1978, 1981,
1984, 1990, and 1992.

Get the Lucci Look

The secret to Susan Lucci's beauty is surprisingly simple, yet something many
women are reluctant to do:  Lucci's not afraid to change her look to fit the
times.  In her 23 years on _All_My_Children_, she's gone from hometown honey
to sexy vixen to career woman.  "I treat my hair as an accessory," she says.
In the Farrah Fawcett '70's, Lucci wore her locks long and layered.  In the
'80's she lopped inches off her hair.  Today her sleek, shoulder-length
style signals self-assurance.  In the '70's and '80's, her makeup was
dramatic and she enjoyed getting a tan.  "Now I go without makeup whenver
I can," she says, " and I always were sun block."  For her over-40 skin,
she applies a bit of concealer.  Lucci's fashions have changed too.  In the
'70's she wore tight dresses and sequins.  Now she's the picture of 
sophistication in tailored jackets and skirts.  Lucci's key to staying
youthful:  She's found a look to suit her at every age--and her style will
continue to evolve.

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There are also 2 pictures of Susan Lucci with the story.  The first is just
her in a cream color ribbed knit dress sitting on a couch barefoot.

The second is her with her husband.  Strange outfits...hard to explain.

The cover photo of her has her looking up, so you can't tell her age from
her neck.


There's also a cartoon of two devils in overcoats and scarves with icicles
hanging from their fork-thingies, and it's snowing.  The caption reads:

"Either Susan Lucci won an emmy or Israel compromised on the West Bank!..."

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So, I hope you enjoyed the story.
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