The L.A. Times is reporting that Beverlee McKinsey died on Friday. McKinsey is best known for inhabiting the roles of Iris on Another World and Alexandra on Guiding Light. More updates later.
(Update): Here is a link to the classic interview McKinsey did with Michael Logan shortly after she left GL in 1992.
Whenever a truly brilliant actor passes, people are always inclined to say,
"He (or She) made it look easy." But that's not true w/ Beverlee McKinsey.
When SHE performed in a scene, she always made it look like no one else
could. Goodbye, dear Baroness, this loyal fan will never forget you.
I loved her. GL fans lost Beverly and Nicolette Goulet in within the past
few weeks. GH fans lost Shel Kepler. As these great people go on to
their next life, it brings it home even harder that soaps are not (and
probably never will be again) what they once were to the fans. It feels
almost like losing a friend. I don't think people are invested in the new
genre like they've been in the past. Beverly was just awsome. I will
never forget her scenes when she let Roger have it at the Country Club. So
Classic!
Dear God, this makes me said. She WAS this genre, in many ways, for me.
I hope that actress Beverlee McKinsey had a good life -- and a good
retirement.
This is very sad, I saw clips of her as Iris on AW and she was amazing. I
wish I could have seen her whole stint as Iris and how she acted with
Victoria and Douglass Watson. May she rest in peace.
I remember Beverly's portrayl of Iris like it was yesterday. Her
manipulation of Rachel and Mac and her own love affairs were riveting. The
role was quite a change for her from the stint she did on Love Is A Many
Splendored Thing before Another World. Her role as Alex on Guiding Light
like her Iris required her to show a great range of emotion and complexity.
She will be missed. I agree that the kind of soaps Another World 1970's
and Guiding Light 1980's and early 90's were shall no longer exist. We
fans must move on. God bless.
Beverlee McKinsey was always superb as Alexandra Spaulding. I still
remember her first day on Guiding Light. I remember being totally
captivated by the mysterious entrance of the character, and my Mom saying "
Oh my it's Iris, this ought to be good!". My Mom was right, it sure was
good! Daytime has lost a great one.
I remember watching her as a child on Another World with Douglas Watson
whose unexpected death helped kill Another World. She was extraordinary.
I also saw her on Texas and Guiding Light. Some of the scenes i saw her
perform 20 to 25 years ago like learning that she was adopted and not Mac
Corey's biological child and outing Roger Thorpe at the country club are as
fresh in my mind today as if I'd just recently watched them. She was
timeless and a great actress. Timeless.
So Sad...To me it's really the end of an era. All of those actors who
played Brian-Vivian-Louise-Mac-Ada and now Iris are all gone forever. We
will never have that quality of actors ever again on daytime. From today's
soap situation it really was ANOTHER WORLD. At least we have those
wonderful wonderful memories.
Here's the New York Times obit with a few more tidbits not seen in other
obits.
Although she hasn't been a part of daytime for over a decade, Beverlee
McKinsey is in the pantheon of incredible leading ladies in daytime. There
have certainly been more widely recognized names in daytime, but I truly
believe there are only a handful of actresses, if that many, whose pure
acting talent could come close to what Ms. McKinsey brought to her roles on
a daily basis. She could communicate more in one glance or turn of her head
than most could in forty pages of dialogue. What a shame we will never see
the likes of her again, ever. God Bless!