Erica, All My Children
No character since Susan Lucci’s iconic model-turned-mover and shaker has gone after what she wanted as relentlessly — or as unapologetically — as La Kane.
They Don’t Make ’Em Like That Anymore: Classic Characters That Will Never Come Again [PHOTOS]
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Image Credit: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection -
Stefano, Days of Our Lives
Image Credit: NBC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Copycats have come and gone, but none have matched the fearsome intensity of the late, great Joseph Mascolo’s original supervillain.
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Reva, Guiding Light
Image Credit: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Kim Zimmer’s self-proclaimed “slut of Springfield” wore her sins less like a scarlet letter than a badge of honor — and by God, we loved ’er for it!
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Asa, One Life to Live
Image Credit: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Rare is the character who, like the late Phil Carey’s Llanview counterpart, was tougher than the leather from which his saddles were made.
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Dru, The Young and the Restless
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Victoria Rowell’s much-missed alter ego could mix it up with Genoa City’s rich and famous — and take off her earrings to throw down at a moment’s notice.
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Joe, Ryan’s Hope
Image Credit: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Before General Hospital had Sonny make a viable career option of “mafioso,” the late Roscoe Born actually played the inner conflict that came with a life of crime.
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Sally, The Bold and the Beautiful
Image Credit: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection To say that the late, lamented Darlene Conley’s bodacious character was larger than life would be to altogether underestimate the magnitude of her appeal — and her impact.
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Noah, General Hospital
Image Credit: Mario Casilli/ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Stethoscope be damned, Rick Springfield’s smooth operator was more interested in playing doctor than being one.
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Rachel, Another World
Image Credit: NBC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Mean Girls got nothin’ on the deliciously vicious schemer to whom Robin Strasser gave that unforgettable nasty streak.
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Jesse, All My Children
Image Credit: Sean Smith/JPI Streetwise heroes like the one Darnell Williams played are hard to come by — although General Hospital, we have to admit, comes pretty close with the estimable Donnell Turner’s Curtis.
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Katherine, The Young and the Restless
Image Credit: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection A superstar among soap stars, the late Jeanne Cooper’s blinged-out character sparkled like a diamond — and had just as many facets.
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Todd, One Life to Live
Image Credit: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection In his breakout daytime role, Roger Howarth (now Austin on General Hospital) managed to bring a shocking lightness to what started out as an incredibly dark villain.
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Stephanie, The Bold and the Beautiful
Image Credit: Sean Smith/JPI “What? Hello? No matriarch has ever packed as big a punch as the one that I, Susan Flannery, played? Well, duh!”
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Carl, Another World
Image Credit: NBC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection You bet, sir. We will raise a glass to the late Charles Keating’s alter ego, an anti-hero as sophisticated and articulate as he could be cruel and remorseless.
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Maeve, Ryan’s Hope
Image Credit: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Helen Gallagher’s matriarch didn’t need glamtastic clothes or pithy one-liners to draw attention; she got it by loving every bit as harshly as she judged.
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Palmer, All My Children
Image Credit: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection The villain that James Mitchell (RIP) brought to life could leave you shaking in your boots before he’d even ordered the hounds released. Then again, who doesn’t love hounds?
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Jill, The Young and the Restless
Image Credit: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection No disrespect to the amazing Jess Walton, but Brenda Dickson gave us in her version of the manicurist from hell a camp classic drenched in as much wickedness as jewelry.
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Robert, General Hospital
Image Credit: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection We know Tristan Rogers is still a part of Port Charles. But we can’t help but yearn for the days when he was a superspy bringing to our screens both romantic intrigue and the regular kind.
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Alice, Days of Our Lives
Image Credit: NBC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Maggie Kiriakis is keeping up the tradition, but even she would have to admit that there will never be another (grand)mother figure like the one that the late Frances Reid brought to life.
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Tad, All My Children
Image Credit: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Where have all the playboys gone? Michael E. Knight (now a General Hospital scene stealer as Martin) was the last actor to really give us a lothario who was cad to the bone.
