Devin Owens, GUIDING LIGHT
There used to be a little sitcom within GUIDING LIGHT with Ginger and Donna, who were the irreverent maids at the Spaulding mansion (1993-95). The domestic duo was played by Tammy Lang (Donna) and Allison Janney (yes, that Allison Janney, as Ginger) and they didn’t show their bosses one bit of respect as they hilariously sniped behind the rich people’s backs. A few years ago, I saw Allison in a restaurant in Los Angeles and approached her. After I identified myself as with Soap Opera Digest, I told her how funny she was on GL. She smiled and said, “You know, I got the job just in time and it paid my rent. I’ll always be grateful to that show.”
Stephanie Sloane, DAYS
I loved any scenes in the ’80s with DAYS’s Anna, Alex and Calliope. In fact, I quoted Anna in my high school yearbook (a true sign I was meant to work at Digest), from when she looked at Calliope and said, “Anyone who tells you that money cannot buy happiness does not know where to shop.” It wasn’t the sentiment, per se, but the fabulous delivery by Leann Hunley (Anna) that stayed with me.
Mara Levinsky, SANTA BARBARA
I don’t know that I’ve found a comedy bit on soaps more charming than Mason and Julia’s wedding on SANTA BARBARA in 1989. The groom accidentally pocketed a grocery list instead of his vows and stammered out to Julia, “Milk, butter, ground beef — these I pledge you for the rest of my days.” Lane Davies (Mason) and Nancy Lee Grahn (Julia) were both priceless in the scene.
Lee Meyer, GH
I love me some Dr. Obrecht, and there are few things as funny as the first time she crashed the Nurses’ Ball with her rendition of Cabaret. I also appreciate a good one-liner, such as Dillon’s hilarious “I speak Spinelli!” after the Metro Court hostage crisis when a delirious Spinelli was trying to explain what was going on to a perplexed Epiphany.
