After detours to Santa Barbara and Springfield, AMC's Marcy Walker rediscovers her roots in Pine Valley
JUST THE FACTS: Birthday: November 26 * Favorite Recent Movie: Babe * Favorite TV Show: Party of Five * Keeping in Touch: "I'm pretty bad about communication. I have never been a huge letter-writer or phone-call person." * On Schmoozing: "I've never been a good kiss-ass. I've never been real good politically. I say what I mean and I say what I feel and sometimes, I hurt people and sometimes, I hurt myself." * Her Perfect Night: "Home, playing with Taylor, redoing my address book."
*************************
"I feel rewarded," declares All My Children's Marcy Walker about her triumphant return to Pine Valley. "I feel like somebody has given me wings. I am allowed to go and just have fun again." Sadly, "fun" eluded Walker during her less-than-spectacular pit stop at Guiding Light from 1993-95. The talented actress, who garnered an Emmy in 1987 as Santa Barbara's Eden Capwell and tried her hand at prime-time, headed to Springfield to create the role of Tangie Hill at the invitation of former GL executive producer and friend Jill Farren Phelps. While Tangie was getting a lukewarm reception from the audience, Walker got a bird's-eye view of the back-burner. "I was stuck afloat," she recalls. "I spent two years learning how to be a good listener and how to be a good friend. They have a lot of really good people over there and good actors. I didn't get to my craft, but I learned what not to do and what not to feel."
Walker readily admits that Guiding Light was not her first choice of East Coast soaps. She wanted to return to AMC, but the show wasn't able to immediately write her in. "When I knew I wanted to come back,it was like, 'Okay, let's do it'," she recalls. But Walker realized it wasn't possible. "All My Children is a very well-run show," she points out. "They're not going to be ready for people (to return) tomorrow. They actually do plan stories a year in advance." So the actress bided her time in Springfield, trying to make the most of her situation. "I'm happy that I saw the lesson in it instead of hating the experience and blaming people," she says. "I got to walk away feeling that it was a good two years rather than a lost two years. It wasn't a great experience for me and Jill, per se, but I'm glad that I had it." Still, Walker breathed a huge sigh of relief when former AMC Executive Producer Felicia Minei Behr called to ask her to come back. "She gave me my ticket," smiles the actress,with tears in her eyes.
Walker returned with a bang, recreating the role she originated in 1981 and left in '84. Twelve years and four Soap Opera Digest Awards later, Walker admits she's more secure this time around. "I joined the show when I had just turned 18," she recalls. "I was a real young 18. I didn't know what I was doing. I was very naive, scared to death and flying by the seat of my pants." Nowadays, the older, wiser Walker is enjoying Liza's foray into the adult world of Pine Valley, shaking things up at WRCW and causing trouble for Tad and Dixie. She doesn't long for her days in the teen scene. "Michael (Knight, Tad) said he feels that as soon as he walks in the room and sees the young sect, which he once used to be in. They look at him like he used to look at David Canary (Adam)," she laughs. "He feels like he's this old sod, and I don't necessarily feel that way."
Perhaps that's because Walker has learned not to dwell on the past. And the forthright actress admits it hasn't been an easy lesson. "I used to beat up on myself because I felt that I made wrong decisions," she admits. "Even wrong decisions are important. I do look back and think. I don't know that I would do anything differently, because I don't know if I would be in such a great place right now if I hadn't made my mistakes, going the roads that I've gone."
One of the roads Walker is enjoying immensely is mothering her 7-year-old son, Taylor. (His father was Walker's third hubby, cinematographer Stephen Collins.) "I wouldn't trade motherhood for anything," she gushes. "It's really hard. It requires a lot more than I knew I had in me. Taylor's a great kid; he's taught me a lot and shared a lot with me. I get to see him do things that make me absolutely howl with laughter. He's like this little Jackie Mason around the house, because he actually has this dry sense of humor. He just does things that are really precious, that every kid does, but to their parents, it's special."
The other man in Walker's life is her beau of two-and-a-half years, Robert Primrose, a boom operator whom she befriended at GL. She credits co-stars Liza Keifer (Blake) and Melissa Hayden (Bridget) with helping the two see each other as more than just work buddies. Though Walker has been married three times and has talked about her diffictulties in relationships (she once said that she looked for men who had a "quirky something"), she isn't gun-shy about tying the knot again. "Honestly, you know in life that there could and will be someone for you because there's lots of love out there," she believes. "Yet, there are experiences where you feel blessed. You think you've felt all this before and you've said that you felt it before and then when you really have it, it just blows everything else out of the water. Robert's a wonderful person. I think he's probably the first person that I ever met who has an unshakable sense of faith. He's taught me a lot. I think we make a good team; he's just great."
A lot of things are great in Walker's life these days. Living in her Connecticut farmhouse with Robert and Taylor, and commuting to work amidst the hustle and bustle of New York City is enough for now. And she plans to stay put. "Hey, as long as I'm a part of this group and they want me to be here and I can still contibute in a way that makes me feel that other people are proud to have me here, I'd stay," she affirms. "I love this medium. I've been in it alot of years. I've left and I've done other things but nothing has given me the joy that this has. I want to be here."
The Past Revisited
If you think Liza's bad now, take a look at the way she was:
1) Liza loved childhood friend Greg Nelson, but he only had eyes for Jenny Gardner. Liza teamed up with Greg's mom, Enid, and convinced Jenny that she should break up with Greg for his own good. Naive Jenny agreed and broke it off with Greg.
2) When Greg and Jenny finally reunited, Liza vowed revenge. She and Jenny vied for the Miss Junior Pine Valley contest. Liza won (her friend, Amanda, stuffed the ballot box). Opal found out and Jenny was declared the winner.
3) A venomous Liza stunned Jenny with the news that Jenny's dad was in prison for raping Ruth Martin. Ashamed, Jenny ran away to N.Y.C.
4) Jenny's pal, Jesse Hubbard, blasted Liza for being mean to Jenny. They fought; Liza falsely cried rape. He ran away to N.Y.C., too. Jenny and Jesse eventually returned home and forced Liza to drop the charges.
5) Tad Martin (Jenny's brother) decided to pursue wealthy Liza, who eventually gave in to his charms. Unfortunately, he started sleeping with her mom, too. When Liza found out, she left town, humiliated.
******************************
Synopsis Section All My Children
At the Studio: Tad tries to figure out if Liza told Dixie of their fling. Later, Tad and Liza argue about her bond with Kinder. Martin says he plans to apologize to Michael on the air.
Liza vs. Tad: Liza agrues with Tad after his on-air apology to Mike. Adam proposes a contest: Liza and Tad can take turns producing The Cutting Edge; the ratings winner will be named station manager. Soon, Liza appears to be sabotaging Tad's project. A suspicious Marian confronts her daughter about sleeping with Tad.
