FRIDAY HALL OF FAMER - LA LUCCI!

For this last Friday Hall of Famer in September, as we wind down our month-long salute to the soap operas, we’re not going to induct a soap opera character into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, but instead the actress who played her.  (It’s the only way – she is known for playing perhaps the greatest soap opera character of all time, but she never strayed from her home base into other soap operas.  But the actress?  She’s all over the TV map!

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present…..

SUSAN LUCCI
THE QUEEN OF DAYTIME TELEVISION

From Wikipedia:

Susan Victoria Lucci (born December 23, 1946) is an American actress, television host, author and entrepreneur, best known for portraying Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama All My Children from 1970 to 2011. The character is considered an icon, and Lucci has been called "Daytime's Leading Lady" by TV Guide, with The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times citing her as the highest-paid actor in daytime television.  As early as 1991, her salary had been reported as over $1 million a year.

In 1996, TV Guide ranked Lucci number 37 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list. In 2005, she received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2006. She was named one of VH1's 200 Top Icons of All-Time and one of Barbara Walters's Ten Most Fascinating People. 

She has also played roles in made-for-TV movies (like "Mafia Princess" with Tony Curtis), hosted many shows and guest starred on television comedy series, including 'Saturday Night Live' and 'Hot in Cleveland'.

She also has her own line of hair care products, perfumes, lingerie and skin care, called The Susan Lucci Collection. As of 2012, Lucci hosted 'Deadly Affairs', and starred as Genevieve Delatour in the Lifetime television series 'Devious Maids'.

In 2015, Lucci was inducted as a Disney Legend.

Well, we here at Toobworld Central can top that.  We're going to induct her as this week's Friday Hall of Famer - not as Erica Kane, but as a member of the League of Themselves!

Doesn't that sound better than a stupid old Disney Legend award?

The televersion of Susan Lucci is known for playing Erica Kane in her televised docudrama entitled ‘All My Children’. (I’m sure Ms. Kane approved of the casting for that TV show within a TV show.)

Here are the other TV shows in which Susan Lucci appeared as the televersion of herself: 

‘Hot in Cleveland’ 
Six episodes

‘Desperate Housewives’
- Not While I'm Around
Acting as Erica Kane

From the IMDb:
A clip of Jeff Martin kissing Erica Kane from ‘All My Children’ is shown on the television during a scene at the prison.

O’Bservation: Remember, within the “reality” of Toobworld, the events from ‘All My Children’ actually happened.  What TV characters see when they watch ‘All My Children’ is a docudrama based on the happenings in Pine Valley.  When we saw 'All My Children', we were watching the actual characters in Toobworld.  That's how this fantasy realm works.

There are other TV shows from the Trueniverse in which Susan Lucci made an appearance or two, but which don’t carry the same “oomph” as a scripted series – game shows, award ceremonies, sporting events, variety programs.  They don’t really carry the weight to guarantee membership in the TVXOHOF – otherwise, everybody would be able to get in!

But some of them are to a lesser degree added to her tally for consideration as they have televersions as well.  TV characters in other shows have appeared on these select shows, are seen watching them (as was the case with AMC in ‘Desperate Housewives’), or at least engage in “water cooler talk” by making referenes to them.

For Ms. Lucci, these would include:

• ‘Saturday Night Live’ (She guested three times, hosted once.)
• ‘WWE Raw’  (Not a fan, but I’m tipping my hat to my Brother Crossoverist Matt Hickman with this mention.)
• ‘Hollywood Squares’ (Center Square a few times!)
• ‘Family Feud’
• ‘All-Star Family Feud’
• ‘Jeopardy!’
• ‘The Apprentice’ hosted by another TVXOHOF member, Class of 2009.  (He was inducted as the April Fool’s Figurehead in 2009.)

La Lucci with C&W singer Trace Adkins
'Celebrity Apprentice'

But Toobworld Dynamic has the option to add to their list of qualifications with the “Unseen On TV” option.  In this case, we accept that any mention of a real person or fictional character by another TV character in another TV series (or commercial even) verifies that the cited character does indeed exist in the World of Toob.

And while she doesn’t have as many mentions as the late Burt Reynolds over his career, still she has enough to have earned the sobriquet “La Lucci” in the League of Themselves” wing of the Hall.

Here are a few examples:

Will & Grace
A New Lease on Life

GRACE:
Then Regis looked right into the camera and said, "Just give her the damn Emmy already."
WILL:
No. "La Lucci." He didn't say "her." "Give La Lucci the damn Emmy."
GRACE:
Right, right. La Lucci. Do it. Do Regis.
WILL:
[IMITATING REGIS]
Give La Lucci the damn Emmy already!

The New Normal 
Blood, Sweat and Fears 

Goldie Clemmons:
Uh, is my Nana here? Jane?
Receptionist:
She's your gra-#?  She told me she was your mother.
Goldie:
Well, probably because a lot of men don't associate "grandma" with "sexy."
Receptionist:
Well, I'm sure there's a whole legion of Susan Lucci fans that would disagree with you.
Your grandmother is out showing a house, but she'll be back soon.

Psych
Lights, Camera... Homicidio

Jorge:
[about Quintessa]
You don't know her wrath. She hates me. She is like the Latina Susan Lucci. She beat me up.
Burton 'Gus' Guster:
I hardly think there's a woman capable of that.
Shawn Spencer:
Bea Arthur.
Burton 'Gus' Guster:
I stand corrected.

So there’s a trifecta of three verifications of Susan Lucci as a member of Earth Prime-Time.

Welcome to the Hall, La Lucci!