Julianne Moore has been nominated for the Oscar four times.
But she has one win for the Daytime Emmy. She played Frannie Hughes and her lookalike cousin Sabrina back in 1985 on CBS’s “As the World Turns.”
Today, Moore–unlike so many famous soap graduates–returns to “World Turns” at 2pm EST for a one day visit. The occasion is the 25th anniversary of her soap parents, Bob and Kim Hughes, played by show vets Don Hastings and Kathryn Hays.
If only more actors acknowledged their beginnings, soaps might have lasted longer. But that’s Julianne Moore–she’s a mensch.
Last night she came to the premiere of “Lend Me A Tenor” with the casting director who first found her and hired for “World Turns.” That’s loyalty.
Moore is on a break before she starts another batch of films. She’s currently in “Chloe” and has Spike Lee’s new one on her schedule. Still, she called up and offered to do a bit on “World Turns”before CBS and Procter & Gamble stupidly end the 54 year old show in September. They’ll replace it with something cheap and useless, like another game show, talk show, or reality thing.
Moore reportedly got a kick out of the reunion, but limited her involvement. “They wanted to write her a whole episode where she was going to fix a lot of the characters’ problems,” a source says. “But in the end she just wanted to come in and say hi.”
One funny thing: Moore got advice from 92 year old show matriarch Helen Wagner, who plays a warm grandmother on the show. “She told Julianne how to lean in on a scene so Helen’s light wasn’t blocked,” an observer said. “Helen knows her stuff!”
“World Turns” has about 60 more episodes to film. Maybe Moore’s appearance will inspire some other famous grads, like Meg Ryan, Marisa Tomei, to pop in and say goodbye, too. Fans are also hoping for a cameo from Broadway star Larry Bryggman, who played Dr. John Dixon for 30 years before vanishing into soap ether.
PS Les Moonves, who’s said such mean things about the soaps, should send Moore a dozen roses, don’tcha think?
