James Franco on
General Hospital
What’s more confusing, James Franco’s career path, or his story arc on General Hospital? In one, a famous movie actor decides to get a creative writing degree at Columbia and volunteers to do a ten-episode run on a soap opera. In the other, a vagrant artist—named “Franco”—threatens a mob enforcer with photos of the dead body of a mob boss’s crazy ex-wife, who had tried to kill the mob boss’s other ex-wife, in a cabin.
Sample line: “The secret to life? Anyone can die… at any time.”
Elizabeth Taylor on
General Hospital
Before James Franco hit Port Charles as “Franco,” the fingerless-glove wearing concept artist, Liz Taylor made an appearance on one of the show’s most popular episodes. A devoted fan of General Hospital, Taylor pleaded with its executive producer, Gloria Monty, to be cast in a cameo role; Monty rewarded the superfan with a spot as Helena Cassadine, whose husband’s plan to freeze the world had been foiled by beloved GH couple Luke and Laura. Taylor’s plum role came during Luke and Laura’s wedding, when she cursed the duo (and donated money to the hospital.)
Sample line: “I wanted to see… what kind of man you were. The kind of man… that almost fooled my husband.”
Rosie O'Donnell on
All My Children
Like Liz Taylor, Rosie O’Donnell is a huge soap fan, though her show of choice is
All My Children. The comedienne was rewarded for her devotion to the show with a one-episode stint as Adam Chandler’s gum-chewing, wisecracking maid, Naomi, back in 1996, where she out-hammed the legendary Susan Lucci.
Sample line: “Whoa—is that your weight? You’re like a bird. You need a meal; you want me to go make you somethin’?”
Jerry Springer on
Days of Our Lives
Who better to show up on a soap than Jerry Springer, who—as he points out—deals with “real life soap operas every day”? In 2007, Springer played the high-rolling gambler Pete, who takes pity on Nick Fallon’s losing streak and teaches him a thing or two about life.
Sample line: “Hit me… and make it good.”
Montel Williams on
Guiding Light
How different can daytime talk and daytime soaps really be? Like Jerry Springer, Montel Williams took it upon himself to see how the other half lives, playing Boudreau family patriarch Clayton for two episodes in 2008. Interestingly,
Guiding Light was cancelled a little more than a year after his appearance, and Montel’s own show ended in 2008: was Joan Collins’ arrogant Alex Spaulding behind the takedown of the burgeoning Montel empire?
Sample Line: “Your sister called from the hospital. She told your mom and me about, uh… I won’t say. Sorry.”
Carol Burnett on
All My Children
Carol Burnett had the rare experience of being one of two guest stars in a 1984 episode of
All My Children—sharing the screen with Elizabeth Taylor while playing Langley Wallingford’s long-lost daughter Verla Grubbs. Burnett remained a fan through the years, and returned in 2005 for another brief cameo.
Sample line: “I never saw her before in my life. I think that woman’s pilot light is out.”
