Opal Cortlandt
| Opal Cortlandt | |||||||||
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Jill Larson as Opal Cortlandt
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| All My Children character | |||||||||
| Portrayed by |
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| Duration | 1981–83, 1989–2011, 2013 | ||||||||
| First appearance | 1981 | ||||||||
| Last appearance | September 2, 2013 | ||||||||
| Created by | Agnes Nixon | ||||||||
| Introduced by |
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| Crossover appearances |
One Life to Live | ||||||||
| Classification | Final, regular | ||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||
| Other names | Opal Sue | ||||||||
| Occupation |
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| Residence | 3420 Canyon Drive Pine Valley, Pennsylvania |
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| Children |
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| Grandchildren |
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| First cousins | Tilly |
Opal Cortlandt is a fictional character from the ABC and The Online Network soap opera, All My Children. She was portrayed by Dorothy Lyman from 1981 to 1983, and by Jill Larson from December 13, 1989 to September 2, 2013. Larson was demoted from contract to recurring status from June 14, 2006 to December 2, 2009, before returning to contract status effective December 10, 2009.
In the beginning, Opal was only supposed to remain on All My Children for about six weeks but, when the show's executives saw Dorothy Lyman's electric portrayal of the character, the writers kept her on and wrote for her more and more.
I have a true collaboration with Agnes Nixon (AMC's creator). ... The writers write for me, but a lot of Opal's impulses come from me. I think what people like about Opal is that they don't know what to expect from her. There's a kind of danger to her.
The producers of the show disagreed with the way Lyman portrayed Opal:
When I was hired last winter, 'they' kept calling me in every week, telling me to change my act or I'd be fired", says Lyman, referring to the powers that be. "I guess I just felt I could always work in the theater if I was written off. There was no point in being scared. The most important thing an actor needs is to have courage to get up every day in front of people. To put on clothes and pretend to be somebody you're not takes a lot of guts.
I think what makes Opal so popular is the fact that people can relate to her. A lot of women will come up to me and say, 'I'm Opal.' Then they'll take out a picture of their daughter and, 'This is my daughter, she's Jenny. We call each other Opal and Jenny.' And I look at this poor middle-aged woman with bleached hair and wonder, 'What must she think?' To me, Opal is the epitome of bad taste and bad manners. I can't understand why anyone would want to be like her, but I love the fact that they do. That they see to her good parts.
Opal and her daughter, Jenny, first came to Pine Valley in 1981, and Opal was intent on getting her daughter into modeling. Until Jenny got her big break, Opal made her work at the sleazy bar, Foxy's, as a cocktail waitress while she was in high school so she could support them both. Later, Opal opened a beauty shop, which she called the Glamorama. Opal was horrified when her ex-husband, Ray, got out of prison and went to work for Phoebe Wallingford whom Opal worked for as a maid. Phoebe's husband, Langley, seduced her with the promise of marriage once an ailing Phoebe died, which was a lie. The following year, while dating Sam Reynolds, Opal decided to run for city council against Langley and was aided by Palmer Cortlandt who had a vendetta against Phoebe. Both Opal and Langley lost the race. After Opal found out that Sam had fallen in love with Jenny, she broke off with him and joined a dating service. She met a handsome widow, Ralph Purdy, whom she quickly became engaged to, and left Pine Valley. A few months later, Jenny died, and Tad called her (off-screen) to tell her the news.
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Wikipedia