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I grew up a super-fan of SOAP. It was one of the first shows that I loved that I could tell was not meant for kids in any way, and I adored it. And a big part of the reason was because of Jessica Tate, played by the great Katherine Helmond.
It remains a singular accomplishment. She's sexy, she's hilarious, she's a space cadet, she's capable of enormous kindness and warmth, she's maternal, she's childlike... no one could have done what she did with that role. No. One.
When BRAZIL came out in 1985, it immediately became my favorite film. And again, one of the best things in that film is Helmond. Her work is so lacerating, such a brutal perfect embodiment of that fussy vanity, that desperate clinging to youth by bizarre means.
When I had my first work produced in LA as part of a theater festival, our one-act was on the same night as four other plays. And starring in one of those plays? The great Katherine Helmond.
Night after night, it was a privilege to watch her work, but more than that, I learned something about generosity and how you take care of other performers from watching her during that festival.
The play she was in was a two-person piece. Just her and an actor in bed, talking about their lives. Sweet and funny. She would have been 60 at this point. He was older than her, and only a few days into the run, it became clear that he wasn't handling it well.
He was having trouble remembering lines. He was losing his place, forgetting where he was. It's the kind of thing that is terrifying if it's happening to you, and as an actor in live theater, you're very vulnerable to that kind of frailty.
Watching Helmond, though, you'd never know anything was wrong. She held him up. She found ways to prompt him that no one would notice. She never seemed exasperated or impatient. She was his safety net, and she did it all while still acting her ass off every show.
I got a chance near the end of the run to say it to her privately, and I'll say it again now in public: I loved Katherine Helmond, and I am richer for having seen her work. #RIP
