Oscar Winner Kathy Bates Recalls All My Children Days With Susan Lucci

Academy Award-winning actress Kathy Bates (Misery) is doing the talk show circuit to promote her role in the movie Richard Jewell, the story of the security guard wrongly accused of planting a bomb in Centennial Park during the 1996 Olympics. On one appearance, she looked back at a daytime stint she had early on in her career.

A Susan Lucci Encounter

When Bates appeared on the CBS Daytime talk show The Talk, the hosts presented a clip of her from All My Children in which she played Belle Bodelle, a prison cellmate of Erica Kane (played by Emmy-winner Susan Lucci). Erica was in the slammer after being charged with the murder of Kent Bogard (Michael Woods).

The 1984 clip shown has Belle bullying Erica, ordering the supermodel not to make any trouble for her. A terrified Erica yields to Belle’s demands (can you blame her?) Upon seeing the scene, Bates heaped praise upon her former scene partner.

Kathy Bates On La Lucci

“She’s a Samurai,” Bates raves about Lucci. “She’s a wonderful actress. She had it all going on. I loved working with her. She is an awesome lady.”

She wasn’t a daytime novice when she did AMC. Bates has previously played the role of Phyllis on The Doctors. On AMC, Bates’s Belle and the other inmates mocked Erica, who wanted her mother, Mona (Frau Heflin), to bring her hot rollers so she could properly set her hair while she was temporarily incarcerated. Was Erica ever one to not have her priorities in order?

Following her stay in daytime, Kathy Bates went on to work consistently in film and television. Her breakout role as Annie Wilkes in the 1990 film Misery, won her the Oscar for Best Actress.

She’s also known for the series Six Feet Under and The Office, and she also played the title role in Harry’s Law. Currently, Bates can be seen in theaters now as Bobi Jewell, Richard Jewell’s mother in Richard Jewell. The Talk airs weekdays on CBS. Check local listings for air times.