Susan Lucci looks back on ‘All My Children’
Susan Lucci shares how Erica Kane’s bold spirit and determination continue to shape her life in unexpected ways from ‘All My Children’ to this day.
NEW YORK – After losing her husband of 52 years, Susan Lucci thought she would never feel joy again.
Lucci’s character, Erica Kane, was married 11 times during her more than 40-year run on the ABC soap opera “All My Children.” But off-screen, Lucci had the love of his life. She married Austrian chef and producer Helmut Huber in 1969 at the age of 22. They had two children, Lisa and Andreas, whom they raised in Garden City, New York.
When Huber died in 2022, Lucci said he couldn’t listen to songs with lyrics. She felt “like I was half human.” But at some point, she started showing signs.
First, it was a dime. Suddenly Lucci found them everywhere – two of them were together on the bench, and a whole bag of them was on her bedside table. Mr. Huber’s birthday was Oct. 10, and Mr. Lucci said he loved having two 10s on his birthday. Then feathers started appearing where there weren’t any birds, or landing on her spot at an outdoor dinner when no one else was there. She believes it was a “tickling” from a man with a great sense of humor.
Lucci had no intention of telling anyone about the signs, much less writing about them. But she felt she had to put pen to paper. And she realized that there were lessons to share from her own grief journey, beyond simply writing down her memories of Hoover. In La Lucci, published by Blackstone Publishing, Lucci holds her heaviest moments in one hand and her joy in the other.
Susan Lucci recalls losing her ‘larger than life’ husband in new memoir
There is one sentence that stuck with me even after reading Lucci’s memoir. Six weeks after Huber died, a friend of his came up to Lucci at a gathering and said, “With Helmut gone, there must be a crack in the universe.”
That’s just the kind of person he was, she says. He had such charisma that he could burn a hole in the sky.
“I was so happy to hear such beautiful words said about the love of my life,” Lucci says. “He was larger than life, unique, very genuine, very comfortable with himself. And as our daughter-in-law in Europe said, “You always felt safe with Helmut.” You always felt like he knew what to do and would do it, and that you would have a good time with him. You’ll be smiling all the time, too. ”
That’s evidenced by a humorous anecdote from before Lucci won the Daytime Emmy in 1999 after 18 failed nominations. The couple got a new dog, and Lucci joked that he would name the dog “Emmy” so they would have at least one.
“Forget about Emmy and go to Oscar,” Rucci says Hoover told her. “Let’s go to the top. Let’s name him Oscar.”
When he died, she had a hard time accepting that he was gone.
“I’m not one to easily take no for an answer. I search around the fence, under the fence, through the fence, over the fence. Of course, it was out of my control. I lost my husband,” Lucci says.
Prayers and her longtime friendship helped. At one point, a friend told her that she could decide how to grieve. She was allowed to continue living her life. She could and would feel joy again.
“You don’t know where you’re going to learn the lessons, you don’t know what they’re going to say to help you get through it,” Lucci says. “My husband’s friends are with me and I’m so thankful for my friends and our friends. We laugh a lot. We do things together and I’m really happy to be with them. They helped me when I thought I couldn’t stand up.”
Looking back on “All My Children” approximately 60 years after its debut
Another kind of sadness that Lucci writes about in “La Lucci” is mourning the end of “All My Children,” which was her home for more than 40 years.
After graduating from college, Lucci was cast in the role of Erica Kane. It seemed daunting to sign a three-year contract at that age. She remembers her early days vividly. They all realized “pretty quickly” that the show was a hit, especially when press and speaking requests started pouring in.
Her last days come back to her just as vividly. In April 2011, he received a call at 4:30 a.m. from show creator Agnes Nixon. Nixon did not want Lucci to be blindsided. Lucci said she felt “terrible” when she came to work the next day and learned something her castmates didn’t know. She just returned from a publishing tour for her first memoir, and took time to assure fans that the show is still “in great shape.”
She pressed former ABC Daytime president Brian Frons about the decision.
“He said, without batting an eyelash, because it takes less than 40 percent to produce a gourmet show. And he was so proud of himself,” Lucci says. “Agnes told me that the fans actually crashed ABC’s entire system. There was a number I could call, so I called… ‘Press 1 to register that you’re upset that ‘All My Children’ has been canceled. For all other ABC business, press 2.'” The fans were certainly rooting for us, but the network’s choice was cancellation. ”
Lucci wasn’t sure if he would be cast again. She had just moved across the border to Los Angeles because it was more cost-effective to film “All My Children” there.
“I’ve been playing Erica all my adult life and I didn’t know, what would it be like to walk around now? I’m not Erica anymore and I’m not going to play Erica. Will I ever work again?” Lucci says.
After all, it was the fans who helped Lucci realize his new dream. They were running an online campaign to get her to appear on “Desperate Housewives.” When she met creator Marc Cherry, he cast her on “Devious Maids” even though the show had already ended. La Lucci is back on TV drama.
Where does soap opera belong today?
When you change the channel during work hours, you’ll see “Days of Our Lives” and “General Hospital” developing new stories. However, since Lucci left “All My Children,” our interest in television has changed dramatically. Streaming rules and limited series are all the rage, and long wait times are common (we’re looking at you, Stranger Things).
As daytime’s most recognizable face, I had to ask Lucci – is there a place for soap operas in today’s digital streaming era?
Lucci answers with a resounding “yes.” Her current favorite is “Beyond the Gates,” a new show on CBS that follows generations of wealthy black families in suburban Maryland.
“I think it fits. I think people like to see other people’s relationships and how they get through[life],” Lucci says. “Connection through storytelling is as old as time and as relevant as ever. And I think maybe right now, in these difficult times, these different times, these technological times, we want stories to be told around relationships. Humans always want to see that.”
Claire Mulroy is USA TODAY’s books reporter, covering hot releases, chatting with authors, and diving into reading culture. please find her on instagramsubscribe to our weekly magazine book newsletter Or tell her what you’re reading cmulroy@usatoday.com.
