Mary crushed by a C: the real story behind

- by Michael Logan, 1986 - 

Bridget Dobson, co-creator and co-executive producer of SANTA BARBARA, sheds a little light on behalf of the management. “When characters don’t spark story excitement, they tend to be used less,” she says matter of factly. “When they’re used less, it’s very expensive to just maintain them so, sometimes, if they haven’t been important to the story, they’re just sort of faded out rather than flashily done in.”

According to Dobson, who’s also written for GUIDING LIGHT and GENERAL HOSPITAL, the circumstances of a character’s vanishing act depend on the needs of the serial and not the emotional attachments of the actor or the audience. “If it’s a character we want to bring back, they’re often sent to Rio or their body isn’t found. On the other hand, getting rid of a character entirely can open up worlds of story. For example, we decided that our plot would leap ahead faster by killing off Harley Kozak.”

Kozak, who played Mary McCormack, is one actress who can’t complain that she didn’t get a snap, crackle and pop ending. In fact Dobson ordered up a lulu. “When they told me that I was going to get the Big C,” chortles Harley, “I thought, “Well, maybe I’ll slip into a coma and be good for another year or two on the show.”

Instead, Mary met her Maker when the capital C from the Capwell Hotel sign came crashing down on her head. “I was absolutely delighted!” says Kozak. “I thought it was so eccentric. I don’t know how they came upwith it, to tell you the truth. I think someone must have been doing hallucinogens.”

In fact, her adios was so splashy and so unheard of compared to the lackluster fates befalling other actors with pink slips that Harley plants her tongue in cheek and searches for deeper meaning.

“We all know there are no accidents in life”, insist the actress who, to this day, still wonders “what the C really stood for “cheap”, like maybe they wanted to get rid of me because I was too expensive. Then I wondered, maybe it stands for “cash”, because our lawyers are going at it and maybe they’ll have to pay me off. Then, when I was jogging, it occurred to me that it stood for “crap” – but then again, that’s too rude.”

What it did stand for – at least for Kozak’s fans – was finis, kaput, dead as a doornail, over and out. No questions asked.