Proving that the tears of the clown do run the deepest, comedienne Kim Coles’ (Living Single, In Living Color) recent run as Nurse Whitley on Days of our Lives was decorated with both tragedy and laughter…with a good ole dash of psychotic fury thrown in for good measure, as well.
After Abe (James Reynolds), the show’s mayor and a legacy character extraordinaire, was hospitalized, he discovered one major post-surgery complication – Coles’ overly friendly, extremely deluded healthcare practitioner. Convincing him that she was Paulina (Jackee Harry), his powerful and loving wife, Whitley kidnapped him and held him captive in her apartment – one strewn with colorful stuffed cat plushes and overly cheery paraphernalia. As the confused Abe grew ever leery of her story, Whitley conceived scheme upon scheme to keep him in the dark and by her side.
With definitive echos of Stephen King’s Misery, the increasingly desperate caregiver even began drugging Abe, eventually finding a way to convince his family that he was dead. Of course, all that begins badly generally ends happily in the world of daytime and, after one last ditch effort to erase herself & her captive from existence, Whitley was caught and brought to justice.
Besides proving that King’s tales should provide more fodder for soap opera stories, this saga gave Coles a delightful way to expand her talent palette. Alternately vibrating with tenderness, confusion and menace, she made the most of this unusual opportunity, ensuring this story was a fun…& historic ride. *
(* – This tale was one of few in the show’s many decades that revolved around and utilized a Black cast almost exclusively.)
Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan
Big Gay Horror Fan 