| Prince Richard was dying. The same Prince Richard Reva used to love and who now loved her sister. But Richard wasn't about to subject his beloved Cassie to a prolonged illness. Would Reva be brave enough to pull the plug, he implored, and spare her sister the agony? Serious emotional angst ensued, the kind of tearful and wrenching drama that a soap diva lives for. And as it turns out, the kind of drama Emmy voters could die for. After her CBS bosses submitted the "Pull The Plug" episode of Guiding Light, Grand Rapids native Kim Zimmer snagged a Daytime Emmy nomination for Lead Actress, her seventh for playing the renowned Reva Shayne Lewis. (Zimmer won for the role in 1985, '87 and '90.) The awards ceremony is Friday night. "Those were very powerful episodes," Zimmer said in a recent phone interview from the GL set. "I felt very proud of the work I did on that story." Making the decision to end a former lover's life was just one of many three-hankie scenarios Zimmer's character has found herself in since assuming the role almost 20 years ago. Reva has been injured in car accidents, blackmailed, stalked, framed, abducted and been the victim of postpartum psychosis. She's been a princess and an Amish woman, all of which she forgot because she was an amnesiac. She's been married to every Lewis man in Springfield, including Josh, her current husband (three times to him). She's been hitched to a handful of others, including once to villain Alan Spaulding, a marriage eventually annulled on account of her being unconscious during the ceremony. "The clone story really stretched me as an actress because I was playing two characters at once," Zimmer said. "And the time travel was a blast because we got to wear these great period costumes." (You see, one of the times Reva was presumed dead, her bereaved husband had her cloned, which spawned all kinds of problems, not the least of which being that Dolly, her clone, was jealous of her. And the time travel? Well --- never mind.) All of Reva's predicaments and relationships, even the kookier ones, have cemented the bond between this enduring character and her legions of fans. "Reva is an everywoman," her portrayer explains. "She's always honest, she wears her emotions on her sleeve. Reva says the kinds of things to people that everyone wishes they could say. Reva is no-holds-barred." Not that she isn't attached to Reva, but Zimmer admits from time to time she itches to expand her horizons a bit. In 1990, Zimmer left the soap to pursue other acting opportunities. After a few TV guest-star roles, movies-of-the-week and some theater, the 48-year-old actress reassumed the role she originated and one that simply could not be recast. Fans wanted one Reva and one Reva only: Zimmer. Delving back into Springfield, Zimmer also continued to look for ways to refresh her craft. This quest often led her back home to West Michigan --- and to Augusta's Red Barn Theatre, where she has starred in such musicals as "Blood Brothers" and "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (co-starring a just-out-of-college Jennifer Garner). "I love the Red Barn," she said. Theater is just one good reason to return to the place Zimmer says continues to be an anchor in her life. "A West Michigan upbringing gives you such a commitment to family," she said. "My husband (A.C. Weary, a Chicagoan) and I met in 1974, and we've basically been together ever since." Though Zimmer plans to vacation in Australia this summer with her husband and three children, she anticipates at least one visit to her hometown. "My 30th high school reunion at Forest Hills Central should be coming up soon. I hope someone contacts me with the details because I'd love to come. We always have the best reunions." After all, in Reva's larger-than-life existence, something as normal as a reunion may be just what the doctor ordered. |