By: Roberta Caploe
Article Thanks To Holly
Lynn Herring Tried Soap Hopping, but Found Her Future Was Rosier On GENERAL HOSPITAL. So, She Came Home.
Don't let Lynn Herring fool you. It's true that she's charming, and can chew the fat like champion. But less obvious is Herring's brain power.
Let's look at the facts: Unhappy with her lack of storyline after six years of playing Lucy Coe on GENERAL HOSPITAL, Herring leapt to DAYS OF OUR LIVES, where husband Wayne Northrop toils as Roman Brady. When her DAYS character, Lisanne, turned out to be a disappointment (and eventually, a corpse), Herring checked right back into GENERAL HOSPITAL.
The same month, Herring discovered she was pregnant with her second child. Wendy Riche, GH's executive producer, not only reacted well to the unexpected news, she also gave the green light for Herring's most tender storyline to date: Lucy gave birth to a baby for her ex-lover, Scotty, and his deceased wife, Dominique. And here's the clincher: Herring pulled off all these moves without alienating either her husband's NBC superiors or her own ABC bosses--and that took some doing. Behind her killer bod and dimpled cheeks, this woman's mind is awhirl.
"They always say that you don't know what you have until you leave," Herring says of her return to GH. "DAYS is a different group of actors. They're all very professional and very good, but I didn't have as much in common with them as I do with Kin [Shriner, ex-Scotty], Jackie [Zeman, Bobbie], and Kristina [Wagner, Felicia]. We're always looking for where the grass is greener. In this case, I've found that it's very green right where I am. My enthusiasm is 10 times higher."
When Shriner left GH last year, Herring lost her best off-the-set pal and acting partner. She concedes that the adjustment to working with new onscreen Leigh J. McCloskey (Damian) has been rocky. "I didn't enjoy it at first," Herring admits. "I was still missing Kin a lot. But then it dawned on me that this was another thing I could do differently, with more sophisticated humor. And now I'm having fun."
Herring's devotion to her career pales in comparison with her life on her L.A. ranch with Northrop and their two sons, Hank, 3, and Grady, 9 months. The couple spend as much time as possible with their kids, and pass on their love of the outdoors. "Hank is very sensitive to animals," Herring notes. "He'll walk up to everything, even if it's twice his size. He has Wayne's wacky sense of humor. He'll change the pronunciation of a word just to make you laugh. He tells jokes, like he's going to eat a helicopter for dinner. I never thought a 3-year-old would have such a defined personality."
Or such a versatile palate. Hank is so crazy about his puppy, Angus, that they share...everything. "Hank likes puppy chow," Herring giggles. "I tried to explain to him that it's Angus's food. He thinks it's the funniest thing. Probably at least twice a week, he has dog food. Not the sauce," she cautions. "Just the crunchy kibble. He's been doing it for a year. At least we get all natural," she sighs.
But all kibble aside, Herring takes her role as mom very seriously. "With two kids," she laments, "it's triple the work. When you're with one, you want to be with the other. I don't want to cheat anybody--Wayne or the boys. So each day I get up and go, 'Okay, we're gonna get through this day, and we're gonna have fun.'"
Perhaps one reason Herring appears so relaxed about mothering is that her folks were easygoing, too. "They say that they weren't sure what to do, so a lot of time, they just didn't do anything. My dad was in the Air Force," she recalls, "and I always picked bikers for boyfriends. I'd come home with tiny hip-hugger jeans on and a long-haired boyfriend who didn't wash his clothes much, and my father would be insane. But they would never forbid me to see that person."
In the end of course, Herring did just fine--she met Northrop in an acting class, and the rest was history. "Most of the guys in the class weren't old cowboys like Wayne," she smiles. "He's manly, and unconcerned with his appearance. I buy him these gorgeous suits, and he doesn't wear any of them. It's just boots and jeans."
And rather than having their heads turned by the superficial world of acting, Herring maintains that their jobs have only served to take the pressure off. "We've always had jobs where we get to be around the opposite sex in an 'undangerous' situation. I get to tease and flirt and share funny moments with other men, but never at the risk of doing anything outside of marriage. I do my best work as an actress when I'm happy at home."
Eventually, Herring confides, she and Northrop and their brood would like to live permanently on their second ranch on the foothills of the Sierras, two-and-a-half hours from Los Angeles. "I'd like to get to the point where I could do a few projects, or even write for some environmental magazines. The ranch is only three hours from Sacramento [the capital of California], and I'd like to lobby for environmental groups. With Clinton in office, I think it's fantastic. I've realized with Hank that three years have gone by so fast. I want to stuff it in there and live as many lives as I can."
******THEY'VE LOVED LUCY, TOO******
Lucy Coe Jones Quartermaine has run several laps around Port Charles's love track. Here's the rundown on her romantic pursuits.
**Kevin and Patrick O'Connor: Lucy's introduction to GH. She slept with Kevin, but he died. She consoled herself with Kevin's brother, Patrick.
**Jake Myers: Lucy has always exhibited a penchant for Bobbie Spencer's men. Lucy was impregnated by Jake when Jake was married to Bobbie (Lucy miscarried).
**Dr. Tony Jones: Lucy snared the good doctor by swiveling her hips and saying that she'd be a nanny to his daughter, B.J. Tony's hormones got away from him, and a reluctant bridegroom was born.
**Dr. Alan Quartermaine: "Give me money," was Lucy's credo with the very rich and vulnerable Dr. Q. Lucy hopped down the aisle with Alan in a bright red dress that cuddled every curve.
**Scotty Baldwin: Scott was the real love of Lucy's life [I beg to differ]. With Baldwin, life was one long, teasing tango. They never made it to the chapel, although Lucy did carry a baby for Scott and his dying wife, Dominique.
**Damian Smith: Lucy's been daring Damian to seduce do-gooder Nurse Bobbie Jones (Tony's wife), and says her interest is purely business. We've heard THAT before.
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