Soap Opera Update: Best of the Best/ MVP Award Nominees
June 5, 1989

BEST OF THE BEST COUPLE Nominee: Steve and Kayla

It's the nature of daytime soaps that all great loves must endure great pain, and surely Days of our Lives'
Patch and Kayla had their share of  hardships. And yet, it's not the tragedies that remain in our memory
when we think of Patch and Kayla, it's the joy, for their love is a triumph of perseverance  in the face of defeat,
determination through all travails, and loyalty for all time. The bond that was struck between Steve Johnson
and Kayla Brady began under the most unsavory circumstances imaginable, but it was a strong one nevertheless.
Time and adversity have drawn the couple closer and closer, so that today they share a love as deep as an ocean,
as high as the sky. Together they are the best they can be, and far, far better than they are alone.

Best of the Best Actress Nominee:
Mary Beth Evans

When confronted with a difficult and demanding storyline, the pedestal upon which our favorite stars stand may crumble
if they aren't up to the challenge. Days of our Lives' Mary Beth Evans faced such a challenge this year in the role of
Kayla Brady Deveraux Johnson, when she had to enact not only the devastating aftershock of marital rape, but the
physically draining months of hysterical deafness. Mary Beth did not wilt under the enormous burden of this  character's
story, rather she triumphed, bringing new depth and subtext to Kayla. In gentle, heartfelt love scenes with Steve, in
angry vicious fight scenes with Jack, in majestically silent passages with Benjy,  and in simple, special moments  with
her sister Kim,  Mary Beth's Kayla soared with integrity, realism and resolve. Heroic, hurt, confident, confused,
pressured, or at peace, Mary Beth played it all. Rather than falling from the pedestal, Mary Beth ascended into the
stratosphere.

Best of the Best Actor Nominee:
Stephen Nichols

The magic that Stephen Nichols brings to the role of Steve "Patch" Johnson on Days of our Lives is hard to put into
words. He has to be seen to be understood, for how can you verbalize the intensity of his emotions, the curl of his
smile, the swagger in his walk? And how can the simple derisive laugh he offers when the Patchman spots a phony
be explained in mere words? There were more high points in Nichols' performance this year than could be
enumerated, but a few shine brighter in memory- Patch signing "The Rose" to Kayla in sign language when she was
temporarily deaf; his sensitive confrontation with the Phantom in Steve's old apartment, where with scalding honesty,
Steve revealed the psychological scars he still carries because of his patch; facing the bitter truth that though Jack is
his brother Billy, Jack is unwilling to ever embrace the Johnson family; and perhaps most memorable of all, the tender
rendition of the wedding vows he offered to Kayla. Like many stars, what's special about Stephen Nichols is not to be
overanalyzed or dissected, merely appreciated and enjoyed.

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Stephen Nichols and Mary Beth Evans Scrapbook

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