Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Who is that woman on 'Orange is the New Black'?

Orange is the New Black
Red, the character on the far right.
Orange is the New Black (Photo credit: massdistraction)
I admit it; I'm a television junkie.

There is nothing worse than seeing someone on television that I know I've seen before, but I just can't place. It drives me crazy.

This just happened recently as I was watching the new Netflix series, "Orange is the New Black," a true life story about a woman who was incarcerated for a drug offense. 

The minute I saw one of the characters--Red, a tough woman who portrays the prison cook--I knew I had seen her somewhere before. Every time I looked at her, I knew who she was. I also know it was from a long time ago, when both she and I were much younger. 

I remembered her pretty face and a kindness about her, although that was not absolutely the kind of character she played in this series. 

I didn't know anything about the show, but was intrigued by all the ridiculous flap over Julianne Hough wearing a Halloween costume that portrayed one of the show's characters. Hough was accused of being a racist because she wore bronze makeup on her face in her portrayal of the character Crazy Eyes. 

English: Kate Mulgrew at the 2009 premiere of ...
Kate Mulgrew
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I am getting hooked on the series, which seems to be an honest portrayal of life in prison. 

Still a newbie, I've been power-watching episodes, watching two or three at a time. Whenever I saw Red, I wondered who she was. It was actually very distracting.

Finally, my husband looked it up on the Internet for me. He came in last night while I was watching it and announced that her name was Kate Mulgrew.

Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Immediately, I knew. 

Of course. She played Mary Ryan on the soap opera Ryan's Hope in the mid-1970's. 

I watched every episode. I loved that show. I remembered how fond I was of the character she portrayed. I have no idea how I was able to associate her name with the former character, Mary Ryan. Come to think of it, I hadn't seen or heard of Kate Mulgrew in 40 years. 

I suppose that might just be a testament to how much I liked "Ryan's Hope" and the character Mulgrew portrayed. I've noticed there are some YouTube videos containing episodes of the show. I may have to peruse them, just for old times' sake.

Once again, Thanks Internet! 
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