Always the nominee, finally the Emmy winner; always betrothed, finally happily ever after?
After 33 years of broken engagements and brief bouts of wedlock on "All My Children," what will it take for the notorious Erica Kane to finally have a long and happy marriage?
"A lot of professional help," said her portrayer, Susan Lucci, laughing.
Lucci wore a summer dress and a sunny smile as she spoke briefly before stepping into a limousine after a taping of the cable show "Soap Talk" at Disney's California Adventure.
In 1999, Lucci won the Emmy for playing Erica.
"It took 19 to win," the actress told "Soap Talk" hosts Ty Treadway and Lisa Rinna, referring to the number of nominations before the statue was finally hers.
Also during the "Soap Talk" taping, Lucci's "All My Children" co-star Walt Willey, who has played District Attorney Jackson "Jack" Montgomery since 1987, got down on one knee in an outdoor amphitheater before a crowd of cheering fans, mostly women.
With a backdrop of tourists and families rocketing by on the roller coaster California Screamin' above the artificial lake behind the stage, Willey got into character and brought out a ring before Lucci. He proposed and, playing along for "Soap Talk," Lucci immediately said, "Yes!" The fans cheered.
On "All My Children," Willey's character recently proposed again to Erica, who again accepted. Their two previous engagements did not end up in marriage.
("All My Children" airs at 1 p.m. weekdays on Ch. 4 in Utah.)
Willey said he thinks the third engagement will finally result in a marriage for Erica and Jack.
"They have so much history," said the 52-year-old Ottawa, Ill., native and stand-up comic. "I would like to see him marry her at the altar. Fans want to see it. If we don't do it, they'll feel cheated."
The "Soap Talk" taping was part of the recent "Super Soap" weekends at Disney's California Adventure.
Disney owns ABC, which airs "All My Children" and "One Life to Live."
It was an incredibly hot day at the theme park, but that wasn't why Willey, co-host Treadway, who's on "One Life to Live," and other male stars kept taking off their shirts. They did it to please the women in the audience, and Treadway threw his shirt right into a grinning woman's hands.
Back in his shirt for the interview, Willey praised "All My Children" for its episodes on AIDS, eating disorders, drug addictions and other social issues.
Agnes Nixon created "All My Children," which premiered in 1970 on ABC, and Lucci has been with the series from the start.
A Scarsdale, N.Y., native who looks younger than her 55 years, Lucci told fans she loves all the physical stuff her character has done, including working with a bear.
Erica has done other notorious things.
"As a nun, you were fabulous!" a fan yelled at Lucci, referring to one Erica story line.
"Thank you!" Lucci replied.
In terms of love, Lucci has been far more fortunate in her real life than Erica in her many romantic escapades.
"I was married three weeks before I started 'All My Children'; he tells me he's my good luck charm," Lucci said about longtime husband Helmet Huber, who was a restaurant owner when she met him. "He has a great sense of humor, he's smart, and he has great legs."
Lucci and Huber have two children, Liza and Andreas Huber. Liza stars as Gwen Hotchkiss Winthrop in the NBC soap "Passions."