Annie Douglas Richards
Encyclopedia
Annie Douglas is a fictional character
from the US NBC
soap opera
Sunset Beach
, played by Sarah Buxton. The character's creation was announced in 1996 prior to the serial going on air. Series creator Aaron Spelling
helped create Annie's appearance and style. Annie has been characterised as a "rich girl" and a "scheming vixen". The character has also been central to various fantasy sequences through her duration. These have been favoured by some of the serial's critics. Buxton has been nominated for one award for her portrayal and Annie has been branded one of the programme's most popular characters.
was unhappy with the style choices for Annie that the serial's production made. Spelling decided to choose Annie's style because he felt skirts, boots and low hanging necklaces fitted the character's image. He also wanted Annie to have red hair, but was unhappy with the selection of wigs made available. He managed to convince Buxton to dye her hair from black to red.
Annie is characterised as a "top heavy scheming vixen" with light morals and portrays the image of a "poor little rich girl". Annie is known for her involvement in various fantasy sequences during her tenure. The serial hired Gary Owens
to do a voice over during one of Annie's fantasies. While comedian Howie Mandel
and television host Jerry Springer
were signed up to appear in Annie's game show fantasy.
), spending all her father's money and skipping college. After her father Del Douglas (John Reilly) was murdered, Annie was one of the suspects and eventually all evidence pointed at Annie, so she ran away trying to fight for her innocence. She stayed at the home of her aunt Bette Katzenkazrahi
(Kathleen Noone
). During that time, Annie always seemed to be plotting something. Her main enemy was Meg Cummings
(Susan Ward
), a woman who came to Sunset Beach from Kansas and eventually hooked up with her Internet lover Ben Evans.
While trying to escape from the police, Annie found herself trapped in a coffin that was sent to the crematorium. At the time, she was presumed dead, but a few days later she reappeared at Ben's place, where she had been hiding for some time. After her father's murderer was found, Annie didn't spare time. She continued plotting against Meg, trying to get Ben to herself, and she teamed up with Tim Truman
(Dax Griffin
), Meg's ex-fiance, to break them up. Every now and then, their plan worked, but eventually Meg and Ben hooked up again. She also sometimes used Eddie Connors (Peter Barton) to help her get what she wants.
Then all of a sudden, Annie was involved into a different storyline. After giving up on Ben for good, Annie learned that she had to marry Gregory Richards
(Sam Behrens
) by the end of June 1998 in order to get her father's inheritance. Her father has been having an affair with Gregory's wife, and forcing Annie to try to break up their marriage was his revenge. Annie's opportunity came when she was asked by Gregory's daughter Caitlin Richards
(Vanessa Dorman
) to help her find a baby to introduce as her own. Annie found the best way to use this in her new plot. She took a newborn baby from yet another arch-nemesis, Olivia Richards (Lesley-Anne Down
), Gregory's wife and Caitlin's mother. Annie gave the child to Caitlin (who was unaware that the child was her brother), and then told Olivia that her baby was born dead. Never missing out on a chance to plot, Annie came to a sudden revelation that Ben's ex-wife Maria Torres
(Christina Chambers
) was actually alive, and she plotted with Tim again to break up Ben and Meg.
In a few months, Annie plotted her way into marrying Gregory by comforting him over the 'death' of his son and convincing him that Olivia had been drunk during the birth. She then continued trying to fight everything that she had done. Her plots were usually discovered in a while and she found herself trapped. She was always trying to get her father's money. She made it look like Olivia had been drinking by using potions of a Voodoo Priestess, Mrs. Moreau, who was often used by other characters; and that is how her baby died. Even though she was involved in her own storyline, Annie never missed a chance to fight with her main nemesis Meg. After her husband was presumed dead, Annie found love in Jude Cavanaugh (Sean Kanan
), an undercover cop. During the time, she tried to get as much money from Gregory's will as she could. At the very end, she slowed down, made peace with Olivia and Meg, and settled down with Jude.
. Justine Elias of The New York Times
said Buxton and Anne Down showed signs of "becoming a classic matchup of battling soap opera vixens" in the respective roles of Annie and Olivia. Henry Mietkiewicz of the Toronto Star
said that Annie "crowed gracelessly" during her scenes and opined that Buxton had a tendency to "shrilly overplay" Annie. A writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
opined that Annie often "stirs up a lot of trouble" in the serial. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
said Annie was as every bit "hootable" as Olivia, but more "bratty and greedy".
Julia Shih of The Michigan Daily criticised Sunset Beach for it's slow paced episodes, opining that Annie's arrest should have been over in a few minutes rather than taking up an entire episode. She added it made the episode halt to a "sleep-inducing state". The Boston Herald
included Annie's various fights with Meg in their feature on the most memorable soap opera moments during 1997. Their writer Mark A. Perigard said the fights represented a growing trend of "female violence" during the previous year. On Annie's game show fantasy, Liz Smith of the Toledo Blade
said "Fans know that only Sarah Buxton a.k.a Sunset sexpot Annie Douglas, could have such a dream!" Seli Groves of The Dispatch
opined that Sunset Beach were using Annie's fantasies of Jerry Springer solely in a bid to gain ratings. While Merle Brown of the Daily Record
, said "Annie is having one of those brilliant fantasy sequences and it's a corker. She's a contestant on a bizarre game show [...] Brilliant, just brilliant." In the 2008 book "Stinkin Thinkin", M.J. Gunn said that Annie's dream sequences were some of the best scenes to watch on Sunset Beach. In South African magazine Drum, Annie was described as having "evil designs of her own" and becoming one of the serial's most popular characters. Simon Hughes of The Age
said that Meg faced "stiff competition" in the form of Annie, for Ben's affections. He also opined that she was the "the very sort of liberated femme to spice her small talk with salty entendres".
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the US NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Sunset Beach
Sunset Beach (TV series)
Sunset Beach was an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on January 6, 1997, and last airing on December 31, 1999. The show followed the loves and lives of the people living in a fictional coastal city named Sunset Beach, on the coast of California...
, played by Sarah Buxton. The character's creation was announced in 1996 prior to the serial going on air. Series creator Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
helped create Annie's appearance and style. Annie has been characterised as a "rich girl" and a "scheming vixen". The character has also been central to various fantasy sequences through her duration. These have been favoured by some of the serial's critics. Buxton has been nominated for one award for her portrayal and Annie has been branded one of the programme's most popular characters.
Character development
Sarah Buxton's casting was announced in October 1996, prior to Sunset Beach debuting on air. Annie was billed as a "sexy and spoiled resident of a local beach house." The programme's creator Aaron SpellingAaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
was unhappy with the style choices for Annie that the serial's production made. Spelling decided to choose Annie's style because he felt skirts, boots and low hanging necklaces fitted the character's image. He also wanted Annie to have red hair, but was unhappy with the selection of wigs made available. He managed to convince Buxton to dye her hair from black to red.
Annie is characterised as a "top heavy scheming vixen" with light morals and portrays the image of a "poor little rich girl". Annie is known for her involvement in various fantasy sequences during her tenure. The serial hired Gary Owens
Gary Owens
Gary Owens is an American disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offers deadpan recitations of total nonsense, which he frequently demonstrated as the announcer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Owens is equally proficient in straight or silly assignments and is...
to do a voice over during one of Annie's fantasies. While comedian Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...
and television host Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...
were signed up to appear in Annie's game show fantasy.
Storylines
Annie Douglas was always a troublemaker. Most would say she was the best villain on "Sunset Beach." From the first day, Annie was plotting her way to win the effections of Ben Evans (Clive RobertsonClive Robertson
Clive Gladstone Robertson is a British actor perhaps best known for his roles on the soap opera Sunset Beach, the Canadian science fiction series Starhunter, and the 2010 science fiction computer game Darkstar: The Interactive Movie.-Biography:Robertson spent much of his younger life abroad,...
), spending all her father's money and skipping college. After her father Del Douglas (John Reilly) was murdered, Annie was one of the suspects and eventually all evidence pointed at Annie, so she ran away trying to fight for her innocence. She stayed at the home of her aunt Bette Katzenkazrahi
Bette Katzenkazrahi
Bette Katzenkazrahi is a fictional character from the US NBC soap opera Sunset Beach, played by Kathleen Noone.-Character development:...
(Kathleen Noone
Kathleen Noone
Kathleen Noone is an Emmy Award winning American film, stage and television actress , best known roles for Ellen Shepherd Dalton on the daytime drama All My Children , Claudia Whittaker on the primetime drama Knots Landing and Bette Katzenkazrahi on the daytime drama Sunset Beach .-Life and...
). During that time, Annie always seemed to be plotting something. Her main enemy was Meg Cummings
Meg Cummings
Meg Cummings is a fictional character from the US NBC soap opera Sunset Beach, played by Susan Ward. Meg was the serial's main protagonist throughout the whole run. Sydney Penny temporarily took over the role while Ward was filming for the film The In Crowd.-Character development:Susan Ward was...
(Susan Ward
Susan Ward
Susan Ward is an American actress and model.-Early life and career:Ward was born in Monroe, Louisiana. She attended a private, Christian elementary school , in Monroe, LA. She briefly attended Northeast Louisiana University...
), a woman who came to Sunset Beach from Kansas and eventually hooked up with her Internet lover Ben Evans.
While trying to escape from the police, Annie found herself trapped in a coffin that was sent to the crematorium. At the time, she was presumed dead, but a few days later she reappeared at Ben's place, where she had been hiding for some time. After her father's murderer was found, Annie didn't spare time. She continued plotting against Meg, trying to get Ben to herself, and she teamed up with Tim Truman
Tim Truman (Sunset Beach)
Tim Truman was a fictional character in the American soap opera Sunset Beach, portrayed by American actor Dax Griffin from January 6, 1997 to November 15, 1999. He returned to play his character in the final episode as a part of Meg's dream...
(Dax Griffin
Dax Griffin
-Career:Griffin is known for his role as Tim Truman on the NBC serial Sunset Beach from January 1997 until November 1999. He had one more appearance in the series finale in a dream sequence. He also played assistant district attorney Justin McCoy on All My Children in 2003.Griffin joined the cast...
), Meg's ex-fiance, to break them up. Every now and then, their plan worked, but eventually Meg and Ben hooked up again. She also sometimes used Eddie Connors (Peter Barton) to help her get what she wants.
Then all of a sudden, Annie was involved into a different storyline. After giving up on Ben for good, Annie learned that she had to marry Gregory Richards
Gregory Richards
Gregory Richards was a fictional character in the US soap opera Sunset Beach, portrayed by American actor Sam Behrens during the show's entire run.-Character history:...
(Sam Behrens
Sam Behrens
Sam Behrens is an actor most notably recognized from his role as Gregory Richards in Aaron Spelling's Sunset Beach. He has been married to Shari Belafonte since December 31, 1989.-Filmography:...
) by the end of June 1998 in order to get her father's inheritance. Her father has been having an affair with Gregory's wife, and forcing Annie to try to break up their marriage was his revenge. Annie's opportunity came when she was asked by Gregory's daughter Caitlin Richards
Caitlin Richards Deschanel
Caitlin Richards Deschanel was a fictional character in the US soap opera Sunset Beach portrayed by two different actresses. The first actress, Vanessa Dorman, portrayed the role from January 9, 1997 to June 18, 1998, when she hit contract problems and was let go...
(Vanessa Dorman
Vanessa Dorman
Vanessa Dorman is an American actress most notably recognized from her role as the first Caitlin Richards Deschanel in Aaron Spelling's soap opera Sunset Beach. She portrayed the role from January 9, 1997 to June 18, 1998, when she hit contract problems and was let go...
) to help her find a baby to introduce as her own. Annie found the best way to use this in her new plot. She took a newborn baby from yet another arch-nemesis, Olivia Richards (Lesley-Anne Down
Lesley-Anne Down
Lesley-Anne Down is a British film and television actress, former model and singer.Down achieved fame as Georgina Worsley in the ITV drama series Upstairs, Downstairs...
), Gregory's wife and Caitlin's mother. Annie gave the child to Caitlin (who was unaware that the child was her brother), and then told Olivia that her baby was born dead. Never missing out on a chance to plot, Annie came to a sudden revelation that Ben's ex-wife Maria Torres
Maria Torres
Maria Teresa Torres Evans was a fictional character in the American soap opera Sunset Beach. The role was portrayed by American actress Christina Chambers from July 1, 1998 to the end of the show on December 31, 1999.-Character history:...
(Christina Chambers
Christina Chambers
Christina Mae Chambers is an American actress and model.-Private life:Chambers was born into a family of academics, both parents holding doctorates . She is the next-to-youngest of four siblings...
) was actually alive, and she plotted with Tim again to break up Ben and Meg.
In a few months, Annie plotted her way into marrying Gregory by comforting him over the 'death' of his son and convincing him that Olivia had been drunk during the birth. She then continued trying to fight everything that she had done. Her plots were usually discovered in a while and she found herself trapped. She was always trying to get her father's money. She made it look like Olivia had been drinking by using potions of a Voodoo Priestess, Mrs. Moreau, who was often used by other characters; and that is how her baby died. Even though she was involved in her own storyline, Annie never missed a chance to fight with her main nemesis Meg. After her husband was presumed dead, Annie found love in Jude Cavanaugh (Sean Kanan
Sean Kanan
-Early life:He was born Sean Perelman in Cleveland, Ohio and was raised in New Castle, Pennsylvania. He attended Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, Boston University and UCLA where he earned a degree in political science....
), an undercover cop. During the time, she tried to get as much money from Gregory's will as she could. At the very end, she slowed down, made peace with Olivia and Meg, and settled down with Jude.
Reception
For her portrayal of Annie, Buxton was nominated in the category of "Outstanding villainess" at the 1998 Soap Opera Digest AwardsSoap Opera Digest Awards
The Soap Opera Digest Awards were an awards show held by the daytime television magazine Soap Opera Digest. The awards were founded in 1984 to replace the less-lavish Soapy Award; those awards shows had run since 1977. The Soap Opera Digest Awards are meant to promote excellence in the soap opera...
. Justine Elias of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said Buxton and Anne Down showed signs of "becoming a classic matchup of battling soap opera vixens" in the respective roles of Annie and Olivia. Henry Mietkiewicz of the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
said that Annie "crowed gracelessly" during her scenes and opined that Buxton had a tendency to "shrilly overplay" Annie. A writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. Its area of domination is checked by its main rival, The Dallas Morning News, which is published from the eastern half of the Metroplex. It is owned...
opined that Annie often "stirs up a lot of trouble" in the serial. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
said Annie was as every bit "hootable" as Olivia, but more "bratty and greedy".
Julia Shih of The Michigan Daily criticised Sunset Beach for it's slow paced episodes, opining that Annie's arrest should have been over in a few minutes rather than taking up an entire episode. She added it made the episode halt to a "sleep-inducing state". The Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
included Annie's various fights with Meg in their feature on the most memorable soap opera moments during 1997. Their writer Mark A. Perigard said the fights represented a growing trend of "female violence" during the previous year. On Annie's game show fantasy, Liz Smith of the Toledo Blade
The Blade (newspaper)
The Blade is a daily newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, first published on December 19, 1835.- Overview :David Ross Locke gained national fame for the paper during the Civil War era by writing under the pen name Petroleum V. Nasby. Writing under the pen name, Locke wrote satires ranging on topics from...
said "Fans know that only Sarah Buxton a.k.a Sunset sexpot Annie Douglas, could have such a dream!" Seli Groves of The Dispatch
The Dispatch (Lexington)
The Dispatch is an American daily newspaper published in Lexington, North Carolina, by the New York Times Regional Media Group. The newspaper is published Monday through Saturday with no Sunday edition. Billing itself as "Davidson County's News Source", The Dispatch began publication in 1902...
opined that Sunset Beach were using Annie's fantasies of Jerry Springer solely in a bid to gain ratings. While Merle Brown of the Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
, said "Annie is having one of those brilliant fantasy sequences and it's a corker. She's a contestant on a bizarre game show [...] Brilliant, just brilliant." In the 2008 book "Stinkin Thinkin", M.J. Gunn said that Annie's dream sequences were some of the best scenes to watch on Sunset Beach. In South African magazine Drum, Annie was described as having "evil designs of her own" and becoming one of the serial's most popular characters. Simon Hughes of The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
said that Meg faced "stiff competition" in the form of Annie, for Ben's affections. He also opined that she was the "the very sort of liberated femme to spice her small talk with salty entendres".