Luciano is a veteran of three daytime dramas. Back in 1983 she made her debut as Beth Raines on "Guiding Light". She picked up an Emmy for her work.

In 1986, Luciano made the switch to "Days" where she played Adrienne for five years. From there, in 1991, she took over the role of Paulina Cory on "Another World". She stayed there until the show ended in 1999.

Recently, Luciano had been the subject of hot and heavy rumors that she would be joining the cast of "All My Children".

That's what I heard", responds Luciano. "Nobody has contacted me. In
fact a couple of magazines called my manager. My manager called me and said what's going on. There's nothing going on, nobody has called me."

"Hopefully, maybe (that rumor) would get people thinking. You never
know. I'm being completely honest, nobody's contacted me. Unless
somebody told me not to tell. I'd tell right away," says Luciano.

What a shame for daytime. Although since this rumor came out, yet
another popped up mentioning Luciano for the recast Dixie role also at
"AMC".   

Whatever rumor does pan out, Luciano has certainly not turned her back on daytime. As a matter of fact she admits she misses it, "Sure. I miss
working everyday. I like daytime! It's fun! As an actress it's nice to wake up every morning and know you're pretty sure you have a job to go
to."       

This California born and bred lady makes no bones about her love for the west coast. While she continues to audition for movies and prime time
roles-pilot season is just around the corner-the right soap role could
lure her back east.

"I was talking to another show (One Life)," states Luciano. "It was on
the east coast awhile ago and I was going to commute back and forth."

What exactly has this talented performer been up to since "Another
World's" sad demise in '99? "I've taken some time off to spend with my
son", she says. "He was at an age where I had the time and I wanted to
be with him. And at 'Another World', I lived far away from the set so I
missed a lot of quality time with him. So I've been spending time with
him, working with the schools he's been in, that kind of thing. I've
been enjoying it and bonding. I've worked eighteen years straight so I
decided to take a little time off."

Luciano contines, "The truth is, I was busy when I worked BUT I'm
busier now. I didn't realize how much stuff I wasn't doing. I enjoy
being a wife and a mom. I'm looking into being a substitute teacher's
aide at my son's school. It's so much fun and it's so rewarding. I
figure during my down time I could do something productive besides
cleaning toilets and cooking dinner which is productive too. "There's nothing wrong with a good clean toilet and a healthy meal
though," she adds with a laugh.

There was alot of laughing during this interview. People may not
realize Luciano can be very funny. As a matter of fact she'd be perfect
in a sitcom (ATTENTION CASTING DIRECTORS-are you reading this??).  After all the drama in her previous soap incarnations, it would be great to
see Luciano try comedy.   

However Luciano does face a battle in searching for a non-soap job.  Despite an Emmy and sixteen solid years working, people in Hollywood still look down on soap actors.

It's better now", she emphasizes. "But a lot of casting people and
producers think if you've been on daytime, you must suck! In fact, one
of them even said that to me. I guess Demi Moore, Meg Ryan, Kevin
Kline-yeah they really suck. Really!!! The problem right now is for my
age group the roles are limited. And for nighttime they've been wanting
more of a film background."

"There will be people I know in the business who say come in for this.
But then I'll be too tall, too short, too big chested, too blonde, too
blue eyed, whatever," she laughs.  "Shows are leaning towards teen
storylines and I'm kinda old. I'm not a teen, let's just put it that
way."    

Luciano does keep up with daytime via her computer. She wishes she had kept in touch with more of her co-stars. "You keep in touch for awhile," she says. "Alot of us moved. It's like you throw a bunch of marbles into the air. You just lose touch."

Suprisingly Luciano didnt always dream of the bright lights of Hollywood.  That despite her parents always being performers and Luciano growing up around the circus. In fact, it wasn't until college and a school play beckoned that Luciano caught the acting bug. "And thankfully, that bug brought her to daytime and three very popular roles. Does Luciano have a favorite? "Honestly they've all been my favorites because they've all been very different. Even with Adrienne and Beth being as similar as they were, they were also very different. Honestly I just loved them all."        

"You have to really give credit to the writers, "she adds. "All the shows I've been on, the writing was really good. It's so hard what the writers do. When a show is doing really well, everyone takes the credit. When it's not doing well, (they blame) the writers. And they work THE hardest.  They take lot of flack."   

"I had three great characters that were written beautifully. Honestly, my job was kinda' easy, but dont tell anybody!," she adds laughing.          

But this Emmy winner, who readily admits it was "totally unexpected" when she won back in 1984 spent the longest part of her daytime tenure at "Another World". The cancellation was not totally unexpected in 1999, but it hit Luciano hard. "I was pretty devastated. It was a great show.  It had A LOT of heart," explains Luciano. "When I first found out it was shock, pure shock. Then panic. Then such deep sadness. We had been on the chopping block since before I came on the show. There was always a rumor that we were being cancelled. When I first started on 'AW', the rumors were pretty serious so I sold my house right away.  Then eight years later we were still there. So I thought it would never happen. Then it did and I couldn't believe it. And people tried to save the show but couldn't."

And what does the future hold for this major talent? "Work," she laughs.  "I'd like to do some nighttime. I love 'The Shield' and of course 'The Sopranos'. I'd like to try it. It's a big clique and it's hard to break into. It Iooks like alot of fun though."
 

Luciano continues, "But I'm NEVER opposed to daytime. It's the hardest
working group of people who get the least amount of credit.  They make a good living, but they are (by Hollywood's standards) really low on the
totem pole. And THEY work the hardest! It's really sad. But I love
daytime!"   

And Luciano has always been great to her fans. "Every person I've met who watched the soaps, I've never met anyone I didn't like. I hate to sound like Will Rogers, but it's the truth. Everyone I've met has been so sweet, so generous and so complimentary."   

"I just want to say thank you!," she continues. "Thank you so much for such continued support and dedication. There aren't words to describe how grateful I am to them for all the years of support, including the years I haven't been working. I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart!"

And we, the fans, send those words right back to you Judi Evans
Luciano.  Your shining light is missed in daytime and we all hope that
is rectified SOON!

(And a BIG P.S.S. to Cupcake 64 from  Luciano herself, "I love her.  I
adore her.  She's just so sweet.  She's a doll!")           
 

Take a moment to visit Judi's Official Web site