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Veteran actress Maree Cheatham is the definition of a soap hopper, having played Marie on Days of Our Lives, Stephanie on Search for Tomorrow, Charlene on General Hospital, Mary on Knots Landing, Mona on Passions, Ceal on Desperate Housewives, and guest-starred on everything from Dexter to Cold Case to West Wing, in between feature film roles in Mr. & Mrs. Smith and The Wedding Singer.

The prolific actress let us in on a little acting secret she picked up from her years in daytime television:

In soaps, the favorite way to end a scene has always been on a close-up of the character driving the scene. Sometimes Stephanie was so evil, I imagined she had a pet snake in her pocket. When the scene ended with a close-up of me, I’d ask if they wanted me to “pet the snake.” It became shorthand for a withering look.

Read more from Maree and a host of other soap opera actors, writers, producers and experts in Soap Opera 451: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama's Greatest Moments enhanced e-book, available on Amazon.com and BN.com!