Tony-award nominee Frances Sternhagen, who played two roles on One Life to Live has died.    She played Eileen Siegel #2 (in between Patricia Roe and Alice Hirson), Judge Brismaid in 1984 and 1985 and Custody Judge Granger in 2006.

She also appeared as Jesse Redin on The Secret Storm and roles on The Doctors and Love of Life, and her son appeared on Ryan's Hope.  Here is an obituary from the Associated Press:

 

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FILE - Actress Frances Sternhagen attends the premiere of “Julie & Julia” in New York, on July 30, 2009. Sternhagen, the veteran character actor who won two Tony Awards and became a familiar maternal face to TV viewers later in life in such shows as “Cheers,” “ER,” “Sex and the City” and “The Closer,” has died. She was 93. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer, File)

She was nominated for Tonys four other times, for starring or featured roles in “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window,” “Equus,” “Angel” and “Morning’s at Seven.” In 2013, she played Edie Falco’s mother in the off-Broadway play “The Madrid.”

“I have been very fortunate,” Sternhagen told the Daily Breeze of Torrance, California, in 2002. “And I think a lot of that is because I’m considered a character actor — which really means you can do a variety of things. It doesn’t mean that you can’t do leading parts, because I have. But you’re not limited to playing yourself.”

In a 2005 review of “Steel Magnolias,” then-Associated Press drama critic Michael Kuchwara called Sternhagen “one of the treasures of New York theater, able to invest any role she plays with considerable sympathy. Here, she turns what could be a throwaway part into one that provides much laughter — and applause.”

FILE - Actors Tom Aldredge, left, and Frances Sternhagen celebrate the opening of their play “On Golden Pond” in New York on Feb. 28, 1979. Sternhagen, the veteran character actor who won two Tony Awards and became a familiar maternal face to TV viewers later in life in such shows as “Cheers,” “ER,” “Sex and the City” and “The Closer,” has died. She was 93. (AP Photo/G. Paul Burnett, File)

She kept up a flourishing career while at the same time raising six children. She always said her family came first — commuting from her suburban home in New Rochelle while acting on Broadway — but admitted that touring and movie and TV work sometimes took her away from home.

“I remember telling my older daughter when she was about 13 that sometimes I felt terribly guilty that I wasn’t home all the time,” she told a Gale Group reporter. “And my daughter said, `Oh, Mom, you would have been impossible if you were home all the time.′ I’m sure she was right.”

TV viewers knew her as played the rich grandmother of Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) in the long-running “ER.” On “Cheers” she was the know-it-all mother of postman Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger). “She was just impossible and great fun to play,” she told The New York Times. The role brought her two Emmy nominations.

More recently, she had a recurring role in “Sex and the City” as Bunny MacDougal, the strong-minded mother-in-law of Charlotte (Kristin Davis), which brought her her third Emmy nomination, and played Kyra Sedgwick’s mother in “The Closer.” Soap opera fans in the 1960s knew her in “Love of Life” as Toni Prentiss Davis, who carried a gun and went mad.

“I must say it’s fun to play these snobby older ladies. It’s always more fun to be obnoxious. I have known women like that, and I can imitate them, I guess,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 2002.

Playwright Paul Rudnick on Wednesday called her “a wonderful actress, capable of the highest comedy and deeply moving drama.” She was, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “an indelible presence.”

In “Equus,” opposite Anthony Hopkins and Peter Firth on Broadway in 1974, she originated the role of the mother of the troubled youth whose shocking act of violence against horses sets the drama in motion, earning her a Tony nod.

In 1979, she appeared in the original Broadway production of “On Golden Pond” in the role of Ethel Thayer that Katharine Hepburn won an Oscar for in the film version. “I feel very close to Ethel,” Sternhagen told the Times. “She reminds me of my mother and I took to her immediately.”

Sternhagen was one of three actors to handle the title role over the long off-Broadway run of “Driving Miss Daisy,” another stage role that became an Oscar-winner on screen, this time for Jessica Tandy.

She made her film debut in “Up the Down Staircase” in 1967. Among her other movies: “Hospital,” “Two People,” “Fedora,” “Bright Lights Big City,” “Misery,” “Doc Hollywood,” “Raising Cain” and “Curtain Call.”

Sternhagen was born in 1930, in Washington, D.C., where her father was a tax court judge. As a child she loved to perform — she recalled herself as “a shameful show-off” — but she never considered an acting career. She entered Vassar as a history major, but a friendly teacher suggested another direction: acting.

“Even though I was acting in college,” she told the New York Daily News, “it hadn’t occurred to me to major in drama.” But when it was noted that she was doing “C” work in history, Sternhagen switched to drama.

After graduation she taught drama, modern dance and singing outside Boston, earning $2,000 for the year before deciding to pursue work in the theater.

“I thought I would try it, see if I liked it, and then get out,” she told the Times in 1981. “But you never get out. It’s an addiction, because it touches your emotions, because it’s where you want to live. ... I think those of us who can stay in it are just plain lucky.”

She met her husband, actor Thomas A. Carlin, while appearing in a production in Maryland. He died of heart failure in 1991.

“I was lucky,” she told the Times. “I usually didn’t show a pregnancy until the sixth or seventh month. I was afraid to stop acting, because if I stopped I would never start again.”

“I can’t say it’s been easy. There have been quite a number of things I haven’t done. You make choices and have to stick with them.”

She and Carlin had four sons, Paul, Tony, Peter and John, and two daughters, Amanda and Sarah. She also is survived by nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

“A celebration of her remarkable career and life is planned for mid January, near her 94th birthday,” said a statement from her family. “We continue to be inspired by her love and life.”

 

The second wife of Leslie Barrett, Ruth Livingston, played the role of Harriet McFadden on All My Children.   She was also in a television commercial for Publishers Clearing House.

Con Roche also auditioned for the role of Dr. Jeff Martin #3.    Robert Perault was cast in the role.   (This was around 1975,)

Although Rene Jarrett may have been in demand following the cancellation of Nancy, she did return to New York.

I know that she is in a mouthwash commercial with Diana Douglas (Love Is a Many Splendored Thing), and she played Ginger Kurtz #2 on Somerset.

I understand that All My Children offered her a role, but she did not want to take it.   She and her husband together were said to have been the highest paid, at the time, in daytime television had she accepted the offer.

How I wish that these early episodes had been preserved!

I had never known that Phil and Helen had lost a child.

I notice that Tom is called a "widower."    Was he hiding the truth about Martha, or did the show change the storyline later?

That was my original point - that she failed to mention the show at all.

Mr. Marland wrote for two thirty-minute daytime dramas, The Doctors and Loving.

I think that he would have been a poor choice as a writer for Ryan's Hope or for any other show, for that matter.

 

I was thinking that the show aired on that network.    I guess that I should have considered that she was talking about the shows that the network owned.

The article failed to mention my favorite ABC program, The Edge of Night.

That reminds me of when Donald Briscoe was playing Chris Collins on Dark Shadows.   He left the show aburptly (personal and medical reasons), and his scenes with Lara Parker (Angelique) were played by the show's assistant director (or producer), Ken McEwen.    I think that Mr. Ewen was also sometimes credited as Sean Du Sullivan.

The name of the character was Larry Chase, and he did appear on more than one episode.   He also shared scenes with Lisa Richards as Sabrina.

I want to inquire about an actor who appeared on two soap operas:   Paul Carpinelli.

 

Mr. Carpinelli appeared as Lenny on The Edge of Night in the late 1960s and as Flip Malone on The Guiding Light from 1968 to 1969.

I do know that he acted in two short films in 2014 and 2019.

I had realized until I read the post above that NBC had two different character with the same name but different genders:   Chris Kirby on How to Survive a Marriage (female) and Chris Kirby on Somerset (male).

 

I had never heard of this film:  Another Nice Mess You've Gotten Me Into.

One of the featured performers on the movie poster was Dihan Williams (Crystal Ames of Somerset).

Here is a review of the film:

 

 

If online remarks about this obscure comedy are any indication, people were so eager to laugh at Richard Nixon’s expense during his campaign for a second term as U.S. president that the few cinemagoers who caught Another Fine Mess in theaters recall it fondly. Alas, time has damaged this film more than Nixon’s infamous CREEP (Committee to Re-Elect the President) ever did, if one believes allegations that CREEP helped prevent Another Fine Mess from being widely exhibited. Written and directed by Bob Einstein, who cut his teeth writing for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (Tom Smothers produced this movie), Another Fine Mess portrays Nixon and his vice president, Spiro Agnew, as old-time comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. Literally. The actors portraying Nixon and Agnew mimic the comedy duo’s slapstick antics, with Nixon incarnating the grumpy Oliver Hardy while Agnew represents the idiotic Stan Laurel. To hammer the analogy, Einstein periodically cuts to film clips of the real Laurel and Hardy. Stupidity reigns in Another Nice Mess. A running gag involves Secret Service agents disguised as ferns, and one bit features agents reacting to out-of-control flatulence. In the most elaborate scene, Agnew delivers so many offensive malapropisms during a state dinner that he causes a visiting dignitary to declare war. And in the “highlight” of the movie, Nixon and Agnew get wasted on pot-laced cookies. Throughout Another Fine Mess, the jokes are obvious, the performances are weak, and the production values are pathetic. It’s also confusing that masterful mimic Rich Little has top billing, since it’s not clear whether Little portrays Nixon throughout the film; the actor with the most screen time does a weak approximation of Nixon’s voice, whereas another actor appears as Nixon in brief interstitial bits, commenting on the movie as it unspools, and that performer gets Nixon’s voice right. Anyway, sorting out who did what isn’t worth the trouble, because this dated flick is a comedy footnote at best. Einstein later portrayed daredevil character Super Dave Osborn, and fellow Smothers Brothers writer Steve Martin plays a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it supporting role.

 

 

 

 

Michael Ingram (Lt. Vinnie Woleck #3 on One Life to Live) passed away on September 20 of this year.

Here is an article that about him that was published in 1979 by the New York Times:

 

A Music Teacher Takes to the Stage

 

By Lawrence Van Gelder

• April 15, 1979

 

“IGUESS I'm the latest of the bloomers,” said Michael Ingram. You see, back in the days when Michael Harvey Ingram was an undergraduate at Hofstra, people like Francis Ford Coppola, Lainie Kazan and Madeline Kahn were on the campus. And while they were making names for themselves in places like Hollywood or on Broadway, Mr. Ingram was mainly spending his time as a teacher of choral music in the Sachem School District in Lake Ronkonkoma.

But lately, the 40‐year‐old Mr. Ingram has been making up for lost time, appearing on daytime television as Detective Vince Wolek in “One Life to Live” and singing and dancing at the Broadway Theater as Teo, the gentle pharmacist, in the musical “Sarava.”

Performing has nearly always been a part of Mr. Ingram's life. “I always had a flair for getting up in front of people and being quick with words and jokes,” he said.

The Brooklyn‐born actor remembers appearing in choral and drama groups at the high schools in Jamaica and Smithtown, where his family moved in 1955. When his father, a pharmacist, invested in a summer theater in Smithtown, Michael got a chance to work in professional productions.

 

 

Still, he went off to Fredonia, a state teachers’ college, intending to become a music teacher. And his ambition remained unchanged when he transferred to Hofstra, which awarded him a Bachelor of Science and Music Education degree in 1961. That September found him teaching music in the Babylon school system, but after about two years, he went off to do summer stock, followed by a tour with the Robert Shaw Chorale.

 

 

In 1964, he returned to teaching, spending the next “12 or 13” years in the Ronkonkoma schools — years during which he continued his studies in music and dance, did some summer performing, was married, became a father and was divorced.

In March 1976, Mr. Ingram, who decribes his voice as a lyric baritone, received a contract to perform with the Detroit Symphony. “I went out there,” he said, “and realized: Hey, this is what I want to do again.”

So in the summer of 1977 ne began making the rounds of agents for the first time in his life. “Within’ five weeks of being sent out by different agents, I got my first commercial — it was a beer commercial. And I came back to teaching in September of 1977 and lasted 10 days. I had so many calls for commercial auditions I just told the school district that I couldn't continue anymore. I wanted a leave of absence. I realized I had outgrown public school education. I was just too prepared to do too many other things.”

He felt no hesitancy about what he was about to do. “Security is only within your mind,” he said. “It has nothing to do with a steady paycheck. I found myself entering into something that I might never work at but I felt wonderfully secure in attempting to work at.”

 

When he looked at performers on television, he felt confident of his performing abilities. “It was not out of conceit,” he said. “It was out of self‐assurance.”

His self‐assurance was not misleading. By November 1977, he was under contract for three years to “One Life to Live.” And in the spring of 1978, he auditioned for a workshop production of “Sarava.” “I didn't even know I was auditioning for Mitch Leigh, the composer. I was just myself.” He got the part.

What's ahead? “People have talked to me and said I will probably be doing situation comedies or movies. I say: If that's the case, fine. I really just want to continue. I want to do good work in good vehicles and the medium is really unimportant,”

I can imagine that the obituary information was submitted by a publicist or by his family.   I cannot imagine why mention of his soap opera work (Love of Life, Dark Shadows, All My Children) was omitted.

Or, perhaps his theatre work was list and was so lengthy that the television information that followed was dropped by the editors of the publication.

 

Looking at his obituary, I am just realizing after all of these years that both he and the actress who played his second wife on All My Children were both born in Oklahoma.   

Actress Dorothy Stinette, one of the actresses who played Rose, passed away on October 23.

Here is an obituary from the Wichata Eagle:

 

Dorothy Stinnette Obituary

Dorothy Stinnette

May 22, 1928 - October 23, 2023

 

New York City, New York - Dorothy C. Stinnette, born in Wichita, KS, May 22, 1928, passed away in her Manhattan apartment October 23, 2023. A private graveside prayer at White Chapel Memorial Gardens in Wichita was her final request. Raised in Kansas on a street called Broadway and with the name Dorothy, it seems early in life her destiny would be 'the yellow brick road'. Indeed, she excelled in theatrics at Wichita East High, pursued her bachelor's degree at Northwestern University, and began her acting career with a move to NYC in the early 1950's. Always proud of being a 'working actress', she loved the stage and the many roles she played across the country. Early in her career she had a part in Murder, Inc., served as a back up to Ginger Rogers in Hello Dolly, and was a permanent cast member in such television programs as The Edge of Night, Loving, and Somerset. She was hardnosed Mrs. Hatcher in the nostalgic McDonald's commercial of the late 1980's. Dorothy always gave generously of herself to her career and to her friends and family. Preceded in death by parents Owen and Stella (Smith) Stinnett; siblings Grace (Atherton), Owen Jr., Helen (Watson), and Paul; and beloved nephew Larry Watson and a niece Cherie Branson. She is survived by nephews Mike Stinnett and Danny Stinnett and his wife Cheri; Great nieces Deidra Branson and Emily Stinnett (Cruz) and Great nephew Graham Stinnett (Melica); and Great-Great niece and nephew Ruthie and Lionel Stinnett. Our thanks to the medical staff at Bellevue and NYU Langone Hospitals and Riverside Premier Rehab Center for the months of care needed so that she could return to her apartment. Caregivers from Home Instead watched over her 24/7 during her final month and Calvary Home Hospice provided additional support the final week of her life. We thank them for the compassionate care that fulfilled her wish to reach the end of that yellow brick road while in her apartment. Dorothy was well known for her love of animals. The ashes of her last two dogs will be placed in her casket before burial. Donations in her name would be welcomed at North Shore Animal League America, Port Washington, NY, a no kill shelter that she supported.

 

 

Is Hannibal Penny, Jr. (Dr. Clem Moultrie on Ryan's Hope) quoted in Tom Lissanti's book, and, if so, what did he say?

Actress Dorothy Stinette, who was brilliant in her role as Laura Delaney Cooper on Somerset, passed away on October 23.

 

Here is the obituary from the Wichata Eagle:

 

Dorothy Stinnette Obituary

Dorothy Stinnette

May 22, 1928 - October 23, 2023

 

New York City, New York - Dorothy C. Stinnette, born in Wichita, KS, May 22, 1928, passed away in her Manhattan apartment October 23, 2023. A private graveside prayer at White Chapel Memorial Gardens in Wichita was her final request. Raised in Kansas on a street called Broadway and with the name Dorothy, it seems early in life her destiny would be 'the yellow brick road'. Indeed, she excelled in theatrics at Wichita East High, pursued her bachelor's degree at Northwestern University, and began her acting career with a move to NYC in the early 1950's. Always proud of being a 'working actress', she loved the stage and the many roles she played across the country. Early in her career she had a part in Murder, Inc., served as a back up to Ginger Rogers in Hello Dolly, and was a permanent cast member in such television programs as The Edge of Night, Loving, and Somerset. She was hardnosed Mrs. Hatcher in the nostalgic McDonald's commercial of the late 1980's. Dorothy always gave generously of herself to her career and to her friends and family. Preceded in death by parents Owen and Stella (Smith) Stinnett; siblings Grace (Atherton), Owen Jr., Helen (Watson), and Paul; and beloved nephew Larry Watson and a niece Cherie Branson. She is survived by nephews Mike Stinnett and Danny Stinnett and his wife Cheri; Great nieces Deidra Branson and Emily Stinnett (Cruz) and Great nephew Graham Stinnett (Melica); and Great-Great niece and nephew Ruthie and Lionel Stinnett. Our thanks to the medical staff at Bellevue and NYU Langone Hospitals and Riverside Premier Rehab Center for the months of care needed so that she could return to her apartment. Caregivers from Home Instead watched over her 24/7 during her final month and Calvary Home Hospice provided additional support the final week of her life. We thank them for the compassionate care that fulfilled her wish to reach the end of that yellow brick road while in her apartment. Dorothy was well known for her love of animals. The ashes of her last two dogs will be placed in her casket before burial. Donations in her name would be welcomed at North Shore Animal League America, Port Washington, NY, a no kill shelter that she supported.

Actress Dorothy Stinette, who played Nadine Alexander Scott on The Edge of Night, passed away on October 23.  Here is the obituary from the Witchata Eagle.

 

Dorothy Stinnette Obituary

Dorothy Stinnette

May 22, 1928 - October 23, 2023

New York City, New York - Dorothy C. Stinnette, born in Wichita, KS, May 22, 1928, passed away in her Manhattan apartment October 23, 2023. A private graveside prayer at White Chapel Memorial Gardens in Wichita was her final request. Raised in Kansas on a street called Broadway and with the name Dorothy, it seems early in life her destiny would be 'the yellow brick road'. Indeed, she excelled in theatrics at Wichita East High, pursued her bachelor's degree at Northwestern University, and began her acting career with a move to NYC in the early 1950's. Always proud of being a 'working actress', she loved the stage and the many roles she played across the country. Early in her career she had a part in Murder, Inc., served as a back up to Ginger Rogers in Hello Dolly, and was a permanent cast member in such television programs as The Edge of Night, Loving, and Somerset. She was hardnosed Mrs. Hatcher in the nostalgic McDonald's commercial of the late 1980's. Dorothy always gave generously of herself to her career and to her friends and family. Preceded in death by parents Owen and Stella (Smith) Stinnett; siblings Gra,, Owen Jr., Helen, and Paul; and beloved nephew Larry Watson and a niece Cherie Branson. She is survived by nephews Mike Stinnett and Danny Stinnett and his wife Cheri; Great-nieces Deidra Branson and Emily Stinnett and Great-nephew Graham Stinnett; and Great-Great niece and nephew Ruthie and Lionel Stinnett. Our thanks to the medical staff at Bellevue and NYU Langone Hospitals and Riverside Premier Rehab Center for the months of care needed so that she could return to her apartment. Caregivers from Home Instead watched over her 24/7 during her final month and Calvary Home Hospice provided additional support the final week of her life. We thank them for the compassionate care that fulfilled her wish to reach the end of that yellow brick road while in her apartment. Dorothy was well known for her love of animals. The ashes of her last two dogs will be placed in her casket before burial. Donations in her name would be welcomed at North Shore Animal League America, Port Washington, NY, a no kill shelter that she supported.

 

 

 

 

Actor Peter White, who played Lincoln Tyler #4 on All My Children, has passed away.    Here is an obituary:

 

Peter White was born on October 10, 1937, in New York City, New York. He made a name for himself in television and film, with notable roles in movies like “Dave,” “Thirteen Days,” and “Armageddon.” However, it was his role as Lincoln Tyler on the beloved soap opera “All My Children” that earned him a special place in the hearts of fans worldwide. His portrayal of the character brought a depth and authenticity that resonated with audiences across generations.

 

Actor Peter White, who playe Jerry Ames on The Secret Storm, has passed away

 

Here is an obituary:

I loved the character of Valerie!   I preferred her with Jim rather than Kelly.   But, I did not really object to the pairing of Valerie and Kelly.    Once again, Mr. Slesar had a good romantic pair (Jody and Kelly) but broke up the romance to progress the storylines.

I know that this should be common working knowledge, but I cannot remember.  I had just begun watching One Life in earnest when Shepherd Strudwick was "killed" off the show.   I guess that was in 1975.  

What actress was playing Dr. Dorian Cramer Lord at the time:  Nancy Pinkerton or Claire Mallis (my favorite in the role)?

 

I also remember that the Vernon family was fairly new in town with Samantha about to return from her trip.   (The original actress was replaced at that time by Julie/Julia Montgomery.)

The network also campaigned for actress Frances Fisher (Deborah "Red" Saxon on The Edge of Night; Suzette Saxon on The Guiding Light) to replace Sarah Felder as Siobhan Ryan.    Her contract on The Edge of Night was about to expire, and she was sent on a publicity trip with Richard van Vleet (All My Children) and Karen Morris-Gowdy around this time.   I don't know if that is when they tried to persuade her to change to Ryan's Hope or if the publicity trip gave then the idea of Ms. Fisher as Siobhan.

I have been told that the late Pamela Toll (The Doctors, Pammy Davis on Somerset) was auditioned for the role of Mary at some point and that she was brilliant in the role.   However, she and the producers or network could not come up with her salary demands and she was never cast as Mary.

Yes, during the Iran Contragate hearings, Ryan's Hope was aired for a few days in between All My Children and One Life to Live.   It felt very comfortable to me.