INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED ACTRESS DARLENE CONELY

DEATH ANNOUNCEMENT

January 15, 2007, LOS ANGELES, CA … Internationally renowned daytime drama

actress Darlene Conley, who played the vividly colored, comedic and tough

dame with a heart of gold, Sally Spectra on The Bold and the Beautiful,

died on January 14, 2007 from cancer.

“Darlene understood better than anyone that each moment of airtime was

precious”, said Bradley P. Bell, Executive Producer and Head Writer of The

Bold and the Beautiful. “She constantly entertained us with every move,

every breath, every inflection of her voice. Whether she was the villain,

the damsel, the sexpot, or the comedienne, Darlene was brilliant. An

extraordinary actress of film, radio, stage and television, my family had

the privilege and honor of Darlene gracing our shows for three decades.

She was truly one-of-a-kind. We will miss her beyond measure.”

Born in Chicago, Illinois on July 18, 1934, of Irish-German heritage, she

was discovered at age 15 by legendary Broadway impresario Jed Harris who

cast her as the Irish maid in a touring production of the 19th century

melodrama The Heiress, which starred Basil Rathbone. After graduating

high school, she toured the country with classical theater companies

before appearing in Shakespearean roles on Broadway with the Helen Hayes

Repertory Theater. She later appeared in a Broadway revival of the Night

of the Iguana, with Richard Chamberlain, and in David Merrick’s musical

The Baker’s Wife. Her Los Angeles theater credits included Cyrano de

Bergerac and Night of the Iguana (both with Chamberlain), The Time of the

Cuckoo with Jean Stapleton and Ring Around the Moon with Michael York.

Alfred *beep* cast Conley in her first feature film, The Birds, and she

worked with John Cassavetes in Faces and Minnie & Moscowitz. Conley also

appeared in The Valley of the Dolls, Play it as it Lays and Lady Sings the

Blues, as well as Tough Guys, with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas.

Conley has appeared in a host of made for television films, mini-series

and vintage prime-time dramatic series including Robert Kennedy & His

Times, The Fighter, The Choice, Return Engagement and The President’s

Plane is Missing as well as The Cosby Show, Murder, She Wrote, Cagney &

Lacey, Little House on the Prairie, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Highway

to Heaven.

Daytime television became home to Conley, who once said “It (daytime) is

really the best medium today for women of a certain age to do something

really flashy; it’s where what we do well as actresses matters.” Conley

portrayed Edith Baker on Days of Our Lives, Louie on Capitol and Trixie

Monahan on General Hospital before being given the role of the nefarious

Rose de Ville, by the late William J. Bell, on The Young and Restless.

When Bell co-created The Bold and the Beautiful with his wife Lee

Phillip-Bell, he envisioned a special role for Conley, the role of Sally

Spectra. Conley showcased her dramatic range and abilities with the

character, and over the years has portrayed an exotic repertoire of

offbeat flamboyant characters within the role. As Sally, Conley was a

master of disguises including Mae West, a German spy, an Italian gigolo, a

nun, and even a rendition of another B&B character, Massimo Marone.

For her portrayal of Sally Spectra on The Bold and the Beautiful, Conley

was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards and six Soap Opera Digest

Awards.

Additionally, Conley has the distinction of being the only daytime star to

be chosen by the world famous Madame Tussaud’s to have her character,

Sally Spectra, displayed in their gallery of wax figures, in both

Amsterdam and Las Vegas.

Conley is survived by her son, Raymond Woodson, ex-husband Bill Woodson,

sisters Carol Fontana and Sharon Wilson, a host of nieces and nephews, her

long time friend and caretaker, Eva Hansen and her manager of 24 years,

Sandra Siegal. Service arrangements are pending

I cannot believe she is gone. Now i'm back to tears all over again. This is just tragic. Simply tragic.

OMG! I want to cry!! That is SO sad. She was so amazing. May she rest in peace!!

I am stunned!

This is so sad!

I loved her as Sally Spectra and she was an amazing actress!

She will be missed!

If this is true it is very sad news, but at this point I still have hope because this news has not been made official by anyone yet, It is still not on the CBS website and that press release on the Bold and The beautiful message board looks to be fake, because of all the spelling errors, plus why would it be on there message board but not there front page makes zero sense to me anyway. The only way I will believe it is if CBS confirms it, something they have not done.

Number one her name is not even spelled right in the title of the so called press release. And why is there the word *Beep* in there instead of Hitchcock

Edited January 16, 200719 yr by winterguy125

The official announcement just makes it hurt all over again...this truly a sad day in daytime.

I just can't get her shot from the old opening out of my head...the one where she's in the green dress with her hands on her hips.

Here's a little collage I made of my favorite Sally/Darlene pics.

My prayers go out to her real family and also, her "reel" family. She will be missed.

Edited January 16, 200719 yr by Actor87

Soapdom (can we say that here?) has the same announcement but has more details and a quote from Barbara Bloom - and no spelling errors. I think the B&B message board "beeped" out the word HitchCOCK, by the way.

This is an enormous loss for daytime. That woman was fabulous and she will be sorely missed.

Oh my gosh, this so sad.

Rest in peace Mustang Sally!

thanks for all those great memories you gave us viewers...

My prayers to her family and friends. She will be missed. Though I haven't watched B&B in years, I always in enjoyed the sass and strength that Darlene brought to the role. And I LOVED her on screen relationships with Macy and Darla. She will be missed.

Damn.

Daytime loses another gem.

:(

This is devastating news. She was amazing on B&B and one of the few performers who made that show worth tuning into. I thought she was younger than 72 but that still seems young...especially for someone who had so much life in her. Daytime has lost a true gem.

She should be honored with a posthumous Emmy.

R.I.P Darlene Conley!

:(

This is devastating news. She was amazing on B&B and one of the few performers who made that show worth tuning into. I thought she was younger than 72 but that still seems young...especially for someone who had so much life in her. Daytime has lost a true gem.

She should be honored with a posthumous Emmy.

ITA Ponz.

What a loss. I feel like I have been whacked in the gut. Darlene represented everything that I enjoyed about B&B. Without her, the show is a little greyer and certainly far less Bold and Beautiful.

Here's an article from yahoo front page news

TV actress Darlene Conley dies in LA

By DAISY NGUYEN, Associated Press Writer

Tue Jan 16, 6:14 AM ET

LOS ANGELES - Darlene Conley, a veteran stage and television actress who entertained daytime audiences for nearly two decades as the feisty fashion mogul Sally Spectra on "The Bold and the Beautiful," has died. She was 72.

Conley died Sunday of stomach cancer at her Los Angeles home surrounded by family and friends, Eva Demirjian, a publicist for the CBS serial drama, said Monday.

She was diagnosed with cancer about three months ago, and the show's producers were deciding how to portray the fate of her character, Demirjian said.

"She constantly entertained us with every move, every breath, every inflection of her voice. Whether she was the villain, the damsel, the sexpot or the comedienne, Darlene was brilliant," said Bradley P. Bell, the show's executive producer.

She started on the long-running soap in December 1988, playing the flamboyant, red-haired chief of Spectra Creations and rival to Forrester Fashions. Her portrayal of Spectra earned her two Daytime Emmy nominations for best supporting actress and six Soap Opera Digest awards.

Daytime television "is really the best medium today for women of a certain age to do something really flashy; it's where what we do well as actresses matters," Conley once said.

The Chicago native began her acting career at 15 when she was cast in the touring production of the Broadway hit "The Heiress."

After graduating from high school, she appeared in several stage productions, including "Cyrano de Bergerac," "The Baker's Wife" and "Night of the Iguana."

She later found work in front of the camera, making small appearances in the movies "The Birds" and "Valley of the Dolls" and such television shows as "Murder, She Wrote," "Cagney & Lacey" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

She landed meatier roles, however, on daytime television in the late 1970s, playing a range of characters on "Days of Our Lives," "General Hospital" and "The Young and Restless."

Conley, who was divorced twice, is survived by her son, Raymond Woodson, and sisters Carol Fontana and Sharon Wilson.

Funeral arrangements were pending.

R!ck, I love that middle picture of DC in your sig -- tossing her hair and flirting with the photographer! What a star.