Nancy Pinkerton Peabody (ex-Dorian Lord, OLTL) has passed away

[Bright Eyes]

Nancy Pinkerton Peabody, Original Dorian, Has Passed

Nancy Pinkerton Peabody, an actress, photographer, and more recently a real estate agent, died on March 4 at the Westhampton Care Center. She was 69. “Doctors described the cause of death as heart failure. To all her knew her, her heart never failed for an instant,” her life partner, Fred Nagel of Springs, wrote in her obituary.

Ms. Peabody was born on May 7, 1940, in Omaha, where she was raised by her mother, Merle, and adoptive father, Arthur Pinkerton.

She began her professional acting career at 17, when she was recruited by the Cleveland Repertory Theater Company to play the leading role in “The Diary of Anne Frank” and in many subsequent productions. She moved on to New York, where she performed in numerous Broadway and Off Broadway plays before moving in the 1970s to daytime television. On television, she is best known for her portrayal of Dorian Lord, a character she created for the daytime drama ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Dixie Carter, who passed over the weekend, once filled in for Pinkerton as Dorian.

Pinkerton's other soap roles included Beth on THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Karen ON SOMERSET, Viveca on THE DOCTORS, Dorothy on AS THE WORLD TURNS, and Helen on GUIDING LIGHT.

When she left acting, Ms. Peabody turned her creativity to photography. In the late 1980s, she produced an extensive exhibit titled “Love in the Time of AIDS.” It depicted and promoted volunteerism in response to the then-rampant AIDS epidemic. The exhibit was displayed on the north-facing wall of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

After several years of weekending in East Hampton, she and Mr. Nagel moved full time to a house they bought near Accabonac Harbor in Springs. She and Mr. Nagel worked in the real estate business with Allan M. Schneider Associates, Cook Pony Farm, and, most recently, the Corcoran Group.

“She had a contagious love of life and a wonderful sense of humor,” Mr. Nagel wrote.

Ms. Peabody is also survived by a sister, Jeannie Harris of La Jolla, Calif., a half brother, Dean Hokanson of Omaha, and a half sister, Monie Thompson of Bellevue, Neb.

She was cremated. Mr. Nagel is planning a memorial service on her birthday, May 7, at their house in Springs.

Source: WeLoveSoaps

[All My Shadows]

!!!!!!

Good Lord, didn't Dixie Carter temporarily replace Pinkerton for a bit in the late 70s!? This is just starting to get scary.

RIP!

ETA: OK, I just caught the part in the obit where it says DC stood in for her.

[Bright Eyes]

I know, it is a little eerie. I have heard only great things about Pinkerton on OLTL and wish I had gotten to see more of her. Being born in the late 80's sucks balls!

RIP! I'd say she is an unsung hero of daytime!

[MichaelGL]

Wow, and she was still at a rather healthy age, 69? Just like DC.

May she rest in peace, she left behind a legacy in daytime.

[SFK]

This is just too much, I'm starting to go numb with all of these losses. I was hoping for one great Nancy Pinkerton interview from a site like WLS. Hopefully Erika Slezak and her other former cast members will share memories of working with her. Along with Robin Strasser's Rachel and Beverlee McKinsey's Iris, Nancy Pinkerton's Dorian is a soap performance that I sorely missed and far too little surviving material remains.

May she rest in peace, it sounds like she led a marvelous life post-soap career.

[Cheap21]

I did read earlier that she died last month. I wonder what took so long for this to come out

[DRW50]

Sad There would be no Dorian without her, possibly no OLTL today. She took Dorian through some of the character's coldest, hardest years, and made her a huge viewer favorite.

Here's a bit of her work on ATWT, as Dorothy Connors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w-mZ5J8s94

[SFK]

I would really love to see her in scenes with Shepperd Strudwick. My only exposure to Dorian/Victor scenes is from recreated flashbacks/Viki's nightmares. There's got to be something still out there, right?

[ER Tosh]

How much of 1970's OLTL is out there anyway?

[SFK]

I think a couple of late '60s, sporadic mid-'70s, and the continuing collection starts around '78/'79. I think.

[Mr. Vixen]

So sad...She was far too young, just like DC.

Eerie how two Dorian's are now dead. I hope Elaine Princi isn't next :/

[SFK]

I think Elaine's okay, her sister Carla passed a few months ago however. I'm hedging my words because I'm not trying to put anybody in the ground, but there are a lot of soap folks still living whose oral histories we need to get on record before it's too late.

[DRW50]

I know Nancy was written out of OLTL over 30 years ago and I know most people don't even remember her as Dorian but since the show recognizes that their roles have been played by more than one actor, I hope they can put up a little photo of her or have Erika Slezak say a brief word about her. I'm not going to picket ABC if this doesn't happen or anything, I know it's not realistic to expect a soap to do that, but I hope they might.

[Mr. Vixen]

I agree with this. That would be very nice.

[SFK]

I'll second SoapBoy94, that would be very nice. I believe it's ErikaSlezakFan (?) who runs the Erika Slezak fanclub/newsletter and weeks ago I had the idea to write him with my own question, if Erika could give brief rememberances of the various Dorians she worked with throughout the years, how she'd compare Viki's relationship with the character given what each lady brought to the role.