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SON Community Back Online
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Wow - I had no idea she was one of the Eileen Siegels, let alone slumming it as a judge in the Higley years.

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I have been sent a message that Ellen Holly, an actress who appeared on One Life to Live for seventeen years, has passed away.

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19 minutes ago, danfling said:

I have been sent a message that Ellen Holly, an actress who appeared on One Life to Live for seventeen years, has passed away.

Very sad if true, though not shocking.

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A theatre colleague tagged me in a post by Robert Hooks about the passing of his dear friend, Miss Holly.

This breaks my heart.

Several months ago, I wrote her a letter that someone closer to her was kind enough to pass along for me. I hope she was able to read it and feel the warmth, admiration, love, and respect of another fan like me.

Edited by SFK

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15 minutes ago, SFK said:

A theatre colleague tagged me in a post by Robert Hooks about the passing of his dear friend, Miss Holly.

This breaks my heart.

Several months ago, I wrote her a letter that someone closer to her was kind enough to pass along for me. I hope she was able to read it and feel the warmth, admiration, love, and respect of another fan like me.

That was so kind of you. I hope she got to see the letter.

As almost all of Ellen Holly's time at OLTL is gone, if not for this place, I don't think I would have the fuller understanding or appreciation not just of what she represented, but of what she went through at the show, and the tones of the eras she was a part of. So I want to thank you, and so many others who are still here or are gone.

I'm sorry Carla never had the resolution from the show that she or Ellen deserved, but I hope places like this will keep her memory alive forever.

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Was she actually 92 this year?  That's remarkable

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8 hours ago, SFK said:

A theatre colleague tagged me in a post by Robert Hooks about the passing of his dear friend, Miss Holly.

This breaks my heart.

Several months ago, I wrote her a letter that someone closer to her was kind enough to pass along for me. I hope she was able to read it and feel the warmth, admiration, love, and respect of another fan like me.

It's wonderful you could do that.

I'll just repost my commentary from the Memoriam thread:

Quote

Ellen Holly was a legend in her own time. The fact that OLTL had a central Black heroine and storyline early on - and then lost her, only touching base with the same press photo of Carla in her hospital gown whenever an anniversary came around - both fascinated and ate at me for years. It's always been my most fervent wish that OLTL could have properly honored her or her character's family when both the show and the performer were still with us, though she allegedly turned down several opportunities to return in her later years (possibly also in the final months). I still haven't let go of that dream in some way, really; silly of me. I remember seeing one of her last film performances in 10,000 Black Men Named George. She still had grace, presence and authority - but it's her Television Academy interview on YT everyone should see. Sharp, funny, expansive, richly detailed and beautifully eloquent.

The advent of YouTube has, at least, given us a window into some of her surviving work as an actor finally, letting us get to know Carla. And her stage work, too - I believe her King Lear with James Earl Jones, GH's Rosalind Cash, AMC's Lee Chamberlin, AW's Douglass Watson and more in Shakespeare in the Park is still on YT. I know more of her is out there somewhere waiting to be found. And her memoir is stunning. I'm glad we can never forget her.

It is not lost on me that, IIRC, both Holly and Ellen Bethea (the original Rachel Gannon) performed "Funnyhouse of a Negro" onstage decades apart.

Edited by Vee

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9 hours ago, Bright Eyes said:

Can someone link or post the Robert Hooks post about her?

Bringing this over from the in memoriam thread:

https://www.facebook.com/grant.shipp.1/posts/1404513827139976


from Robert Hooks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hooks

Someone forwarded him Grant Shipp's facebook post, and he responded thus:
https://www.facebook.com/roberthooks/posts/10227339073200642

Edited by janea4old

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Although many at OLTL and ABC tried to diminish Ms. Holly and her impact - not just on the show, but on daytime in general - they never succeeded.  The mark she left was simply too indelible.  I only pray she is at peace now, and that she truly knows how much we, her fans - but her African-American fans, in particular - respected, admired and adored her. 

Rest in power, Ms. Holly, and may God be with you and your loved ones always.

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RIP Ellen!! 😥

I agree that it’s a shame all of those episodes of One Life featuring Carla,  no longer exist. Such a pivotal part of history that should still be intact! 

Edited by YRfan23

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4 hours ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

Thanks for sharing. As a rule, every newspaper with an online edition should make obituaries available without a subscription. 

Was there a mention of Miss Holly's passing on The View? Whoopi has been known to pay tribute to recently departed unsung artists during hot topics.

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So sad.  If Ellen's OLTL material is almost all lost forever, at least her long form interview a few years back exists for posterity (apologies if this has been reposted since the news, but I didn't see it): 

https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/ellen-holly#interview-clips

Clearly the Times obit writers didn't read her book - if ever there was a time soaps deserved to be savaged in the mainstream media, this was it, but instead they make it sound like OLTL was a largely positive experience for her.

I may go watch some of her recurring run on GL in the early '90s - even in a supporting role, she created a three-dimensional character who made every scene more engaging.

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