The soap world lost a number of legends this year dating back to the radio days. As we wind down the 2011 calendar year, we want to take a moment to remember those who passed away this year. Please share your thoughts in our Comments section and if we have omitted anyone accidentally please let us know so we can update this list. Each name links to our original story.
Tom Aldredge (1928-2011)
His television credits included recurring roles on THE SOPRANOS (as Carmela’s father), RYAN'S HOPE (as Matt Pearse) and DAMAGES (as Uncle Pete). He appeared last year in BOARDWALK EMPIRE as the father of the kingpin Nucky Thompson, played by Steve Buscemi.
Padma Atluri (1971-2011)
Writer for the new 90210.
Pedro Armendáriz Jr. (1971-2011)
In his career Armendáriz acted in at least 22 telenovelas most recently "LA FUERZA DEL DESTINO", ATREVETA A SONAR and DESTILANDO AMOR AS.
Phyllis Avery (1922-2011)
During her 50-year career, the petite blonde had roles in numerous television shows including the CBS soap opera THE CLEAR HORIZON as Anne Shelby (1960-1962) where she starred opposite Ed Kemmer (and Denise Alexander).
Reza Badiyi (1930-2011)
In the primetime soap world, he directed FALCON CREST, KNOTS LANDING and MODELS INC.
Frances Bay (1919-2011)
She made soap opera appearances including FLAMINGO ROAD, GREY'S ANATOMY, PASSIONS (Evil Old Lady) and SANTA BARBARA (Mrs. McRae, a neighbor of the Perkins family).
Doris Belack (1926-2011)
She played Anna Wolek Craig (1968-1977), her most famous daytime character. She was also seen as Madge Murray (1966-1968) and Nora Simpson (1978) on ANOTHER WORLD, Claudia Howard on THE DOCTORS (1980), and Beth Bryson on THE EDGE OF NIGHT (1981). She had appeared on EDGE more than once before 1981 the Mrs. Bryson character, opposite Chris Goutman's Sharkey, was her most memorable on that show.
Roberts Blossom (1924-2011)
He had a recurring role on the soap opera ANOTHER WORLD, as Burt Ordway. He later played Sven Petersen, for which he won a Soapy Award as favorite villain in 1978.
Eve Brent (1929-2011)
Brent, who acted in films and television for more than 60 years, had guest appearance in several primetime soaps including PAPER DOLLS, KNOTS LANDING and TWIN PEAKS. She also appeared on the daytime soap opera SANTA BARBARA as Mrs. Carmody.
Graham Brown (1924-2011)
In 1970 Brown appeared on DAYS OF OUR LIVES as Jeffrey Jones.
Huw Ceredig (1942-2011)
Welsh actor Ceredig was best known in his native country for playing Reg Harries in longstanding soap opera POBOL Y CYM for 29 years.
Jeff Conaway (1950-2011)
Conaway starred in TAXI and
Grease and played Mick Savage on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL.
Lynn Deerfield (1950-2011)
Deerfield played Holly Norris on GUIDING LIGHT from 1970 to 1976.
Tom Donovan (1922-2011)
Donovan's soap opera directing credits included GENERAL HOSPITAL, ANOTHER WORLD, RYAN'S HOPE, A WORLD APART, HIDDEN FACES, LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING and OUR PRIVATE WORLD.
Margaret Draper (1916-2011)
Draper starred on radio soap operas such as THE BRIGHTER DAY, MA PERKINS and PEPPER YOUNG'S FAMILY.
Betty Driver (1920-2011)
Driver played Betty on CORONATION STREET for 42 years.
Irving Elman (1915-2011)
With his wife Mildren ("Tex"), Elman was head writer of the daytime soaps SEARCH FOR TOMORROW (1976-1977) and GENERAL HOSPITAL (1977).
Mary Fickett (1928-2011)
For nearly 30 years, Fickett was loved and admired by millions of people as the good, compassionate nurse Ruth Parker Brent Martin on ALL MY CHILDREN.
Anne Francis (1930-2011)
Soap fans will remember Francis for her role as Arliss Cooper on DALLAS in 1981.
Dan Frazer (1921-2011)
Frazer played the role of Lt. Dan McCloskey on AS THE WORLD TURNS for 12 years.
Betty Ford (1918-2011)
Ford appeared in a 1983 episode of DYNASTY with her husband in a scene with Blake and Krystle Carrington.
Farley Granger (1925-2011)
Granger played one of Lisa's many husband's on AS THE WORLD TURNS, Earl Mitchell. His longtime partner was former ATWT executive producer Robert Calhoun, who passed away in 2008.
B. Donald Grant (1932-2011)
Among the shows at NBC that Grant (known as "Bud") played a role in developing was DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Grant joined CBS in 1972 as vice president of daytime programming, replacing Paul Rauch. The network successfully launched THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS a year later.
Anthony Herrera (1944–2011)
Herrera was beloved for his run as evil James Stenbeck on AS THE WORLD TURNS, as well as his roles on LOVING, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and THE SECRET STORM.
Peter Hobbs (1918-2011)
Hobbs played Peter Ames in THE SECRET STORM from 1954 to 1962.
Tresa Hughes (1929-2011)
Hughes played Emma Frame Ordway (Frankie, Molly, Wade, Sterling and Henry's mother) on ANOTHER WORLD on and off from June 1975 to June 1976. She was the second Emma (Beverlee McKinsey was the first).
Warren Leslie (1927-2011)
He wrote scripts for the soap opera THE SECRET STORM, whose head writer for a time was his sister, the actress and writer Bethel Leslie.
Judy Lewis (1935-2011)
Her longest running soap opera role was Susan Ames on THE SECRET STORM from 1964-1971. She also played Barbara Vining on GENERAL HOSPITAL in the 1970s. Her first soap role was Molly Scharf on KITTY FOYLE.
Sue Lloyd (1939-2011)
The actress was best known for her role as Barbara Hunter in hit ITV soap, CROSSROADS.
Olga Madsen (1947-2011)
When producer Joop van den Ende bought the rights of the Australian soap opera THE RESTLESS YEARS it was up to Olga Madsen to turn it into a Dutch version. That resulted in the Netherlands' number one soap opera GOEDE TIJDEN SLECHTE TIJDEN.
Christopher "Chip" Mayer (1954-2011)
Mayer played T.J. Daniels on SANTA BARBARA on the 1980s. He was previously married to THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS star Eileen Davidson.
Marian Mercer (1935-2011)
She had roles on ST. ELSEWHERE, MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN and PROVIDENCE.
Patricia Modell (1931-2011)
Her last television role was as Nurse Meg Bentley Baldwin in GENERAL HOSPITAL in the late 1960s. She was known as Patricia Modell before marrying NFL owner Art Modell.
A.C. Nielsen Jr. (1919-2011)
Nielsen Jr. transformed the company his father founded in 1923 into an international leader in market research, helping to make its name synonymous with television ratings.
Patrice O’Neal (1969-2011)
O'Neal was a former writer for WWE/WWF.
Paul Picerni (1922-2011)
Among his many credits were the roles of Dr. Dan Garrett on THE YOUNG MARRIEDS from 1964-1966 and Colonel Amir on CAPITOL in 1983.
David Pressman (1913-2011)
He worked as a director on the daytime soap operas ANOTHER WORLD (1967-1970) and ONE LIFE TO LIVE, winning three Emmy Awards for his work on OLTL where he stayed for 25 years.
James Pritchett (1922-2011)
James Pritchett was best known to daytime soap opera fans as Dr. Matt Powers on THE DOCTORS. His other soap roles included ALL MY CHILDREN, AS THE WORLD TURNS and THE SECRET STORM. His Bruce Elliott on ATWT had an affair with Lisa Hughes while she was still married to Bob in 1962. He also made an appearance on GUIDING LIGHT.
Francesco Quinn (1963-2011)
Quinn's soap roles included Tomas del Cerro on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS (a novelist involved with Nina) and Syed Ali on 24.
Cliff Robertson (1923-2011)
Among his television work was a season on FALCON CREST in 1983-84 as Dr. Michael Ranson.
Jane Russell (1921-2011)
In 1983 she appeared in the primetime soap, THE YELLOW ROSE.
Hubert Schlafly (1919-2011)
He invented the teleprompter which debuted in 1950 on the soap opera THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS.
Elisabeth Sladen (1946-2011)
Sladen played Anita Reynolds on CORONATION STREET.
Sherwood Schwartz (1916-2011)
Schwartz created GILLIGAN'S ISLAND and THE BRADY BUNCH, which eventually turned into a primetime soap called THE BRADYS.
Helen Stenborg (1955-2011)
Stenborg is known to soap opera fans for her role as Helga Lindeman on ANOTHER WORLD from January 1977 to February 1978. Helga was the Cory housekeeper and a reluctant participant in several of Sven Peterson's schemes over the years. She also appeared on RYAN'S HOPE and ONE LIFE TO LIVE.
Kaye Stevens (1933-2011)
From 1974 to 1979, she played Jeri Clayton on DAYS OF OUR LIVES.
Doug Stevenson (1955-2011)
Stevenson played Lee Sentell on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW from 1979 to 1982.
Haila Stoddard (1913-2011)
On TV Stoddard appeared as the wicked Aunt Pauline on CBS' THE SECRET STORM from 1953-71.
Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)
Taylor famously guest-starred on GENERAL HOSPITAL during Luke and Laura's wedding, and later on ALL MY CHILDREN.
Sada Thompson (1927-2011)
From 1976 to 1980 she starred as Kate Lawrence, the matriarch of an upper-middle-class family in ABC drama FAMILY.
Margaret Tyzack (1931-2011)
Tyzack appeared in BBC One soap opera EASTENDERS, as Lydia Simmonds, the maternal grandmother of Albert Square regular Janine Butcher.
Jane White (1922-2011)
She played Lydia Holliday on THE EDGE OF NIGHT in the late 1960s. On A WORLD APART she played Olivia Hampton in 1971. In 1979 she appeared as Tante Helene LeVeaux on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW.
Robert White (1924-2011)
White earned a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1978 for GUIDING LIGHT and won WGA Awards in 1980 and 1985 for GUIDING LIGHT and SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, respectively.
