GUIDING LIGHT's Maureen Garrett Comes Out Publicly

With the end of GUIDING LIGHT in 2009, the elusive Maureen Garrett, now 64, seemed to disappear altogether. She no longer felt the desire to pursue acting. She left New York and quietly disappeared from television. But now she's back, ready to let her fans know more about her personal life, in a new story from Out Magazine. She’s starting by revealing her 20-year relationship with her partner, Janet Morgan (pictured second from left).

50 Greatest Soap Couples: #6 Roger & Holly From GUIDING LIGHT

COUPLE: Roger Thorpe & Holly Norris
SHOW: GUIDING LIGHT
RANK: 6
PLAYED BY:
Roger: Michael Zaslow, Joel Fabiani, Dennis Parlato
Holly: Lynn Deerfield, Maureen Garrett
YEARS: 1971-1980; 1989-1998

STORY:
Much to her mother's chagrin, Holly went to work for her father, Stanley Norris.  Stanley wanted to keep Holly busy and out of his hair and asked his employee, Roger, to date her.  Roger saw this as an opportunity to move up the corporate ladder.   Holly began dating Peter Wexler, but couldn't fight her intense attraction to Roger and eventually lost her virginity to him.  Roger was smitten with Janet Mason and Holly was jealous.  Seeing Roger leaving Janet's apartment one night, Holly ran off and was hit by a car and became paralyzed.  At Cedar's Hospital, she met Dr. Ed Bauer who treated her and the two of them began a relationship.  During a trip to Las Vegas, Ed got drunk and married Holly.  Roger Thorpe returned to town and Holly was still fascinated by him.  The two began a torrid affair and Holly became pregnant.

CLASSIC CLIPS: Roger & Holly in 'Guiding Light'

GUIDING LIGHT's Roger and Holly had one of the most complicated relationships in soap opera history. In the clips below, their relationship reached a new low when Roger rapes Holly. Later, Holly shoots him during his confrontation with Ed.

CLASSIC CLIPS: Maureen Garrett

Maureen Garrett came in at #18 on the 50 Greatest Soap Actresses of All Time list. Here are some classic clips of Garrett including her work on GUIDING LIGHT.

1976-1980: The life and times of Holly and Roger - Ed, Roger rapes Holly, Holly shoots Roger, the carnival, Santo Domingo.

1989: Roger goes to Holly worried for Blake's sanity.

1990: Holly tests Roger's faithfulness to Alexandra.
1991: Alexandra goes to visit Holly in the hospital.

1992: Holly admits to Blake that she doesn't love her.
1992: Maureen accuses Holly of having an affair with Ed.

1993: Michelle confides in Holly.
1993: Ed admits to Holly the real reason for Maureen's death.

1993: Holly and Roger kiss.
1995: Fletcher pressures Holly to leave town.

1999: Holly has kidnapped the children of Springfield.
2009: Ed and Holly's happy ending.

FLASHBACK: Maureen Garrett 1979

Maureen Garrett: A Gentle Crusader

By Joanne Douglas
Soap Opera Digest
December 18, 1979

Intuition is a powerful phenomenon—one that is rarely, if ever, misleading or deceptive. The moment I began watching Maureen Garrett's sensitive, compassionate portrayal of GUIDING LIGHT's beleaguered Holly, I instinctively knew the actress behind the TV façade must be somebody very special. Someone very understanding. Maureen proved to embody precisely those qualities, plus a few surprises.

Dressed casually in sporty brown culottes, short-sleeved shirt and flat sandals, a huge tote bag slung over her shoulder, Maureen leaped out of a cab into the GUIDING LIGHT studio. Tall (5' 7") and slender (119 lbs.), with warm honey-brown eyes and glistening auburn hair, she reminded me of a fawn. Maureen exudes a peaceful, serene intensity...low-keyed self-assurance.

FLASHBACK: Maureen Garrett 1977

Maureen Garrett: "I Would Survive If I Couldn't Act"

By Lydia Robbins
Soap Opera People
March/April 1977

Maureen Garrett, the pretty new face on the daytime television scene who has taken over the role of Holly Bauer for the departing Lynn Deerfield on THE GUIDING LIGHT, does not describe herself as intensely driven.

"I'm not one of those actresses who wouldn't survive if I couldn't act," she points out. "I never thought I couldn't be happy doing something else."

A relative newcomer to the acting profession, having only made a commitment to it two years ago, Maureen has had the opportunity to actually put that hypothesis to the test. At various times she's earned a living as a film programmer and freelance photographer, and she found both to be an excellent opportunity to enter the lives of people she never would have met otherwise, however briefly.

50 Greatest Soap Actresses: #18 Maureen Garrett

NAME: Maureen Garrett
RANK: 18
SOAP ROLES: Holly Norris, GUIDING LIGHT (1976-1981, 1988-2006, 2009); Elizabeth Jane "E.J." Ryan, RYAN'S HOPE (1981-1982)

AWARDS:
1994 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
1994 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress
1994 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress
1992 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
1991 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
1994 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress: Daytime

COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Nelson Aspen: GL's Holly was one of the most complex and interesting characters of the 70s and 80s. Even when the writers began to tinker with her history and credibility, Maureen always managed to make her believable and heroic. Her simple style of acting, wholesome beauty and simmering sexuality kept the GL audience interested in her, even when she had nothing important to play. I'd love to see her work again, perhaps as the quixotic matriarch of a new soap clan.

Claire Labine Answers YOUR Questions, Part Six

In Parts One and Two of our follow up interview with writer Claire Labine, the Emmy winner answered your questions about her writing career.  In Part Three, she answered your questions specific to RYAN HOPE'S, in Part Four about GENERAL HOSPITAL, and Part Five about ONE LIFE TO LIVE. In this final part, she answers YOUR questions about GUIDING LIGHT and LOVE OF LIFE.

John asks: Were there any other GL characters you wished you could have written for, either who were on the canvas at the time but not utilized very much or who were already gone from the show by then?
Claire Labine: Yes indeed.  I can’t go into it because there isn’t any point.  In the end the network and the production entity called the shots.  That’s the way it is.  You take a deep breath and wish you could have been more eloquent in persuading them this would have been a good thing to do.  If you can’t do it, you can’t do it. 

We Love Soaps: We spoke about the triangle that so many enjoyed of Buzz, Holly, and Billy.  Who could you have seen Holly ending up with.
Claire Labine: I don’t know!  We would have to have played it out.  They were both so viable.  The chemistry with the three of them was gangbusters.  I don’t know who she would have ended up with.  Maybe a third party.