Marj Dusay is Dead to Me!

Alexandra Spaulding?!

Alexandra Spaulding GL (1993-97; 1998-99; 2002-09)

Vivian Alamain DAYS (1993: temp)

Vanessa Bennett AMC (1999-2002)

Pamela Capwell Santa Barbara (1987-88; 1991)

On Star Trek opposite The Shat.

She'll always be Myrna Clegg to me.

I guess she won't be playing Mrs. C.

Monica Warner

Nobody has updated her wiki page yet.

[quote]She'll always be Myrna Clegg to me.

I had forgotten all about that!

Dang! She was a nice lady.

Around 2005 or so I found out that her son had died of AIDS and that she had been a vocal advocate when few were. I wrote her a letter thanking her for speaking up and speaking out about it.

She wrote a gracious letter back along with a fabulous signed headshot, although I didn’t ask for one.

She just seemed like someone with whom you’d enjoy hanging out.

Brain and brain! What is brain?

She thought for years her episode, "Spock's Brain," was a classic episode of "Star Trek." Then she learned decades later at a convention that its considered one of the worst (and most unintentionally hilarious).

I thought a lot of original Star Trek was dumb.

Didn't care for much of it as a whole.

Marj in a 60s era industrial film about computers, predicting what the year 1999 will be like!

I am not seeing anything confirming whether this is true.

It may be a hoax.

R14 I think it's true but have been waiting until I see some of the key soap folks I follow on social media to confirm before sharing it there.

here

R6, it's Monica Eloise Warner Longdale Hochwood.

Another link

R9 I had a similar incident with her on her Yahoo chat board back in 2002. My boyfriend died suddenly and tragically, and I recalled her article in Soap Opera Weekly talking about dealing with her son who also died of HIV related illness. I wrote an open letter to her to which other Yahoo chat board members wrote back offering their sympathies. She wrote a long response thanking me for remembering her son and said that while the pain never completely goes away, it does get better, and you remember the good times, the humor, the love. I wish I had printed it out as last December, Yahoo got rid of their message archives. The body of her chat board is still there (I checked yesterday ironically), but the messages are gone.

I recall going to see the 2001 revival of "Follies" and when Polly Bergen came out to sing "I'm Still Here", I thought, wow, she looks exactly like Marj! Ever since the end of "Guiding Light", I'd always wondered how she was doing and learned that she had back surgery a few years ago. It was obvious that she was looking forward to being completely retired and enjoy being grandma to her daughter Debra's children. She would mention her son from time to time during interviews, and it was obvious that she had a great compassion for him and was a complete supporter of the gay community. She understood us because of her experiences through being in the business and her own personal life.

I'll never forget when she returned to "Santa Barbara" for a brief stint in early 1991 as Pamela, she worked with the new Mason (Gordon Thompson) who of course had been Adam on "Dynasty". Ironically, Joan Collins would later play Alexandra Spaulding for a short stint that Marj ended up taking over. Joan was "Crystal" in the 1956 movie "The Opposite Sex", and her pal was played by Carolyn Jones whom Marj had replaced as Myrna Clegg back in 1983 on "Capitol". Around the time of her "Santa Barbara" return (far too short in my opinion; the TV guide critics raved about her), she played Dick Van Dyke's ex-wife in a TV movie called "Daughters of Priviledge" which I taped and still have.

Robin Strasser wrote some very nice tweets about her. I am hoping that other co-workers write a memorium to her, especially Vincent Irizarry who played her son on 2 soaps (and also worked with on "Santa Barbara") , Catherine Hickland (her daughter on "Capitol"), Ron Raines and Grant Aleksander. She will certainly be missed, but I'm happy that she will be reunited with her son.

Great scene where Alexandra Spaulding Crushes Annie Dutton Like A Bug!

"The part of Alexandra Spaulding is now being played by Marj Dusay ... "

This totally bums me out but it's appropriate for the day as the world going to hell anyway poor thing was I felt so bad she was roped into plan Josh Duhamel's mother only she was like the head of some drug ring it turned out in a later. All my children but you know damn it anyway she almost made the material work and that took some f****** work......plus, Blair's mother! Oy!

The whole Proteus story was an extended version of the Cobra story (Patricia Barry, Peg English, Blair's "mother"). I'm sure that Marj saw the writing on the wall when they told her that she'd be written off, but she played the hell out of those ten months. She was a pre-nominee for Supporting Actress for "AMC" and was one of the actors named for "favorite villain". That fan award went to what's her face (Sammi, "Days"), and I boo'ed my TV that it wasn't Marj or Contstance Towers.

She was a wonderful actress who, like so many other daytime performers, got screwed over by bad writing and the fact she was usually recasts (which means that, in true soap fashion, fans would always compare her to the originals). Later Alexandra was awful and AMC's Vanessa was a cartoon but she was playing the awful cartoonishness she was given. May she RIP. We are getting to the stage where a lot of long-time actors are going to start to fall and I am not ready.

Vincent Irizarry remembers Marj.

"Honestly, not enough words for me to share my love and respect for, and sadness in the passing of our now late, great Marj Dusay. She was a force of nature as an actress, courageously pulling out all stops in whatever role she was gracing us with. Not only did she play my mother on two different shows, 2 very different characters, but in one of those shows she was brought in to replace the ever brilliant, incomparable Beverlee McKinsey when she left the role of Alexandra Spaulding on GL; a feat practically no other actress could have been able to accomplish. But Marj was never just any other actress, as she proved by making the role her own; doing so while sharing her dynamic brilliance with us as well... I reached out to her a couple months back, having heard that she was having a difficult time with some physical challenges as of late. I'm grateful to have heard her voice one last time, to have heard her infectious laughter one last time... RIP darling Marj. Your gift was our blessing."

Ron Raines remembers Marj on Twitter.

"Heartbroken by the loss of my dear friend and colleague Marj Dusay. Marj was a dear friend to me and I will miss her greatly. I, with a couple of other GL colleagues, visited her last year here in New York and we all had a wonderful visit. She was, as always, in terrific spirits, and made us laugh a lot. We all talked of specific memories we shared with her while on set. Marj lived with much physical pain the last decades of her life however, and this is what’s amazing, she never complained. I will miss her and glad she is pain free now. RIP dear Marj."

Robin Strasser on Marj:

#MarjDusay as a person was the most remarkable, loyal & brave woman! Professionally, she had such elegance, wit & grace! I was always flattered when told we look alike & we often were submitted for the same roles-RIP MARJ

GL costar Tina Sloan on Marj:

Lost the wonderful Marj Dusay aka Alexandra Spaulding. Great actress. Great woman. She will be very missed. RIP MARJ

[quote]I guess she won't be playing Mrs. C.

Of course not! That part is MINE!

Just heard about the passing of Marj Dusay who played Blair’s mom, Monica Warner. She was absolutely perfect for the part, a seasoned actress and a delightful woman. It was a privilege to call her Facts of Life family

- Lisa Whelchel

R30

Mindy Cohn retweeted with a broken heart emoji.

Robin Strasser is always going on about being compared to other actresses. She’s so bizarre on Twitter. She doesn’t want anyone to “@“ her. If they do, she flips out on them.

In 2008 Poz magazine interviewed Moms whose children died of AIDS - Marj Dusay was part of the group and here is her interview

POZ: You’ve had a very successful film and TV career—from Clambake, with Elvis Presley, to soap operas All My Children and Guiding Light.

Marj Dusay: Well, I’ve been very lucky; I’ve worked very hard…

Your son died in 1993. When did you first become involved in AIDS activism?

After his diagnosis, in late 1986. At that time, there was certainly the news about it and everything, but there wasn’t the massive amount of information. So it was pretty scary.

And after the shock of Randy’s diagnosis, what did you do?

I just started to listen to people, went to as many of the seminars as they had at that time, read as much as I could, asked doctors about it. Nobody really had that many answers, and there weren’t that many specialists in Los Angeles. I tried to find women’s and mothers’ support groups. Again, there weren’t that many. The ones I did find were floundering and had no leadership. You’d go and you’d find that you wanted information, you wanted someone to talk to, you wanted consoling. And really the only thing to do was seek it elsewhere. What continues to make me an activist is the attitude people have, the negativity and the rejection that they have for some of their sons or daughters. That, I think, is based on outlandish fear and sometimes embarrassment, and not being able to face it. And the denial and the duplicity of some people really made me angry. It doesn’t do any good to duck your head and say, “It’ll go away.” Although, as a mother, that’s exactly what you wish.

I was working right in Hollywood at that time, and it’s amazing how many people in that liberal community were fearful. The parents who turned away their children I thought were abominable. Still do.

Describe your work with Project Angel Food, which provides daily meals for people living with HIV/AIDS and other illnesses.

It was a great place for me to go to be able to do something hands-on. Not a PR thing. This was something where I had to go down there and mingle with the people and chop the food and package the food and be right there. It was a very cheerful group. These people wanted to do that. It meant a lot to me.

It is a way for somebody like me who’d been on television and done soaps and movies; it is a way for me to get down there and get lost in what’s real.

How has AIDS activism and advocacy changed your life?

Well, it made me face some reality. I know the last year was very difficult with Randy. Fortunately, he didn’t really become hospitalized until about the last three and a half weeks of his life. And unfortunately, combination therapy for him at that time just didn’t work. I think if you’re that caring person that stays close to it, you go through hell. But then, my God, I gave him such beautiful support. And other friends and relatives were so supportive. And I was very happy and proud that they were those kinds of people.

What advice could you give our readers?

You have to have the strength to live through it and say, at the end, at least you made it as good as it could be. And try to make it as good as it could be. And also, stay close to people in support groups. I think they’re much more sophisticated these days. There’s more information now; I think there are more choices.

Thank you R33. Love her even more now.

Sob R33.

She was a great, great lady. I am in tears.

Loved her Myrna Clegg. She was fierce!

Loved her as Pamela Capwell too. After several recasts of the character, they finally got the right actress for the part. Was sad the character didn't stick around long.

I though she was brilliant casting for Alexandra. She was the one I was hoping they would cast. And for the first few years, she was superb in the role. But gradually, she started going over the top with her performances and there was so much backstage turmoil with TPTB that no one tried to reign her in. She became even more over the top after she returned from playing Vanessa on AMC. So, her Alex became more and more of a cartoon by the end, which was a huge disappointment.

[quote] Loved her as Pamela Capwell too. After several recasts of the character, they finally got the right actress for the part. Was sad the character didn't stick around long.

She was a victim of the fighting between the Dobsons (creators of Santa Barbara) and NBC/New World. The Dobsons envisioned the role of Pamela as the Katherine Chancellor/Lucinda Walsh of Santa Barbara. Wealthy society matron who has heavy influence in the town.

But after the Dobsons were fired, new EP Jill Farren Phelps axed the character. Ironically JFP would hire Marj as a recast Alexandra Spaulding on Guiding Light, a role that is similar to the one JFP axed on Santa Barbara!

[quote] But gradually, she started going over the top with her performances and there was so much backstage turmoil with TPTB that no one tried to reign her in. She became even more over the top after she returned from playing Vanessa on AMC. So, her Alex became more and more of a cartoon by the end, which was a huge disappointment.

I think it was partly the writing and partly that GL wanted to de-age its cast and never knew what to do with Alex at that point. And with lack of any direction, Marj found the comedic and the absurd about whatever story she had, which fed the writers and so on.

Marj Dusay was taken off contract in 2005 - but by that time she was grateful for the work. She was suffering from back injuries and needed to keep working to hold on to her medical insurance. So GL was a godsend to her and the show accommodated her by having her character sitting down in most of her scenes, while her scene partners worked around that.

This is one time that a show acted humanly as they could just tossed the character in the trash bin, like Paul Rauch did.

A few of the folks who talked about her mentioned the pain she was in - she had several back surgeries, I believe.

Huge Republican supporter. One less vote for Trump in 2020.

R33 that made me tear up, too. That was indeed a glimpse into the grit and clarity she shared with me in her letter. What a great lady...what a great human being.

R9 she wrote me too. She was fab.

I noticed that during the last months of "Guiding Light" that even though she wasn't on contract, she did appear in the opening credits and her name was among the contract players. During the last weeks of the show, because of Alan's death and Philip's recovery, she was on pretty much every day. I'm not sure that Maeve Kinkhead was.

I don't think many of the folks in the last few months were on contract, R44. Only a few were.

Marj's death makes me wonder how several other elders of the soap world are doing: Don Hastings, Kathryn Hays, Eileen Fulton, Patricia Bruder, Elizabeth Hubbard, Carolee Campbell, Rachel Ames, Nicolas Coster, etc. Elizabeth will be a part of "The Doctors" retrospective. There have been pictures of Kathryn that either look good or very frail. I've heard that Rachel, like Susan Brown, has alzheimer's (even though the older Peter Hansen did not). Carolee Campbell has not been listed as those brought back for "The Doctors" retrospective (her replacement, Jada Rowland, is), but there are pictures of her within the past two years with long time husband Hector Elizondo. Pat Bruder accepted an award a few years ago from her high school and looked absolutely lovely. One of the oldest Hollywood stars (Janis Paige) went on to appear on three soaps (sharing a scene with Marj on "Capitol", and news about her being blasted by Marj's Pamela on "Santa Barbara") who is 97. There's often reports about appearances she's made, but nothing in about a year.

Patricia Bruder as of 2015.

Liz Hubbard has been on a few web soaps and apparently had dinner in the last year or so with several soap alum - she's doing well and looks the same.

Kathryn moved back to her hometown in Central IL. She looks healthy but is undoubtedly thinner and more frail than she was at the end of ATWT. I don't think she's super frail, but more likely dealing with something manageable like arthritis/osteoporosis, etc.

Of course we saw a lot of AW'ers at that dinner where they celebrated the life of Carmen Duncan, and we've seen a few of the older folks from GL at the "Bauer Barbecue" events.

It does surprise me how many actors from ATWT are over 80. Liz H, Kathryn Hays, and Eileen all turn or are turning 86. Larry Bryggman is 81, Kathleen Widdoes is 80, and Marie Masters is 78.

Even the "younger" leads from the 80s and 90s are getting up there - Michael Swan (Duncan) is 71, Colleen Zenk is 66, and both Hunt Block and Lisa Brown (Iva) are 65 (!)

Kathryn Hays last fall

...and so long ago, with then-husband Glenn Ford.

I hate that we don't have quality soaps anymore, or even that we can't watch the classics. I miss those shows so much.

I miss SoapNet. They’d stream old episodes.

R51 I miss Knots Landing

GET OUT OF MY BED!

I miss One Life To Live so bad it almost hurts. I’d watched it from the time it first went on the air as a little kid after school and some how managed to keep up with it when it went to mid afternoon and I was in school. BetA Max was a g-d send.

"I hate that we don't have quality soaps anymore, or even that we can't watch the classics. I miss those shows so much."

R51, Youtube has been a godsend for me. If you loved ATWT, I can't recommend AsTheWorldStillTurns' channel highly enough! (link) I'm just now starting to search for GL stuff; perhaps other soap fans here can help you find the channels you'd be interested in.

Brain and brain!

Knots Landing was the one and only nighttime soap that actually FELT like an extremely well written and acted P&G daytime soap opera at night

It was exhilarating and brilliant and CHARACTER, not plot, driven, basically the opposite of how soap's have been written the last 20 years

Marj Dusay was the guest on tonight’s MeTV broadcast of Hogan’s Heroes.

I ain't ever heard of her, must not have been very well known.

Thanks for that insightful post, R60.

Marj Dusay reveals herself as a PSYCHOPATH!

Wasn’t she Fifi D’Orsay’s daughter? A burlesque stripper?

I don't know any other actor Who giggles through scenes and still is as convincing as hell.

When I discovered classic soap operas on YouTube, I didn't even know where to begin to start. I actually hate watching videos on the computer so I got a laptop, burner and blank discs, and have spent the last two years going through everything I can find. A lot of things disappear because of copyright issues, but sometimes they miraculously re-appear. I've gotten DVD's of Marj on all five of her soaps, including her 5 episodes as Vivian on "Days" where she was very seductive with John Aniston She had auditioned for the role but lost to her friend Louise. Between her "Guiding Light" stints, she was called by her agent and told to stand by as Victoria Wyndham was sick and they might need a temporary Rachel on "Another World". But like Judy Garland says in "Born in a Trunk", "She recovered."

Marj has other unofficial soap credits with a guest appearance on "Dallas" (apparently only one scene which was on an airplane I recall; Nicholas Pryor played her husband), and one of the "Peyton Place" TV movies where she was the love interest of Ed Nelson, her future "Capitol" co-star. Also in the movie (but not in a scene with her) is the original Julie McCandless, Kimberly Beck, replaced with Catherine Hickland about 6 months after Marj joined.

R64 The reason she gets away with that laugh (which I've seen in her older films) is that she only does it at certain moments, and the audience likes her too much (even if the character, like Vanessa, is hardcore rotten!). There's a sense with Marj that she is the anti-diva diva in the sense that she doesn't put on airs, wants everybody to get along, and is more of a giver than a taker. She was born on February 20th, the first or second day of Pisces (depending on what source you read), and being near Aquarius, had many of their qualities as well. Louise Sorel once said of Marj that when she would get the most ridiculous scripts, she'd just scream in private and do what she was being paid to do while Louise would question and complain.

R64, you make a great point. She was likable. Fun to watch. Sexy, but layered, so it wasn’t her only calling card. Soap actors were similar to what I imagine old vaudeville stars were like. They worked so much, did so many reps, that performing became ingrained in them. Part of who and what they were. Not sure that happens anymore.

She was brilliant casting as Blair's mom on "The Facts of Life." had the upper-crust thing down perfectly, of course. She also got to snap at Gerri in one episode and tell her to mind her own business.

One thing that she had in common with Beverlee McKinsey's version of Alexandra is that she could get down and dirty both in the board room and the play room, taking down her enemies, yet getting her hands dirty and seem like a good old gal. Beverlee's Alexandra went bowling with H.B. and the Reardon's. Marj's Alexandra sat behind Buzz as they ran around town on his motorcycle. I couldn't see Iris Cory or Myrna Clegg doing such things. Both were from the mid-west (Beverlee, Oklahoma, and Marj, Kansas) yet had a cafe society look about them. Beverlee is Garbo-esque in her desire to have stayed out of the limelight, while Marj was more outgoing and approachable. Beverlee was probably someone who had fun in private, kept her work as "business", while Marj's sense of fun was more public. When she did "Capitol", they had a clambake, and there's a picture of Marj holding onto a lobster screeching in disgust in character as Myrna. I couldn't find it on line, but it was very funny.

Bev and Marj shared those unique voices, too - sexy but not baby doll girly, with a deep/raspy quality about them.

I'm watching old episodes of "The Doctors" which features Sally Gracie as comical lab assistant Martha Allen. Her voice reminded me of Beverlee's. She could have played either Iris's or Alexandra's boozy aunt. I first knew her as Ina Hopkins, everybody's friendly landlady, on "One Life to Live" in the early 80's. I love these type of actresses that command respect rather than demand it. You can't expect my respect today when you're screeching at me with vocal fry and making dogs bark a hundred miles away. As lovable as you knew Marj was in real life, when her characters were mad, she was scary!

Future star Allison Janney with Marj and Ron Raines as the clumsy Ginger on "Guiding Light".

Fabulous actress that took bad writing and made it great. Adored her on AMC. RIP Marj.

She was one of the few soap actors who, when she appeared, you said "This is going to be good." I just loved watching her perform.

R20, nice scene.

Marj had all the qualities one needed to play Alexandra Spaulding von Halkein -- but just one problem. Sometimes the pieces don't add up.

I loved her as Myrna and Pamela and Vanessa. But McKinsey was irreplaceable. I often wonder instead of recasting certain greats if it'd be smarter to just bring someone one as a sibling of the person they're trying to replace.

R75 is Cheryl Ladd.

One of Marj’s best friends was Scoche Marin, the new Katherine Chancellor on The Young and the Restless. Scoche was so broken up by Marj’s passing that Y&R had to delay the taping of her scenes that day.

R77, dear, could you please let me know how the new Katherine Chancellor's name is pronounced?

Its it Scho-shay Mair-in

or Schoche Mar-een?

As I have found no credits or any information on this glorious woman existing on Google, IMDB, or anywhere else for that matter..

Is she French?

Thanks!

It is Skohsh Mair-in