As The World Turns Actors You May Not Know Passed Away

Throughout its 54-year run, "As the World Turns" introduced dozens (if not hundreds) of characters. Throughout it all, there was one constant: Nancy Hughes, the matriarch of the Hughes family, played by Helen Wagner. Wagner uttered the first line of the series and would go on to play Nancy for over 50 years in the longest-running character of history, solidifying her place as a soap opera legend. Nancy was an unwavering woman, who represented traditional values and propriety, and many viewers found comfort in Wagner's solid nature in an ever-changing world. Wagner became a part of history when a live telecast of "As the World Turns" was interrupted by Walter Cronkite's announcement of the shooting of President Kennedy, leading to what Wagner would later call her "dubious claim to fame" (via The NY Times).

Wagner got her soap start with a role as Trudy Bauer on "Guiding Light" from 1952 through 1953 and went on to star in the soap opera, "Valiant Lady." She starred opposite Charles Ruggles in the sitcom, "The World of Mr. Sweeney," before getting cast in "As the World Turns," which would dominate her time and resume for the rest of her life. "As the World Turns" was canceled in 2010 with its final episode airing in September of that year. Wagner made her final appearance in April 2010 and passed away from cancer a few weeks later in May. Her death was written into the series as characters remembered her life.

"As the World Turns" and "Guiding Light" were considered "sister shows" by creator Irna Phillips, so it's no surprise that there's some crossover with the casts of both shows. Lisa Brown first appeared on "Guiding Light" in 1980 as Nola Reardon and then in 1985, she started as Iva Snyder on "ATWT," which she would play until 1994. Iva was a troubled young woman with a difficult past, whose appearance in Oakdale shakes things up with her religious family.

Although Brown's acting credits were limited as she only appeared on one other series –- "Loving" in 1995 –- her experience in the soap world was undeniable. In fact, she also worked as an acting coach for "Guiding Light," lending her expertise to over 1,400 episodes. Brown died from an undisclosed illness in 2021 when she was 67 and many mourned her death — including Martha Byrne, who played her daughter on "ATWT:" "Lisa was my mentor, mother, sister and so much more for my entire life ... For the fans, she loved and respected you all more than you will ever know. She loved entertaining you and her appreciation for your support was immeasurable. We are devastated at the loss of an incredible woman" (via Deadline).

While the character of Dan Stewart was introduced in 1962, John Colenback didn't play this role until 1966, and he embodied Dan for the next seven years. In this world of seemingly infinite doctors and lawyers, Colenback's Dan Stewart stood out as being debonair, although he had his fair share of dramas — like discovering that his niece is really his daughter and losing his wife after she falls down the stairs.

Prior to "ATWT," Colenback starred in the soap opera "From These Roots," but he initially made his name in the theater. He made his Broadway debut in 1961 with a role in "A Man for All Seasons" and would go on to star in the Broadway show, "After the Rain," in 1967. Other theater roles included an off-Broadway turn in "Twelfth Night" and regional productions of "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead." Colenback was a lifelong supporter of LGBTQ causes and organizations such as The Names AIDS Quilt Project. He died in 2015 from complications related to pulmonary disease. He was 79.

Michael Louden's Duke Kramer was first introduced to the citizens of Oakdale in 1988. Duke was a moody and angry young man, who discovered that his father was John Dixon (the person from whom he most definitely inherited that anger gene). Duke would go on to have a long relationship with Lien Hughes (played by later "ER" star Ming-Na Wen) and he left the show in 1990, although he would return briefly in 1993.

Louden graduated from Juilliard and, after his time in "As the World Turns," would continue on to have brief appearances in projects like "The Langoliers," "Arli$$" and the film, "Space Cowboys." Louden co-hosted the G4 series "Arena" in 2003 and played a "cop-loving drag queen" in the LGBTQ slasher flick, "Hellbent," in 2004. He also worked extensively in theater, including a role in the play, "Three Feet Under," which was directed by comedy legend, Lily Tomlin (via The LA Times). Louden was only 40 when he died suddenly in 2004 from undisclosed causes.

In the world of soap operas, Ruth Warrick stands out as a legend, who first graced the daytime screens as Janet Johnson on "Guiding Light" in 1952. Warrick moved on to Phillips' next show, "As the World Turns," where she joined the original cast to play the stubborn and independent Aunt Edie Hughes from 1956 through 1960. Edie was known for her refusal to play by the rules, as she wouldn't settle down and instead fell for a married man — all of which was almost unheard of at the time.

Warrick continued her soap streak with a role as Hannah Cord in "Peyton Place" and she cemented her iconic status by playing socialite Phoebe Tyler in "All My Children." Warrick was part of the original cast of "All My Children" and appeared on living room screens for 35 years, telling The NY Times in 1985: "In one week, we play to an audience larger than Clark Gable played to in his whole career. You say 'Phoebe,' and 50 million people know what you mean." Prior to her soap stardom, Warrick hit it big in the film world after making her feature film debut in "Citizen Kane," where she played Orson Welles' first wife, Emily. Warrick died in 2005 at the age of 88 after complications from pneumonia, and both her death and a tribute to her life's work were written into "All My Children."

In the soap world and that of "As the World Turns," Lisa Grimaldi is a trailblazer — the first "vixen" of soap operas, whom Time Magazine once referred to as "the most hated woman on TV" (via TV Fanatic). While Eileen Fulton played Lisa for 50 years from 1960 through 2010, Australian star Carmen Duncan stepped in for a few episodes in 2004 while Fulton was on medical leave.

Although Duncan only appeared in a few episodes of "ATWT," she was already a bona fide soap star known to fans worldwide. Duncan first found stardom in her homeland with roles on Aussie series like "You Can't See Round Corners," "The Spoiler," and "Number 96." Duncan moved Stateside and launched her soap career there with her portrayal of independent and successful businesswoman, Iris Carrington Wheeler, in "Another World" from 1988 through 1994. Duncan appeared in dozens of series and films over her 50-year career with her final role in the film "Hotel Mumbai," opposite Dev Patel. Duncan died in 2019 at the age of 76 from breast cancer.

Robert Hogan appeared on "As the World Turns" from 1991 to 1992 as the L.J. McDermott, the father of Larry McDermott. Although his tenure on the series was brief, fans by then would have been well-acquainted with Hogan's face, as he'd already appeared in a number of beloved soaps and TV shows.

Hogan's television career took off with his starring role as Gilly Gillespie in "The Young Marrieds" from 1965 through 1966, followed by his portrayal of Tom Winter on "Peyton's Place." With turns on classics like "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "I Dream of Jeannie," and "Mork and Mindy," Hogan became a face people recognized, even if they didn't know his name. That would change with the release of "Hogan's Heroes," as Bob Crane's titular character, Robert Hogan, was named after him (via The Hollywood Reporter). Hogan's later appearances included recurring roles on "The Wire" and "Law & Order," with his final role in the short film, "The Deplorable." In 2021, Hogan died at the age of 87 following complications from pneumonia (via USA Today).

Actress Marnie Schulenburg took over as the very troubled Alison Stewart on "As the World Turns" in 2006, replacing Jessica Dunphy and a host of child actors (including Sarah Hyland of "Modern Family") who played her from 1994 to 2005. Schulenburg landed the role shortly after graduation from DeSales University in 2006 and remained with the series until its final episode in 2010 while also earning a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for her performance.

Schulenburg later appeared in numerous primetime series, including multiple episodes of "Royal Pains," "Blue Bloods," and "City on a Hill." She returned to the soap world for a brief run on "One Life to Life" in 2013 and later joined a cast of fellow soap vets for the YouTube-Amazon series "Tainted Dreams," which follows the making of a fictional daytime series. But in 2020, Schulenburg revealed to Soaps.com that she had been diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.

At the time of her diagnosis, Schulenburg was a new mother: her daughter, Coda, with husband Zack Robidas (an actor on "Succession"), was born in 2019. The 37-year-old Schulenburg, who wrote candidly about her health issues on her social media pages, died from the disease on May 17, 2022.

Rita Walter joined the cast of "AWTW" in 1972 to play Carol Deming, whose near-consistent streak of bad luck minted her as a disaster magnet. Several of her marriages ended in divorce or death, but after a decade of consistent misfortune, she appeared to reach her breaking point. Carol married a reverend and left Oakdale — a move echoed by Rita herself, who married a minister before departing the soap in 1981. Walter made one final screen appearance in the 1985 faith-based film "Cry from the Mountain" before retiring from acting and becoming an optician.

Prior to soap stardom, Walter's screen career was a curious one. Billed as Rita McLaughlin, she was a young assistant to Don Herbert on the children's science demonstration series "Watch Mr. Wizard" and played a small role on "The Patty Duke Show." She also appeared on another daytime soap, "The Secret Storm," but "AWTW" was her longest running and best-known television role. In late 2022, Walter's brother, David McLaughlin stated that she had died on December 25, 2022 at the age of 71.

A durable actor on television, stage, and in film, as well as an accomplished director for episodic TV, Charles Siebert was just beginning his long career when he played Reverend Wally Matthews for a two-year run of "As the World Turns." Reverend Matthews briefly drives a wedge between Lisa Miller and Don Hughes, with Lisa leaving Oakdale over her inability to choose between him and the reverend. She later dumps Matthews, which ended Siebert's time on the series.

After completing his work on "AWTW," Siebert worked steadily on New York-based television and stage productions before heading to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. There, his screen career took off with dozens of episodic television appearances and roles in feature films ranging from the cult horror favorite "Blue Sunshine" to studio films like "Coma" and the Al Pacino-starring "And Justice for All." He also starred as Helen Keller's father in the 1979 TV remake of "The Miracle Worker" and played Bonnie Franklin's boss on "One Day at a Time" before earning his best-remembered TV role as Dr. Stanley Riverside II, who clashed with Pernell Roberts' Trapper John McIntyre over the course of seven seasons of "Trapper John, M.D."

Siebert remained active on television as both an actor and director into the mid-1990s playing, among other roles, the god Poseidon on "Xena: Warrior Princess." He also enjoyed a long second career during this period as a director on such series as "Knots Landing," "The Pretender," and "Xena." He died of COVID-related pneumonia at the age of 84 on May 1, 2022.

For every child actor who transitions into a successful career as an adult, there appears to be an even greater number who fail to eclipse early brushes with fame. Case in point: Lisa Loring, who played the pigtailed Wednesday Addams on the "The Addams Family" sitcom from 1964 to 1966. Her poker-faced delivery set the tone for future portrayals of the character, including Christina Ricci in the '90s-era features and Jenna Ortega in the popular Netflix series, but Loring was unable to parlay the role into a lasting career. When "The Addams Family" ended, she made occasional appearances in other television series and made-for-TV films, including a reprise of Wednesday in a glum 1977 reunion film, "Halloween with the Addams Family."

Loring returned to series work in 1980 as the vampish Cricket Montgomery, who took pains to seduce several older men during her three-year run on the daytime program (via Soap Central). But her career and personal life soon foundered: she worked in the adult industry as a make-up artist, struggled through a tumultuous marriage to porn actor Jerry Butler, and became addicted to heroin in the early '90s (via People Magazine). She later found sobriety and stability and returned to acting in low-budget horror features in the mid-2000s. Tragically, Loring died just as the "Wednesday" series sparked interest in her own turn as the character; she suffered a major stroke, brought on by smoking and hypertension, and died at the age of 64 on January 28, 2023.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper on "Sesame Street," was the first actor to be cast as William Hughes on "As the World Turns," but left the series after just two episodes. His replacement was Santos Ortega, a veteran radio and theater performer who remained with the series for two decades until his death in 1976. "Pa," as Hughes was affectionately known on the series, was a kindly figure, ready to offer support or affection to his sizable family at all times.

Ortega began his acting career on the New York stage as a teenager and soon graduated to Broadway productions in the 1920s. He also worked extensively in radio, voicing many of the medium's most iconic detectives, including Perry Mason, Nero Wolfe, and Charlie Chan (via the New York Times). "ATWT" dominated his screen career, though he made occasional forays into other series like the live anthology program "Studio One" and occasional features like the 1951 legal drama "The Family Secret." Ortega died on April 10, 1976, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

A number of actors played the terminally lovelorn and frequently married Claire English during the first two decades of "As the World Turns." Gertrude Warner and Nancy Wickwire both took the reins for the character during the 1960s, and were followed by Barbara Berjer, who navigated Claire's ups and downs from 1965 until the character's death in a hit-and-run accident in 1971. However, the first Claire on "ATWT" was stage and radio actress Anne Burr McDermott, who debuted in the role on the show's first episode in 1956.

McDermott, a Boston native, got her start in summer stock theater before heading to Broadway, where, billed as Anne Burr, she starred in Orson Welles' celebrated and powerful adaptation of Richard Wright's "Native Son" in 1941 (via the New York Times). Her resonant voice and intonation made her an in-demand performer on radio dramas, especially for villainous characters on series like "Backstage Wife," for which she played two separate but equally venomous roles. Feature film work, all largely anonymous, in the 1940s was interrupted by her blacklisting by Senator Joseph McCarthy's Communist witch hunts in the early 1950s, but she eventually found work television early soaps like "City Hospital" and "The Greatest Gift."

After three years as Claire, McDermott departed both "ATWT" and acting as a career; she relocated to Los Angeles with her second husband, Tom McDermott, who co-founded the production company Four Star Television. Anne Burr McDermott died of respiratory failure at the age of 82 on February 1, 2003.

Though Nancy Wickwire's life was cut short at a relatively early age — she died of cancer at the age of 48 on July 10, 1974 – the actress accomplished a great deal during that brief period of time. Wickwire appeared on television throughout the 1950s and '60s, including a run as Claire English Lowell on "As the World Turns" between 1960 and 1963. She also logged time on other soaps, including "Guiding Light," and was a frequent guest star on primetime series like "Gunsmoke," "The Fugitive," and "The F.B.I."

She was perhaps better known as a talented stage actress with some of the most acclaimed theater companies in the United States. Wickwire performed with the American and New York Shakespeare Festivals, Yale Repertory Theater, and Minneapolis Theater. She also appeared on Broadway on numerous occasions, beginning in a 1951 production of "Saint Joan." Wickwire's performances brought her an Obie Award, given to Off-Broadway productions, in 1956 and 1959. She capped her screen career with a yearlong stint on "Days of Our Lives" from 1972 to 1973.

Character actor James Rebhorn twice dropped in on the citizens of Oakdale, playing roles that could be charitably described as polar opposites; from 1988 to 1991, he earned a Soap Opera Digest Award nomination as Angel Lange's monstrous father who committed suicide after being confronted with abusing his daughter. He returned in 2010 to play was Reid Oliver's kindly Uncle Angus, who helped facilitate his nephew's cremation after his accidental death.

Rebhorn played characters on both sides of the moral fence throughout his long career, which began in the New York theater scene in the early 1970s. He played more than his share of unyielding authority figures — lawyers, cops, doctors, soldiers, and fathers — in films and on television shows like "Independence Day," "Scent of a Woman," "Meet the Parents," and most notably, as the attorney who sent Jerry and friends to jail on the "Seinfeld" finale. But he also handled more nuanced characters with considerable skill; he was a vicious serial killer and a dogged defense attorney on episodes of "Law & Order," and played the sympathetic, bipolar father of Claire Danes' troubled CIA agent on "Homeland."

Rebhorn, who enjoyed recurring roles on multiples series in the '90s and 2000s, including "White Collar" and "Enlightened," was diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer in 1992, and eventually died of it at the age of 65 on March 21, 2014.

For some actors, a job on a daytime soap is the launching pad for their careers, while for others, it's steady employment at the end of their time in the spotlight. For actor William LeMassena, his four years as lawyer Ambrose Bingham on "As the World Turns" fell into the latter category. The actor debuted on Broadway in a 1940 production of "The Taming of the Shrew" which starred the legendary theater couple Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne, and returned to the Great White Way on many occasions over the next four decades, but kept a relatively low profile in regard to film and TV appearances.

LeMassena did play the heavenly friend who granted Gordon MacRae's character a final wish in the 1956 film version of "Carousel," and appeared in televised adaptations of classic stage productions, including a take on William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" with Richard Burton that aired on "The Hallmark Hall of Fame" in 1960. He landed guest starring roles on primetime series throughout the 1960s (for which he was often billed as William Le Massena) and earned bit parts in films like "All That Jazz" and the Jeff Bridges comedy "See You in the Morning." His "ATWT" role was his longest TV engagement and his last; LeMassena died of lung cancer at the age of 76 on January 19, 1993.

A talent for playing rogues and Lotharios boosted actor Terry Lester to soap opera stardom in the 1980s and 1990s after a lackluster career on TV. Lester enjoyed a near-decade-long run on "The Young and the Restless" as uber-cad Jack Abbott, but departed the show for a short stint on "Santa Barbara" before taking on architect Royce Keller on "As the World Turns." Another likable bad boy in the vein of Jack Abbott, Keller also suffered from multiple personality disorder, including a little boy and another persona so violent that it led to the death of Royce's own sister.

A talented singer and musician as well as an actor, Lester made his debut with an uncredited role in "Airport 1975" and landed the lead in "Ark II," a short-lived children's series set on a post-apocalyptic Earth. He drifted through various series and TV-movies, including the notorious "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park," before gaining widespread attention for Jack Abbott on "The Young and the Restless." After leaving "ATWT," Lester returned to guest roles on "Star Trek: Voyager" and "Walker, Texas Ranger" and penned music for use on film and television projects. He died at the age of 53 on November 28, 2003.

A star of the wildly popular TV Western "Wagon Train" in the late 1950s and early '60s, actor Robert Horton traded in his spurs for a business suit to play publisher Whit McColl on "As the World Turns." A controlling figure in the lives of his family and business associates, McColl found himself invariably in the middle of one conflict or another — between scheming employees, with wife Lisa Colman (Fulton), and with an ex-wife, among others. With so many problems occurring at the same time, it seemed inevitable that someone would decide to bump off Whit, which finally took place in 1984 when his housekeeper (and the secret mother of his son) beat him to death with a crystal decanter.

Horton began his career as a contract player for various studios, including Universal, which cast him on "Wagon Train" in 1957. Though an exceptionally popular show, he feared being typecast as a Western star and left the show in 1962 to pursue other options, including a singing career (via the New York Times). Subsequent projects, including the cult U.S.-Japanese sci-fi thriller "The Green Slime" proved only moderately successful, but Horton remained active in theater and on guest roles until 1989. He was a staple of Western memorabilia shows until his death on March 9, 2016, at the age of 91.

In terms of soap stardom, Roscoe Born's roles on "As the World Turns" were largely overshadowed by his characters on other dramas: he netted a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1990 and 1991 for playing good and bad twins on "Santa Barbara," and tackled more than his share of memorable villains, including the abusive cult leader Mitch Laurence on "One Life to life," mobster Joe Novak on "Ryan's Hope," and Tom Fisher on "The Young and the Restless," who met a deserved end on the wrong side of a pistol. His "ATWT" assignments were relatively minor: he was a lawyer in a custody case in 1999 and then returned in 2001 to play a police detective.

Born, who was also a singer and songwriter, began his career on television in the mid-1970s and appeared in a handful of low-budget features and episodes of "The Rockford Files" and "The Incredible Hulk," among other series, before settling into his long career on daytime TV. Between soap assignments, he occasionally returned to primetime shows with guest shots on "Murder, She Wrote" and "Midnight Caller." Born died on March 3, 2020, at the age of 69; a statement issued by his family on social media indicated that he suffered from bipolar disorder and committed suicide.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Between his early work on live television dramas and his late-inning stardom as Will Hayward on "Twin Peaks," actor Warren Frost had a year-long run on "As the World Turns" as Jarred Carpenter, the biological father of the perennially put-upon Iva Snyder. Frost's stint on the soap preceded a string of TV guest roles that preceded his casting on "Twin Peaks," which in turn led to steady work on TV and in films throughout the 1990s. Frost enjoyed a recurring role on "Matlock" and a five-episode arc on "Seinfeld" as the father of George Costanza's fiancée, as well as single appearances on "Murphy Brown," "The Larry Sanders Show" and other primetime programs.

Frost began acting in the early 1950s after serving in the Navy during World War II. He initially worked as a floor director and stage manager for "Philco Playhouse" before landing appearances on series like "Dragnet." He left Hollywood to teach acting at the University of Minneapolis but returned to New York for "ATWT" and then went back to Los Angeles for David Lynch's "Twin Peaks," which was co-created by his son, Mark Frost.

In 2017, Frost came out of retirement to reprise Doc Hayward for the sequel to "Twin Peaks" that aired on Showtime. He died that same year on February 17 at the age of 91.

Among character actor James Karen's many television credits was Susan Stewart's physician father Dr. Fred Burke on "As the World Turns" between 1967 and 1970. For Karen, the "ATWT" gig was just one stop on a very long career in films, on episodic television and stage, and for East Coast television audiences, as a popular spokesperson for the Pathmark supermarket chain. Highlights of that impressive resume included Dan O'Bannon's "The Return of the Living Dead," which minted him as an unlikely cult horror hero, and as Mr. Teague, the real estate developer who built a suburban sprawl over a cemetery in Tobe Hooper's "Poltergeist." Before and after those projects, he was naturalistic player in films ranging from "All the President's Men" and John Cassavetes' "Opening Night" to "Nixon," "Any Given Sunday," and David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive."

Karen began his career on Broadway as Karl Malden's understudy in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and debuted on television in the late 1940s (via The Hollywood Reporter). He made his feature film debut in the absurd no-budget chiller "Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster" in 1965 and worked at an almost non-stop pace for the next four decades. He amassed countless credits on episodic TV series ranging from "The Waltons" to "The Golden Girls," as well as a notable turn as the businessman whose greed led to the destruction of Walnut Grove on "Little House on the Prairie."

Off-camera, Karen was a close friend of silent film legend Buster Keaton and appeared with in him in a 1965 short titled "Film" which was written by playwright Samuel Beckett (via AP News). His final screen credit was the 2018 horror-comedy "Cynthia"; Karen died at home in Los Angeles on October 23, 2018, at the age of 94.