Mary Stuart(1926-2002)
- Actress
- Writer
- Music Department
She reigned on Search for Tomorrow (1951) for nearly four decades and became one of TV's
most popular daytime ladies. As the ever-noble Joanne Gardner Barron
Tate Vincente Tourneur, Mary Stuart remained on board for its entire run, and
when that four-times-married role was in the can, she was ready for
more.
Born Mary Houchins on Independence Day, 1926 in Miami, Florida,
actress Mary Stuart grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Demonstrating musical
talent at an early age, she sang with local bands at age 12 and
performed with the USO at various military bases during her high school
years. After she graduated she worked as a photojournalist before
gearing up for an acting career in New York.
A hat check girl and table photographer at New York's Hotel Roosevelt Grill, she had started to
sing on the club stage when she was discovered by producer Joe Pasternak who
put her under contract with MGM. Moving West, she spent years in
obscure starlet parts while doubling for the stars in screen tests.
Going nowhere and playing everything from a Mexican half-breed in
Thunderhoof (1948) to a cigarette girl in The Girl from Jones Beach (1949), a very disappointed Mary called
it quits with Hollywood within a few years and returned to Gotham to
study.
She happened upon the role of a lifetime after the director of
"SFT" caught her in an acting class performance. She married Time-Life
executive Richard Krolik a month before the soap's premiere and the
couple went on to have two children, Jeffrey and Cynthia. Both Mary and
her Joanne character remained survivors despite a long series of
hassles which included a battle with writers who tried to kill off her
character, and numerous potential cancellations of the show, which
finally happened in 1989.
Mary earned the distinction of being the first
daytime performer to be nominated for an Emmy Award, competing against
prime-time actresses Shirley Booth, Cara Williams, Gertrude Berg and Mary Tyler Moore in 1962. She
lost to Booth's "Hazel" character. At age 63, she ventured on with the
role of a judge in One Life to Live (1968) in 1988 for a year, and then a
longer-running part on Guiding Light (1952) in 1996. This role lasted until her
death from cancer in 2002 at age 75. Mary's autobiography entitled
"Both of Me" was written in 1980 and also serves as a comprehensive
history of "SFT."
most popular daytime ladies. As the ever-noble Joanne Gardner Barron
Tate Vincente Tourneur, Mary Stuart remained on board for its entire run, and
when that four-times-married role was in the can, she was ready for
more.
Born Mary Houchins on Independence Day, 1926 in Miami, Florida,
actress Mary Stuart grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Demonstrating musical
talent at an early age, she sang with local bands at age 12 and
performed with the USO at various military bases during her high school
years. After she graduated she worked as a photojournalist before
gearing up for an acting career in New York.
A hat check girl and table photographer at New York's Hotel Roosevelt Grill, she had started to
sing on the club stage when she was discovered by producer Joe Pasternak who
put her under contract with MGM. Moving West, she spent years in
obscure starlet parts while doubling for the stars in screen tests.
Going nowhere and playing everything from a Mexican half-breed in
Thunderhoof (1948) to a cigarette girl in The Girl from Jones Beach (1949), a very disappointed Mary called
it quits with Hollywood within a few years and returned to Gotham to
study.
She happened upon the role of a lifetime after the director of
"SFT" caught her in an acting class performance. She married Time-Life
executive Richard Krolik a month before the soap's premiere and the
couple went on to have two children, Jeffrey and Cynthia. Both Mary and
her Joanne character remained survivors despite a long series of
hassles which included a battle with writers who tried to kill off her
character, and numerous potential cancellations of the show, which
finally happened in 1989.
Mary earned the distinction of being the first
daytime performer to be nominated for an Emmy Award, competing against
prime-time actresses Shirley Booth, Cara Williams, Gertrude Berg and Mary Tyler Moore in 1962. She
lost to Booth's "Hazel" character. At age 63, she ventured on with the
role of a judge in One Life to Live (1968) in 1988 for a year, and then a
longer-running part on Guiding Light (1952) in 1996. This role lasted until her
death from cancer in 2002 at age 75. Mary's autobiography entitled
"Both of Me" was written in 1980 and also serves as a comprehensive
history of "SFT."