Jennifer Harmon dead: Beloved soap star dies after 50-year career as tributes flood in
The star enjoyed a five decade career beginning in the mid 1960s.
Actress Jennifer Harmon, who made her mark on the small screen with roles in soaps such as One Life to Live, How to Survive a Marriage, and Dallas died on Saturday, May 9, at the age of 82. Her family confirmed the news but did not state a cause of death. The star's career spanned five decades, beginning in 1965's You Can’t Take It With You on Broadway.
She was a prolific stage performer who often understudied stars such as Judi Dench and Jessica Lange. Her last professional appearance was in 2011’s Other Desert Cities, in which she was an understudy for actress Stockard Channing, before she later took over as permanent replacement. However, she was a star in her own right, having been the lead actress of the NBC soap opera How to Survive a Marriage from 1974 to 1975. It followed a couple who divorced and began battling for custody of their daughter, as the wife entered the workforce.
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For two years, from 1976 to 1978, she joined the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live, as the antagonist Cathy Craig. She was the fifth actress to play the role, after Catherine Burns, Amy Levitt, Jane Alice Brandon, and Dorrie Kavanaugh.
She made such an impact that she received a Daytime Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actress in a drama series in 1978.
In 1979, she popped up in the international hit soap Dallas, playing a secretary.
Other television credits included roles in Barnaby Jones, The White Shadow, St. Elsewhere, Law & Order, Oz and Rescue Me. Her last TV role was in The Good Wife in 2010.
On Broadway, her additional credits included roles in The School for Scandal, Blithe Spirit, The Sisters Rosensweig, The Little Foxes, The Deep Blue Sea, Amy’s View, The Glass Menagerie and Seascape.
Tributes flooded in for the star as the news broke, as fans took to social media to share their upset and condolences. On Facebook, one wrote: "We lost the brilliant and delightful Jennifer Harmon this past weekend. Another star dimmed."
Another added: "She only played Cathy Craig for two years! Wow what a lasting impression. RIP Jennifer Harmon. I hope they remember you at the Daytime Emmy Awards this year." A third chimed in: "Stunning actor, great career." A fourth penned: "What a great actress. God bless."
A fifth shared: "Extremely Sad News Out of #ABC & Daytime TV Jennifer Harmon, who played the antagonist Cathy Craig in the soap opera, “# OneLife to Live,” from 1976 to 1978, Has Died at 82. Harmon received a Daytime Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for her performance on the show in 1978."
