Soap opera actress Darlene Conley dead at 72

Posted:
Jan 16, 2007

Longtime stage and TV actress Darlene Conley, who portrayed fashionista Sally Spectra for almost two decades in soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, died Sunday at 72 in her Los Angeles home of stomach cancer.

The Emmy-nominated Conley died surrounded by family and friends, Eva Demirjian, a publicist for the CBS daytime drama, said Monday.

Born on July 18, 1934 of Irish-German heritage, the Chicago native voiced Mrs. Cratchit in the 1978 Rankin-Bass TV special The Stingiest Man in Town. She was Mrs. Santa Claus in the 1979 Rankin-Bass movie Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July, and had the title role in the direct-to-video The Return of Mombi (1997), an animated continuation of L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz stories.

The producers of The Bold and the Beautiful were deciding how to portray the fate of her character after she was diagnosed with cancer about three months ago, Demirjian said.

"She constantly entertained us with every move, every breath, every inflection of her voice. Whether she was the villain, the damsel, the sexpot or the comedienne, Darlene was brilliant," said the soap's executive producer, Bradley P. Bell.

"Darlene understood better than anyone that each moment of airtime was precious. An extraordinary actress of film, radio, stage and television, my family had the privilege and honor of Darlene gracing our shows for three decades. She was truly one-of-a-kind. We will miss her beyond measure."

In 1991, she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in connection with her role.

She was nominated numerous times for the Soap Opera Digest Award: in 1990 for Outstanding Comic Actress: Daytime; in 1991 and 1992 for Outstanding Supporting Actress: Daytime; in 1993 for Outstanding Comic Performance; in 1994 for Outstanding Scene Stealer; and in 1997 for Outstanding Female Showstopper.

Conley started her acting career at age 15, when Broadway impresario Jed Harris landed her a part as the Irish maid in the touring production of the Broadway hit The Heiress, a 19th-century melodrama starring Basil Rathbone. Following high school graduation, she appeared in such stage productions as Cyrano de Bergerac, The Baker's Wife and Night of the Iguana.

Eventually, she migrated to the screen, gaining small appearances in the movies The Birds and Valley of the Dolls and such TV series as Murder, She Wrote, Cagney & Lacey, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Cosby Show, Cagney & Lacey, Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven.

In the late 1970s, Conley found her niche on daytime TV. She portrayed Edith Baker on Days of Our Lives, Louie on Capitol and Trixie Monahan on General Hospital before being given the role of evil Rose de Ville on The Young and Restless.

B&B became her series in December 1988. She played a flamboyant, flaming-haired fashion mogul who ran Spectra Creations -- and crossed swords with rival firm Forrester Fashions.

"Darlene was a beloved member of the CBS family for many years," said Barbara Bloom, senior vice-president of daytime for CBS. "Her talent, wit and energy made her a force to be reckoned with, and her loss is immeasurable. She'll be greatly missed, but also greatly remembered."

Daytime television "is really the best medium today for women of a certain age to do something really flashy; it's where what we do well as actresses matters," Conley once said.

Divorced twice, Darlene Conley is survived by ex-husband Bill Woodson; son Raymond Woodson; sisters Carol Fontana and Sharon Wilson; many nieces and nephews; longtime friend and caretaker Eva Hansen; and Sandra Siegal, her manager of 24 years.

Funeral arrangements are pending.