Joan Benedict, a soap and TV icon, has died at the age of 96.
The actress, who starred in shows such as General Hospital and Days of Our Lives, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles on June 24.
A spokesperson for Joan’s family confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter on Monday, July 8, that the beloved star died due to the complications she suffered after having a stroke.
Joan also featured in Candid Camera, the original Steve Allen Show, and a theatre production where she portrayed Leona Helmsley.
In the show Leona, Joan performed solo within a jail cell. She also starred in the autobiographical one-woman show The Loves of My Life.
Joan was married to John Myhers, the star of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He died in 1992 after contracting pneumonia.
She went on to marry Rod Steiger from 2000-2002. He was an Academy Award winner and died at the age of 77 after also developing pneumonia, and kidney failure after surgery on a gallbladder tumour.
The couple also worked on two films together called A Month of Sundays and the TV film The Flying Dutchman.
Joan was also in a relationship with One Life to Live actor Jeremy Slate, who died in 2006 at the age of 80 after a cancer diagnosis.
‘Both of my husbands, and my lifetime partner, Jeremy, were wonderful men who respected my as an actress’, she told Women Fitness back in 2016.
‘They all died from different forms of cancer, so my memories are sometimes bittersweet, but with no regrets’.
Recently, it was reported that CBS is in the early stages of developing a brand new daytime drama.
The US broadcaster, already home to juggernauts The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and The Restless, is working on The Gates, a new soap which will follow a wealthy Black family living in a gated community.
Produced by P&G Studio, which previously worked on Guiding Light and As The World Turns, the upcoming serial will feature soap opera legend Michele Val Jean as script writer.
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Michele has worked across various daytime dramas, including General Hospital and the shorter-lived Santa Barbara.
The Gates will be CBS’ first new daytime serial drama since The Bold and The Beautiful commenced in 1987 and the first on TV generally since Passions which debuted in 1999.
It’s currently unknown if the new soap will find a UK broadcaster though if history has taught us anything it’s unlikely, with the likes of The Bold and The Beautiful and General Hospital still having no home on UK TV.
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