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Eileen Fulton

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Eileen Fulton
Fulton in 1965
Born
Margaret Elizabeth McLarty

(1933-09-13) September 13, 1933 (age 91)
Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • author
Years active1960–present
Spouse(s)Bill Cochrane (1957) (divorced)
Danny Fortunato (1971–1980) (divorced)
Rick McMorrow (1989) (divorced)

Eileen Fulton (born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty; September 13, 1933)[1] is an American actress, author, and singer. She is known for her television role as Lisa Grimaldi on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns, which she played almost continuously for 50 years, from May 18, 1960 until the show's ending on September 17, 2010. She also starred on Our Private World (1965), a primetime spin off of As the World Turns. For her work on ATWT, she received an Editor's Award at the Soap Opera Digest Awards in 1991 and a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. Fulton has appeared in theatrical productions, including the original Broadway run of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? She has performed a cabaret act at theaters in New York and Los Angeles. She has also co-authored two autobiographies, How My World Turns and As My World Still Turns, a novel titled Soap Opera, and six murder mystery novels

Early life

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Fulton was born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty in Asheville, North Carolina on September 13, 1933. Her father was a Methodist minister and she is descended from a long line of clergymen.[1] When she was two years old, Fulton interrupted church services by performing the song "Shortnin' Bread."[2]

Her father's work as a minister caused the family to move frequently. They lived in Mount Holly, Winston-Salem, Boone, Belmont and Marion. When she was in the third grade, Fulton told her parents, "When I grow up and become a movie star, I'm going to get you a house of your own."[3]

She attended Greensboro College, studying music and dramatics. During her college years, she performed in Candide.[4] Fulton also played an elf in a production of James Thurber's The 13 Clocks. She majored in music. After graduation, her father found her a job working with a local church choir, but she wanted to move to New York.[2][3]

Career

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1956-1960: As the World Turns

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Fulton made her professional acting debut in the play The Lost Colony in Manteo, North Carolina. She moved to New York in 1956 and attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.[4] She studied with Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg.[3] She supported herself with a variety of jobs, including selling hats at Macy's and modeling. She posed for photos that were used on the cover of True Confessions magazine.[4] Fulton played Lisa Bailey in the drama film Girl of the Night (1960), co-starring with Anne Francis.[5]

She was cast as Lisa Grimaldi (then known as Lisa Miller) on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns, first airing May 16, 1960. Fulton originated the role. In her early years on the show, the character of Lisa was married to Dr. Bob Hughes (Don Hastings). That romance eventually failed, but she went on to have seven more marriages.[6]

The character and actress were, in Fulton's first decades on As the World Turns, very popular (to the point where, in the late 1960s, Fulton had to hire a publicist, the first soap actress to do so). The character became hated after a simple sequence where Lisa hired a maid to clean the house and went gallivanting about town. When mother-in-law Nancy complimented Lisa on what a nice home she made for her son Bob, the audience became furious, stopping Fulton on the street and slapping her.[7][8]

1960-1966: Our Private World

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In the 1960s, she also took theater roles. She appeared in Abe Lincoln in Illinois with Hal Holbrook.[1] Fulton replaced Melinda Dillon as Honey in the orginal Broadway production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?[9][10] She also starred Off-Broadway as Luisa in The Fantasticks.[10] Fulton would perform in the live broadcast of As the World Turns, then be on stage for the matinee performance of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? There was only a 30-minute window between the time ATWT concluded its live broadcast at 2:00 pm, and the beginning of the first act of Virginia Woolf. She had time to travel from CBS' studios to the Billy Rose Theatre and get into costume because her character did not appear on stage for the first 20 minutes. Fulton would be back onstage by evening, performing in The Fantasticks.[11]

Her other theater credits include Many Loves, Any Wednesday, Sabrina Fair, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Nite Club Confidential, Plaza Suite, It Had To be You, The Owl and the Pussycat, Goodbye Charlie and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.[12][1][4]

Fulton left As the World Turns for several months in 1964. During her absence, the role of Lisa was recast with actress Pamela King.[6] In 1965, Irna Phillips, the head writer of ATWT, created a primetime spin-off series, Our Private World, focused on the character of Lisa. The spin-off lasted from May 5 to September 10, 1965 before being cancelled. Fulton took several months off before returning to As the World Turns in May 1966.[4][6] CBS hired a bodyguard to escort her to and from the studio due to overzealous fans.[4]

1966-1998: The Granny clause

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In the late 1960s, after her onscreen son was aged from age 12 to 19, Fulton insisted it be written into her contract that her character could not become a grandmother. She feared that the perception of her as a grandmother, instead of a glamorous and vital woman, would cause the writers to kill off her character. (This had been done when Barbara Berjer, who was playing one of Lisa's rivals, Claire Shea, became a grandmother).[13][14]

She was briefly absent from ATWT in the late 1970s and the role of Lisa was recast with actress Lynn Rogers. She left ATWT again in April 1983 and the role was recast with Betsy von Furstenberg. Fulton returned eighteen months later, first airing on August 3, 1984.[6] She agreed to return when she was promised to have six months on the show, followed by six months off, a more glamorous storyline and time off for singing and acting appearances.[3] Fans, believing that the "granny clause" as it had become known, was still in effect (which it was not), sent Fulton so much threatening "hate mail" when Lisa's onscreen daughter-in-law, Margo, had a miscarriage in 1986, that she again had to have a bodyguard.[13][15]

Fulton was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1988.[16] In June 1990, she took a leave of absence from ATWT while she underwent gynecological surgery. The role of Lisa was temporarily recast with Jane Powell.[17][6] In 1991, Fulton received the Editor's Award at the Soap Opera Digest Awards.[18] She took another short break from ATWT in 1992 and was replaced with Maeve McGuire. Jane Powell filled in for Fulton again briefly in 1993 and 1994.[6] Fulton was nominated for a Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1996.[19] She was inducted into the Soap Opera Hall of Fame in 1998.[14]

1998-present

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She has co-authored two autobiographies, How My World Turns and As My World Still Turns. Fulton wrote a novel titled Soap Opera, loosely based on her experiences on As the World Turns. She has also written six murder mystery novels: Take One for Murder, Death of a Golden Girl, Dying for Stardom, Lights, Camera, Death, A Setting for Murder, and Fatal Flashback.[1]

In the early 2000s, Fulton routinely performed a cabaret act at the West Bank Cafe in Manhattan. She also occasionally brought the act to the Cinegrill in Los Angeles. The spotlight song of her cabaret performances was "As if We Never Said Goodbye," from Sunset Boulevard. Fulton would perform the song in front a slideshow tribute to her years on As the World Turns.[20] She headlined CabaretFest 2003 in Provincetown.[21]

On June 1, 2000, ATWT aired a special clip montage to honor Fulton and her co-star Don Hastings' 40th anniversaries on the show.[20] In 2004, they both received Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Awards.[22] She was absent from ATWT for a few days in 2004 and the role of Lisa was temporarily recast with Carmen Duncan.[6] Fulton played Betty in the drama film The Signs of the Cross (2005), co-starring with Dan Lauria.[23] She played Joyce Singleton in the drama film Tinsel Town (2008), written and directed by Kenneth del Vecchio.[24] She also appeared as Mrs. Carreck in The Drum Beats Twice (2008), another film written and directed by del Vecchio.[25]

The cancellation of As the World Turns was announced in December 2009.[26] In May 2010, ATWT aired a tribute episode, celebrating Fulton's 50th year on the show. In the episode, the show's younger cast members re-enacted classic scenes of Lisa and Nancy (Helen Wagner).[11] Fulton remained on the show through its cancellation, but she only appeared briefly in the final episode, airing September 17, 2010.[27][28]

In 2010, Fulton performed her cabaret act at Don't Tell Mama in New York.[29][30] In July 2011, she played Mrs. Higgins in a Connecticut Repertory Theatre production of My Fair Lady, co-starring with Terrence Mann.[31]

Personal

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Fulton is a 1956 graduate of Greensboro College and was granted an honorary doctorate in 2005, on the 50th anniversary of her college graduation. She was the commencement speaker at Greensboro College's graduation ceremony that year.

Fulton was married three times, all ending in divorce, including to landscape architect Rick McMorrow for three months in 1989.[32]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Title Result Ref.
1988 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series As the World Turns Nominated [16]
1991 Soap Opera Digest Award Editor's Award Won [18]
1996 Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Lead Actress As the World Turns Nominated [19]
2004 Daytime Emmy Award Lifetime Achievement Award Won [22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "About the Actors: Eileen Fulton". Soap Central. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Hill, Michael E. (June 2, 1990). "Eileen Fulton". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Stoneman, Donnell (April 7, 1992). "How Her World Changes\ Soap Actress Eileen Fulton Learns Her College Town Has Evolved, Too". Greensboro News and Record. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rout, Nancy E.; Buckley, Ellen (1992). The Soap Opera Book: Who's Who in Daytime Drama. Todd Publications. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-915344-23-9.
  5. ^ "Girl of the Night". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Who's Who in Oakdale: Lisa Miller Hughes Eldridge Shea Colman McColl Mitchell Grimaldi". Soap Central. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  7. ^ Schemering, Christopher (1987). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. New York: Ballentine. p. 31. ISBN 0345-35344-7.
  8. ^ Glave, Judie (May 23, 1995). "Actress Eileen Fulton Happy That 'World Turns' Fans Hate Her". The Spokesman-Review. Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  9. ^ "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". Playbill. Archived from the original on May 30, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Gans, Andrew (February 14, 2011). "Soap Star Eileen Fulton Will Offer Blame It on My Youth in April". Playbill. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Logan, Michael (September 13, 2010). "Eileen Fulton Says Farewell to As the World Turns". TV Guide. Archived from the original on April 14, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  12. ^ "Performer Bios: Eileen Fulton". Feinstein's at Loews Regency. Archived from the original on May 28, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "ATWT's Eileen Fulton divulges the true nature of the infamous Granny Clause for Lisa!". michaelfairmantv.com. September 18, 2010. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Soap Opera Diva Gets Her Due". CBS News. September 22, 1998. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  15. ^ Pellegrinelli, Lara (September 18, 2010). "'As The World Turns' Star Eileen Fulton Reflects On Fifty Years As Lisa". NPR. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  16. ^ a b "The Fifteenth Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (1988)". Soap Central. Archived from the original on September 6, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  17. ^ "Status Chart of Off Screen Happenings". Soap Opera Digest. 15 (17): 40. August 21, 1990.
  18. ^ a b "The Soap Opera Digest Awards 1991". Soap Opera Digest. Archived from the original on August 9, 2004. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "The Soap Opera Awards Nominations". Soap Opera Digest. 20 (22): 62. October 24, 1995.
  20. ^ a b Keck, William (April 28, 2000). "Ever 'Diva Darling' as the World Turns". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  21. ^ Crosby, Johanna (May 14, 2003). "'As the World Turns' star to headline festival". Cape Cod Times. Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  22. ^ a b McClintock, Pamela (February 3, 2004). "10 clean up at Daytime Emmys". Variety. Archived from the original on June 18, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  23. ^ "The Signs of the Cross - Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  24. ^ "Tinsel Town - Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  25. ^ "The Drum Beats Twice - Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  26. ^ Kroll, Dan J. (December 8, 2009). "Cancelled: As the World Turns to go off the air in 2010". Soap Central. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  27. ^ Newcomb, Roger (September 17, 2010). "The End of the World: Thoughts on ATWT's Final Episode". welovesoaps.net. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  28. ^ Rice, Lynette (September 17, 2010). "'As the World Turns' series finale: So long, good people of Oakdale! You will be missed". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  29. ^ Peter, Thomas (December 2, 2010). "Eileen Fulton To Return to Don't Tell Mama Dec. 17". Playbill. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  30. ^ Evans, Greg (November 4, 2010). "Stay Tuned for Soap Stars' Next Acts". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  31. ^ Gans, Andrew (May 19, 2011). "Terrence Mann and Eileen Fulton Will Star in Connecticut Repertory Theatre's My Fair Lady". Playbill. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  32. ^ Lansden, Pamela (October 9, 1989). "Take One". People. Archived from the original on February 3, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
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