Marj Dusay

Marjorie Ellen Mahoney Dusay (née Mahoney; February 20, 1936 – January 28, 2020) was an American actress known for her roles on American soap operas. She was especially known for her role as Alexandra Spaulding on Guiding Light, a role she played on and off from 1993 through the show's 2009 cancellation, as well as Jean Faircloth, the wife of Douglas MacArthur, in the 1977 movie MacArthur.

Career
In 1967, Kansas native Dusay was a member of the Session, an improvisational comedy group in Los Angeles, formed by Rob Reiner. One member of the Session was Richard Dreyfuss.

Her dramatic debut occurred on December 21, 1967, in an episode of television's Cimarron Strip.

She appeared in the film Sweet November (1968).

Dusay started her career with a small role as a waitress alongside Elvis Presley in the film Clambake in 1967. In 1968, Dusay played a special agent in the TV series Hawaii Five-O, in an episode titled "Twenty-Four Karat Kill". In 1969, Dusay played a woman who agrees to testify against a mobster in "The Singapore File", as well as appearing three times as seductive temptresses on Hogan's Heroes. In 1968-69 she played Gloria in the CBS comedy Blondie.

She made numerous guest appearances on popular television shows in the late 1960s and 1970s. She played alien Kara in "Spock's Brain", the first episode of season three of Star Trek. In it, Dusay delivered arguably one of the most memorable lines of the original Star Trek: "Brain and brain—what is brain?!" She was a popular guest at Star Trek fan conventions, often appearing with personal friend and fellow Star Trek actor Michael Dante. She appeared on Daniel Boone in its 1969 episode "Benvenuto... Who?" as a beautiful French diamond thief named Eugenie.

The majority of her acting career, however, was spent on television in dozens of popular programs, such as Get Smart, Star Trek, The Wild, Wild West, Bonanza, Hawaii Five-O, Hogan's Heroes, The Mod Squad, Love, American Style, The F.B.I., Mannix, The Bionic Woman, Quincy, M.E. and The Facts of Life.

She starred as Jean MacArthur in the 1977 film MacArthur, and guest-starred as Blair Warner's mother, Monica Warner, on The Facts of Life. In 1982, she appeared as Kate Hanrahan, a madam/con artist, in several episodes of Bret Maverick, in 1982-1983, she portrayed Beverly Tepperman in Square Pegs, and in 1979 she was Jennifer in Stop Susan Williams.

Summer 1999, Dusay starred in Andrew Repasky McElhinney's period art-slasher film, A Chronicle of Corpses (released 2001). The film made a "festival splash" and was praised by Dave Kehr of The New York Times as belonging "to the small but significant tradition of outsider art in American movies - films like Herk Harvey's Carnival of Souls or George Romero's Night of the Living Dead - that reflect powerful personalities formed outside any academic or professional tradition.” Dusay was praised for her performance as "Grandmother Elliot" in A Chronicle of Corpses which culminates in a tour de force seven-minute monologue for her character. She received uniformly good notices and several acting awards for her work in A Chronicle of Corpses the including winning the prestigious Silver Unicorn for Best Actor ("Unicornio de plata a la mejor Interpretación" — the highest acting honor) at The 3rd Annual Estepona Fantastic Film Festival  (held in Spain 23–29 September 2002). A Chronicle of Corpses was named one of the Top Ten Movies of the Year by The New York Times  and The Village Voice  and its original camera negative is in the permanent collection of MoMA - The Museum of Modern Art (New York). On the occasion of her death, Film International published a fond remembrance of Marj Dusay by A Chronicle of Corpses writer/director McElhinney.

Daytime
She enjoyed consistent success in several roles on daytime television. She made her soap debut in April 1983, replacing Carolyn Jones as the powerful Washington, DC, matriarch Myrna Clegg on Capitol, which she played through the final episode in March 1987. As the rival of the kindly Clarissa McCandless (Constance Towers), she had a part in practically every storyline, as well as a steady leading man in veteran film actor Richard Egan. Dusay received two Supporting Actress Soap Opera Digest nominations for this part.

She then took over for Shirley Anne Field as the troubled Pamela Pepperidge Capwell Conrad on Santa Barbara from 1987–88 and in 1991. As C.C. Capwell's first wife and Mason Capwell's mother, she also became the mother-in-law to Mason's half-sister, Kelly, who married Pamela's other son, Jeffrey Conrad. A brief affair with C.C. ended badly, causing Pamela to go insane and try to kill Kelly. Her 1991 return had Pamela seemingly recovered, but quickly slipping back into insanity when Mason took her to C.C.'s for a surprise dinner.

In 1993, Dusay briefly filled in for Louise Sorel as Vivian Alamain on Days of Our Lives while Sorel was on medical leave. After a nationwide search for an actress to take over for the enormously popular Beverlee McKinsey as Alexandra Spaulding on Guiding Light, Dusay was cast in the role and began airing in August 1993, remaining on the show until March 1997. She returned for a brief stint from November 1998 to February 1999.

Dusay originated the role of Vanessa Bennett on All My Children from 1999, a role she played until 2002. As the mother of Dr. David Hayward (Vincent Irizarry, her co-star from Guiding Light) and Leo DuPres (Josh Duhamel), she also became Palmer Cortlandt's last wife, playing opposite James Mitchell. Dusay then once again returned to the role of Alexandra on Guiding Light, this time replacing Joan Collins, who left three months into a six-month contract.

In late May 2005, Dusay was one of several cast members taken off contract due to budget cuts. Dusay continued to make recurring appearances on the show. Dusay played a 2006 storyline where Alexandra married younger man Cyrus Foley (Murray Bartlett) to keep Cyrus in the country - while scheming to keep him out of a younger woman's bed. While Dusay's appearances were greatly reduced after this storyline ended, she did appear in the show's final year, opposite Grant Aleksander, who played her onscreen nephew Philip Spaulding. CBS announced the cancellation of Guiding Light on April 1, 2009, and the final show aired on September 18, 2009. Dusay appeared as Alexandra during the final week of the show. Alexandra attended her brother's funeral and had a "happy ending" of sorts when she reunited with former romantic partner Fletcher Reade.

Personal life
In 1955, she married John Dusay, a physician. They had a son, Randy, and a daughter, Debra, who is an actress. The marriage ended in divorce in 1962. In 1967, she married Thomas Perine, who died in 1987. Randy Dusay died in 1993 from AIDS.

Beginning in 1984, Dusay sponsored the Marj Dusay Celebrity Golf Tournament in Russell, Kansas. The event was designated as a fundraiser for the Kansas Child Abuse Prevention Centers and for establishing a statewide hotline.

On January 28, 2020, Dusay died at age 83 in Manhattan, New York.

Partial TV and filmography

 * Clambake (1967) as Waitress
 * Year 1999 A D. (1967 short) as Karen
 * The Wild Wild West (1967-1968, TV series) as Dolores Hammond / Crystal Fair
 * Sweet November (1968) as Carol
 * Star Trek (1968, episode "Spock's Brain") as Kara
 * Bonanza (1968-1969, TV Series) as April Horn / Stephanie Regan
 * Hawaii Five-O (1968-1969, TV series) as Nicole Wylie / Andrea Claire Dupre
 * Hogan's Heroes (1968-1970, TV series) as Countess Marlene / Baroness von Krimm / Heidi Eberhardt
 * Pendulum (1969) as Liz Tennant
 * Dead of Night: A Darkness at Blaisedon (1969, TV movie, Dan Curtis production-TV movie pilot] as Angela Martin
 * Family Affair (1970, episode "The Unsinkable Mr. French") as Dana Markham
 * The Odd Couple (1971, episode "What Does a Naked Lady Say To You") as Madelyn
 * Getting Together (1971, episode "All Shook Up")
 * Mannix (1971, episode "A Gathering of Ghosts")
 * McMillan & Wife (1972, episode "The Face of Murder") as Eloise Simms
 * Thirty Dangerous Seconds (1973) as Patricia Randolph
 * The F.B.I. (1973 as Peg Higgins
 * Breezy (1973) as Betty Tobin
 * MacArthur (1977) as Jean MacArthur
 * Wheels (1978, TV miniseries) as Caroline Horton
 * Stop Susan Williams! (1979, TV series) as Jennifer Selden
 * The Facts of Life (1981-1987, TV series, recurring) as Monica Warner
 * Capitol (1983-1987, TV series) as Myrna Clegg
 * Dallas (1985, TV series) as Bernice Billings
 * Made in Heaven (1987) as Mrs. Packert
 * The Law & Harry McGraw (1987, episode "The Fallen Arrow") as Judith Harris
 * Santa Barbara (1987-1991, TV series) as Pamela Capwell Conrad
 * Guiding Light (1987-2009, TV series) as Alexandra Spaulding / Radio Show Organist (final appearance)
 * Murder, She Wrote (1989-1992, TV series) as Miriam Bowman / Alice Reynard Carson
 * Friday the 13th: The Series (1990, episode "Spirit of Television") as Ilsa Van Zandt
 * Days of Our Lives (1993, TV series, temporary replacement, replacing Louise Sorel while she was away) as Vivian Alamain
 * Siao Yu (1995) as Rita
 * Love Walked In (1997) as Mrs. Moore
 * 12 Bucks (1998) as Oldie
 * All My Children (1998-2002, TV series) as Vanessa Bennett Hayward Cortlandt
 * A Chronicle of Corpses (2000) as Grandmother Elliot
 * Pride & Loyalty (2002) as Aunt Jeanne

Award nominations
Daytime Emmy Awards
 * (1995) Daytime Emmy Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Guiding Light
 * (2002) Special Fan Award America's Favorite Villain for playing Vanessa Cortlandt on All My Children

Soap Opera Digest Awards
 * (1986) Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role on a Daytime Serial for Capitol
 * (1988) Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role: Daytime for Capitol
 * (1995) Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Villainess for Guiding Light