Darlene Conley (July 18, 1934 – January 14, 2007) was an American actress. Conley's career spanned fifty years, but she was best known for her performances in daytime television, and in particular, for her portrayal of larger-than-life fashion industrialist

Sally Spectra Sally Spectra is a fictional character from the American soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful''. Sally was played by actress Darlene Conley for almost twenty years, from January 17, 1989, to November 29, 2006. Introduced in the show's early y ...

on ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...

''. Conley played the role from 1989 until her death eighteen years later. Darlene's character Sally is the only soap opera character to be displayed at

Madame Tussaud's Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer us ...

wax figures galleries in Amsterdam and Las Vegas.

Life and career

Conley, an

Irish American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

, was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the daughter of Melba (née Manthey) and Raymond Conley. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Conley was employed with the traveling theater group the Chicago Uptown Circuit Players and Playwrights Company. She landed a bit part in the movie '' The Birds'', which was followed by similar small roles in movies like '' Valley of the Dolls'' and '' Lady Sings the Blues''. Darlene also appeared in the first episode of the fifth season of ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moor ...

'' as a prison warden. Darlene appeared on ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...

'' in 1981, in the episode entitled "A Wiser Heart."

Daytime television

Darlene's performance as Rose DeVille on ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

'' followed, with Conley playing many small roles on other soaps for most of the 1980s. She was the tough but basically decent prison warden Edith Hopkins on ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'' in 1983 during

Liz Chandler Liz Chandler (formerly Courtney, DiMera, Craig, and Curtis) is a fictional character on the soap opera, ''Days of Our Lives'', and was played by actress Gloria Loring from 1980 to 1986. Storylines Liz came to Salem in 1980. She is the daughter o ...

's incarceration for

Marie Horton Marie Horton (formerly Merritt and Curtis) is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera, ''Days of Our Lives''. Created by ''DOOL'' creator Ted Corday, actress Maree Cheatham is most recognized in the role, originating it on the debut episode o ...

's shooting. As Trixie on ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'' from 1984 to 1988, she was an old hooker pal of Ruby's who worked at Kelly's. An encore as Rose De Ville inspired

William J. Bell William Joseph Bell (March 6, 1927 – April 29, 2005) was an American screenwriter and television producer, best known as the creator of the soap operas '' Another World'', ''The Young and the Restless'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful''. Ea ...

to cast her as flamboyant fashion maven

on his newer serial, ''

''. She earned two Outstanding Supporting Actress

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

nominations. She was friends with several actors who appeared on ''"B&B"'', including

Fabio Fabio is a given name descended from Latin '' Fabius'' and very popular in Italy and Latin America (due to Italian migration). Its English equivalent is Fabian. The name is written without an accent in Italian and Spanish, but is usually accented ...

, who has appeared on the show several times, usually under the guise of celebrating Sally's birthday. She was also friends with

Phyllis Diller Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and e ...

, who also appeared on the show as Sally's friend, Gladys Pope.

Illness and death

Conley became ill in 2004 due to a fall that broke several bones. She recovered from the fall and returned to work (although she was usually seated during her scenes). Reports surfaced in the media in the fall of 2006 that Conley had surgery and received treatment for

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

. Conley died on January 14, 2007. ''B&B'' featured a tribute to Conley;

John McCook John Thomas McCook (born June 20, 1944) is an American actor. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of the character Lance Prentiss on the television soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' (from 1975 - 1980)''.'' Since March 1987, he h ...

presented the tribute, which featured her memorable moments on the show.

Sally Spectra

Sally Spectra is still a character on ''B&B''. Sally's absence has been explained by having her son CJ tell his father, Clarke (and viewers), that Sally had taken a permanent vacation in St. Tropez. Head writer Brad Bell said that Sally is "bigger than life" and will live on forever. In late 2007, Sally decided to sell her fashion house.

Nick Marone Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Place ...

and

Jackie Marone Jackie Marone is a fictional character in the CBS soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', portrayed by British actress Lesley-Anne Down Lesley-Anne Down (born 17 March 1954) is a British actress, singer and former model. She achieved fame ...

bought Spectra and ran the company; in a later story in 2017, the show revisited many of the storylines of Sally Spectra to introduce a new younger character, also named

Sally Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military *Sortie (siege warfare), Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, ...

, who is the niece of the original Sally Spectra. The younger Spectra relaunched the house of Spectra fashion line. In addition, the show brought back the character of CJ to appear in several episodes.

Filmography

*'' The Birds'' (1963) – Waitress (uncredited) *'' Valley of the Dolls'' (1967) – Nurse in Sanitarium (uncredited) *''

Faces The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...

'' (1968) – Billy Mae *''Captain Milkshake'' (1970) – Mrs. Hamilton *''

Minnie and Moskowitz ''Minnie and Moskowitz'' is a 1971 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cassavetes and starring his wife Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassel in the title roles of Minnie and Moskowitz, respectively. Plot Seymour Moskow ...

'' (1971) – (uncredited) *'' Lady Sings the Blues'' (1972) – (uncredited) *''

Play It as It Lays ''Play It as It Lays'' is a 1970 novel by the American writer Joan Didion. ''Time'' magazine included the novel in its " 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005". About the book, Joan Didion said, "I didn’t think it was going to mak ...

'' (1972) – Kate's Nurse *''Gentle Savage'' (1973) – Mac Moody *''

Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July ''Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July'' (titled on-screen as ''Rudolph and Frosty: Christmas in July'', or simply ''Rudolph and Frosty'') is an American-Japanese Christmas/Independence Day television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions ...

'' (1979) – Mrs. Claus *''

Tough Guys ''Tough Guys'' is a 1986 American action comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Eli Wallach, Charles Durning, Dana Carvey and Darlanne Fluegel. It is the eighth film of Touchstone Pictures, and the final ...

'' (1986) – Gladys Ripps *''

The Oz Kids ''The Oz Kids'' is an American direct-to-video animated fantasy comedy-drama series produced by Hyperion Animation based on '' The Wizard of Oz'', L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's novel, and its various sequels. Nine episodes were released between ...

'' (1996) -

Mombi Mombi is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum's classic children's series of Oz Books. She is the most significant antagonist in the second Oz book ''The Marvelous Land of Oz'' (1904), and is alluded to in other works. Mombi plays a very impor ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conley, Darlene 1934 births 2007 deaths American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from stomach cancer American people of Irish descent Actresses from Chicago 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women