Gail Marjorie Brown ( Ziegler; born October 11, 1937) is an American former

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. She is best known for her role as Clarice Hobson on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

daytime

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' Another World'' (1975–1986). She is the older sister of the late film actress

Karen Black Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portrayi ...

Early years

Brown was born Gail Ziegler and grew up in the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

suburb of

Park Ridge, Illinois Park Ridge is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a Chicago suburb. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,656. It is located northwest of downtown Chicago. It is close to O'Hare International Airport, major expressways, a ...

. She is a daughter of Elsie ( née Reif), a writer, and Norman Arthur Ziegler, an engineer and businessman. Brown graduated from Maine Township High School East in 1955. Her younger sister was actress

. Before she became a professional entertainer, she worked as a hatcheck girl, a typist, and a waitress.

Career

Brown left home for New York, planning to become a professional dancer. She became an understudy and dancer in a national touring company of ''Funny Girl''. She also performed as Mimsey and as a showgirl in the Broadway production of that musical. Brown played the role of Clarice Hobson on the

'' Another World'' from 1975–86 with sporadic on-off appearances following her departure. The role was notable for being the first comedic character on a daytime TV soap opera. In his book, ''Eight Years in Another World'', head writer Harding Lemay stated that he intended the character of Clarice to last only two days, but he was so taken by Brown's performance that he decided to add the character to the storyline.

Personal

Brown took her professional name from her first husband, Michael Quinlan Brown, and actor and a writer. She was married to Brown from 1970–77. Since 1981 Brown has been married to Gordon Duggan, with whom she has two children, a son and daughter. Brown has written and illustrated short children stories, other short stories, and has been writing throughout her whole life. She plays piano and some guitar.

References

External links

* 1937 births Living people American soap opera actresses 20th-century American actresses American television actresses American stage actresses Broadway theatre people Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women {{US-tv-actor-1930s-stub