Lori March (March 6, 1923 – March 19, 2013) was an American television actress. She was best known for her roles on daytime soap operas. Her obituary on the Television Academy's web site noted that she "was dubbed 'First Lady of Daytime Television.'"

Early years

March was born in Hollywood, California. She was the daughter of

Theodore von Eltz Theodore von Eltz (November 5, 1893 – October 6, 1964) was an American film actor, appearing in more than 200 films between 1915 and 1957. He was the father of actress Lori March. Von Eltz was a Yale University professor's son. After 12 ...

, an actor, and Peggy Prior, a screenwriter. Poet Joseph Moncure March was her adoptive father. She attended

Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (usually abbreviated as Beverly or as BHHS) is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. The other public high school in Beverly Hills, Moreno High School, is a small alternative school located on B ...

. She studied theatre at

HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency progra ...

in New York City.

Stage

March's

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

credits include ''Giants, Sons of Giants'' (1961), ''The Chalk Garden'' (1955), and ''Charley's Aunt'' (1953).

Television

March played Lenore Bradley on the soap opera ''

The Brighter Day ''The Brighter Day'' is an American daytime soap opera which aired on CBS from January 4, 1954, to September 28, 1962. Originally created for NBC Radio by Irna Phillips in 1948, the radio and television versions ran simultaneously from 1954&nda ...

''. Her other soap operas and roles included '' Three Steps to Heaven'' (Jennifer), ''As the World Turns'' (Nurse Harris), ''

The Secret Storm ''The Secret Storm'' is an American soap opera that the CBS television network transmitted from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas ''Search for Tomorrow'' and ''Love ...

'' (Valerie Hill Ames Northcoate), '' One Life to Live'' (Adele Huddleston), ''

The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that netwo ...

'' (Mrs. Hinson), ''

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

'' (Mildred Canfield), ''Another Life'' (Barbara Gilbert), ''The Guiding Light'' (Lady Agnes Gilmore), and ''Another World'' (Abigail Kramer). She appeared in 6 Perry Mason episodes including the role of defendant Edna Culross in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Posthumous Painter" and murderess Olive Omstead in the 1962 episode " The Case of the Capricious Corpse".

Personal life

In May 1943, March married actor Alexander Scourby.

Death

On March 19, 2013, March died at age 90 while sleeping in Redding, Connecticut.

Selected television credits

* '' Man Against Crime'' * '' Three Steps to Heaven'' * ''The Brighter Day'' * ''The Secret Storm'' * ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'' (Episode: "

Third From the Sun "Third from the Sun" is episode 14 of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone''. It is based on a short story of the same name by Richard Matheson which first appeared in the first issue of the magazine ''Galaxy Science Ficti ...

") * ''

Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

'' * ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

'' * ''One Life to Live'' (two roles) * ''The Edge of Night'' * ''Texas''

Film credits

* ''

Ransom! ''Ransom!'' is a 1956 American crime drama film examining the reactions of parents, police, and the public to a kidnapping. Written by Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume, the film is based on a popular episode of ''The United States Steel Hour'' tit ...

'' (1956) * '' Lovers and Lollipops'' (1956)

References

External links

* * * * 1923 births 2013 deaths Actresses from Los Angeles American stage actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses American soap opera actresses People from Redding, Connecticut 21st-century American women {{US-tv-actor-1920s-stub