Nancy Addison Altman (March 21, 1946Born 1946 as pe
Social Security Death Index website
accessed August 20, 2014. – June 18, 2002), also known as Nancy Addison, was an American actress noted for her appearances in

soap operas 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 ...

. She first attracted notice for playing Kit Vestid on the television soap opera ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'' for five years beginning in 1969. She is best known for her role as

Jillian Coleridge This is a list of characters that appear on the ABC soap opera '' Ryan's Hope'' from 1975 to 1989. A ;Sheik Haroun Al Raschid :(Played by Kaleel Sakakeeny, 1981) ::Financial backer of archaeological excavations ;Ken Alexander :(Played by Will ...

on the soap opera ''

Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in th ...

'' which she played for over twelve years beginning with the show's premiere in 1975. She left the show in early 1988 but returned for its final episodes in 1989.

Biography

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Addison studied with

Sanford Meisner Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 – February 2, 1997) was an American actor and acting teacher who developed an approach to acting instruction that is now known as the Meisner technique. While Meisner was exposed to method acting at the Group ...

at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Her first soap opera role was Kit Vestid on ''Guiding Light'', which she played from 1969 to 1974. In 1975, she debuted on ''

'' in the role with which she is most identified,

. She played the role for a dozen years until she decided to leave in late 1987, and made her final appearance in January 1988. She returned briefly a year later to reprise the role of Jill for the show's final episodes. In 1989, she moved into the role of Marissa Rampal on ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

''. Addison portrayed Deborah Brewster Alden from 1993 to 1995 on '' Loving'', and in 1995 played the same role on '' The City''. She co-starred with

James Coburn James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...

in the three-part television mini-series ''

The Dain Curse ''The Dain Curse'' is a novel by Dashiell Hammett, published in 1929. Before its publication in book form, it was serialized in ''Black Mask (magazine), Black Mask'' magazine in 1928 and 1929. Serial publication ''The Dain Curse'' was original ...

'' (1978). She also appeared in ''Somewhere, Tomorrow'' (1983), ''Baby Me'' (1988) and the long-running television series ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' in different roles on various episodes. In the spring of 1978, Ms. Addison was selected to serve as the honorary celebrity “Queen of the Azaleas”, during the annual Azalea Festival, held in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

Personal life

Twice married, Addison volunteered a great deal of her time working with children with

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

Illness and death

In 1999, she was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

of her

adrenal gland The adrenal glands (also known as suprarenal glands) are endocrine glands that produce a variety of hormones including adrenaline and the steroids aldosterone and cortisol. They are found above the kidneys. Each gland has an outer cortex which ...

and

bronchial tubes A bronchus is a passage or airway in the lower respiratory tract that conducts air into the lungs. The first or primary bronchi pronounced (BRAN-KAI) to branch from the trachea at the carina are the right main bronchus and the left main bronchus. ...

, which claimed her life in 2002 in New York City, aged 56. She was survived by her second husband, Daniel Goldfarb.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Addison, Nancy 1946 births 2002 deaths American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Actresses from New York City 20th-century American actresses American film actresses