Augusta Dabney
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Augusta Keith Dabney (October 23, 1918 – February 4, 2008) was an American actress known for her roles on many soap operas, such as the wealthy but kindly matriarch Isabelle Alden on the daytime series ''
Loving Loving may refer to: * Love, a range of human emotions * Loving (surname) * ''Loving v. Virginia'', a 1967 landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case Film and television * Loving (1970 film), ''Loving'' (1970 film), an American fi ...
''. She played the role from 1983 to 1987, from 1988 to 1991, and again from 1994 to 1995.


Early years

Dabney was born on October 23, 1918, the daughter of Thomas G. Dabney and Jessie Dabney. She was born and raised in
Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
, and graduated from the
University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...
, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and two honor societies. In 1937, she moved to New York so that she could study at the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...
.


Career

Dabney acted in stock theater and on Broadway. Her Broadway debut was in ''Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1938), and her final Broadway appearance was in ''Sacrilege'' (1995). In the early days of live television, Dabney appeared in numerous episodes of such
anthology drama An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a diffe ...
series as '' Studio One'', ''
Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Imperial Chees ...
'', and ''
Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run, and the title was altered to feature the ...
''. On November 21, 1950, she co-starred in "The Perfect Type" on ''
Armstrong Circle Theatre ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with '' The U.S. Steel Hour''. It fi ...
''. She also had roles on numerous other daytime soaps, including ''
Young Dr. Malone ''Young Doctor Malone'' (a.k.a. ''Young Dr. Malone'') is an American soap opera, created by Irna Phillips, which had a long run on radio and television from 1939 to 1963. The producer was Betty Corday (1912–1987), who also produced '' Pepper You ...
'' as leading character Tracey Malone, '' Another World'' as Laura Baxter (1964–1965), ''
As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...
'' in two different roles, '' Love is a Many-Splendored Thing'', ''
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 ...
'' as the original Barbara Norris (1970), '' A World Apart'' as leading character Betty Kahlman Barry (1970–1971), ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...
'' as Lee Baldwin's second wife, Caroline Chandler (1975–1976), ''
One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...
'' as Pat Kendall's mother, Helena Ashley (1979) and '' The Doctors'' as Theodora Van Allen (1980–1981). Dabney's film debut came in ''That Night'' (1957), and her final film appearance was in ''The Paper'' (1994).


Personal life

On September 12, 1941, in New York City, Dabney married actor
Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as House Majority Leader under spea ...
, with whom she had three children. They were married in 1941 and divorced in 1964. She was sister-in-law to writer Mary McCarthy during this marriage. Her second husband was actor William Prince. They were married from 1964 until his death in 1996. Dabney and Prince appeared together on at least four soaps: ''Young Dr. Malone'' (before their marriage), ''Another World'', ''As the World Turns'', and ''A World Apart''. They also appeared together in one film, ''
The Paper ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' (1994), where they portrayed a married couple (the parents of the lead character, Henry Hackett, played by
Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in '' Beetlejuice'' ...
). Her last performance was on an episode of ''
100 Centre Street ''100 Centre Street'' is an American legal drama created by Sidney Lumet and starring Alan Arkin, Val Avery, Bobby Cannavale, Joel de la Fuente and Paula Devicq. Premise The show takes its name for the Manhattan street address of the New York C ...
'' (2001). In 1957, Dabney was nominated for a
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film. * From 1952 t ...
for her starring performance in a film drama, '' That Night!''


Death

Dabney died after an extended illness on February 4, 2008, aged 89, in her
Dobbs Ferry, New York Dobbs Ferry is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,875 according to the 2010 United States Census. In 2019, its population rose to an estimated 11,027. The village of Dobbs Ferry is located in, and is a ...
.


Filmography


References


External links

* *
Obituary
variety.com; accessed August 3, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dabney, Augusta 1918 births 2008 deaths American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses Actresses from Berkeley, California University of California, Berkeley alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women