Beloved Daytime Emmy Winner Dead at 98
Credit: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection (4)
They say that death comes for us all sooner or later. But man, we sure wished that it would’ve skipped right over Helen Gallagher. The actress, a three-time Emmy winner for her portrayal of Maeve Ryan on Ryan’s Hope, passed away at age 98 on November 24.
A native of Brooklyn, Gallagher was a Broadway mainstay who scored Tonys for her work in Pal Joey in 1952 and No, No, Nanette in 1971. (In between, she was nominated again for Sweet Charity in 1966.) But she will perhaps always be most fondly — and vividly — remembered for the way that she brought to life the force of nature that was the matriarch of the Ryan family.
Simply put, there are no longer characters like Maeve on our soaps. She wasn’t glamorous. She wasn’t hypocritical. She was as tough as nails and stringent in her beliefs but also such an appealing mother figure that you could understand why frequent daughter-in-law Delia constantly sought her approval.
Gallagher brought a fire to the role that is almost unmatched. If Maeve offered comfort to one of her kids, we’ll be damned if we didn’t feel it, too. But if they disappointed her — or, worse, ticked her off — the tongue-lashing that would result would be epic.
Following the soap’s cancellation in 1989 — the show ended with Gallagher singing “Danny Boy” as she had every St. Patrick’s Day — the venerable veteran passed through Another World, All My Children and One Life to Live. But those were for the most part unremarkable stints, short visits designed to keep the spotlight where it belonged: on Gallagher.
On this somber occasion, check out the below photo gallery of more characters like Maeve Ryan that will, sadly, never come again. They really don’t write ’em like that anymore.
