Actress Jennifer Harmon, best known to soap fans for her Daytime Emmy-nominated turn as Cathy Craig on One Life to Live, has passed away. She was 82 years old.
Jennifer Harmon, One Life to Live, Guiding Light
Harmon, born on December 3, 1942, in Pasadena, Calif., was raised in New Orleans. She made her Broadway debut understudying Rosemary Harris (Aunt May, Spider-Man) in the first Broadway revival of You Can’t Take It With You.
“Oh dear Jennifer Harmon, you were the picture of grace, sensitivity, nuance, and kindness,” wrote actress/writer/director Christine Toy Johnson. “Rest in power. Your ‘Philip Goes Forth’ company loved you so. @minttheaterco 🩷🌸 📸: Rahav Segev. 2013.
Johnson and Harmon had more in common than the stage; Johnson appeared as Lisa West on OLTL in 1998.
Harmon has a lengthy career on stage, appearing in over 20 plays, including The School for Scandal, Right You Are If You Think You Are, The Wild Duck, The Cherry Orchard, Blithe Spirit, The Sisters Rosensweig, The Little Foxes, The Deep Blue Sea, Amy’s View, The Dinner Party, The Glass Menagerie, and Barefoot in the Park.
Her last Broadway credit was the play Other Desert Cities in 2011, when she acted as understudy for Stockard Channing (Grease) and Judith Light (ex-Karen, OLTL), her former co-star on the much-missed ABC soap opera.
The character of Cathy was first introduced as the daughter of Dr. Jim Craig (Robert Milli, Nat Polen) in 1968. Harmon was the fifth actress to play the part of Cathy. The actress received a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1978 for her role on the show, becoming the first OLTL actress to be nominated for the prestigious award.
While Harmon’s Cathy was Viki’s (Erika Slezak) rival in the 1970s, the actress returned to Llanview in the early 1990s, playing a new role — Viki’s lawyer during her split from Clint Buchanan (played by the late Clint Ritchie).
More roles to play
Harmon had other soap roles in addition to OLTL’s Cathy. On the uniquely named, How to Survive a Marriage, she played the part of Chris Kirby, a woman who got a divorce from her husband, Larry (Ken Kercheval, AKA Cliff Barnes on Dallas), and who fought for legal custody of their daughter, Lori (Suzanne Davidson, who went on to play Betsy on As the World Turns).
Guiding Light fans may recall Harmon from her short but memorable run as neurotic Jean Wetherill, who had a good reason to be on edge! Jean believed that Dr. Daniel St. John (David Bishins) had killed her sister. Roger Thorpe (the late Michael Zaslow) brought Jean to Springfield, hoping to use her presence to break up Daniel and Holly (Maureen Garrett), Roger’s ex-wife. Poor Jean wound up dead at Daniel’s hand.
Harmon’s other soap roles include Judge Trullinger on Another World and Lucretia Jones on Loving. She guested on nighttime series, including Barnaby Jones, Dallas, Rescue Me, The White Shadow, and Oz.
According to Playbill, Harmon is survived by her extended family. There are no announced plans for a public memorial.
Soap Central sends sincere condolences to Harmon’s extended family, loved ones, and fans at this difficult time.
Edited by Michael Maloney