Soap Alum Patricia Crowley Dies at 91; Actress Starred on Dynasty and Port Charles
The soap opera world is mourning the death of yet another of its talented alumni, as Patricia Crowley passed away on September 14 at the age of 91, two days before her 92nd birthday. The actress, who was often credited by her nickname, Pat, had amassed a wide array of film and television credits over the span of her 60 years in show business, among them key roles on two soap operas.
Life’s Work
A native of Olyphant, PA, Crowley was born in 1933 and moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. At the age of 20, she earned a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year after appearing in the films Forever Female and Money From Home. Moving back and forth between movies and TV as her résumé expanded, the actress became well-known for the 1965-67 sitcom Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, in which she starred as Joan Nash.
In 1984, Crowley made her prime-time soap opera debut with two episodes of Falcon Crest as Dr. Lillian Heller. Then, in 1986, Crowley had a 10-episode run on Dynasty, playing the role of Emily Fallmont. Emily was married to Senator Buck Fallmont (Richard Anderson) and fell into an affair with Ben Carrington (Christopher Cazenove).
Generations, the groundbreaking multicultural soap that premiered on NBC in 1989, tapped Crowley to play wealthy matriarch Rebecca Whitmore in 1989. She exited the series the following year.
In 1996, Crowley appeared as Sharon Ross in one episode of Melrose Place, and from 1997-98, she played Audrey Cutler in a three-episode arc on Beverly Hills, 90210.
When the General Hospital spinoff Port Charles premiered in 1997, Crowley was a central figure in the role of matriarch Mary Scanlon, a retired nurse and mother to Joe and Frank Scanlon who enjoyed a late-in-life romance with Victor Collins (Nicholas Pryor), the father of Kevin Collins and Ryan Chamberlain (both played by Jon Lindstrom); they wed in 1999. Crowley also appeared as Mary on GH.) The actress remained with the series until its 2003 finale.
In 2005, Crowley briefly appeared on Bold and Beautiful as Natalie DeWitt, mother to the unhinged Morgan DeWitt (Sarah Buxton), marking her final role on a daytime soap opera.
According to Deadline, Crowley’s son Jon Hookstratten, an executive vice president at Sony Pictures, reported that his mother passed away from natural causes.
Crowley is survived by her husband, Andy Friendly; son Jon and daughter Ann, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Soap Opera Digest sends its heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.
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