Marla Adams (August 28, 1938 – April 25, 2024) was an American television actress, best known for her roles as Belle Clemens on The Secret Storm, from 1968 to 1974, and as Dina Abbott Mergeron on The Young and the Restless, for which she received Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Life and career
Adams was born on August 28, 1938, in Ocean City, New
Jersey, and began her career on stage. She attended the American Academy of
Dramatic Arts. Adams appeared on Broadway in the 1958 production of The Visit
at the Morosco Theater with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. She later made her
film debut, appearing opposite Natalie Wood in the period drama Splendor in the
Grass (1961). Her other film credits include Special Delivery (1976) and
Gotcha! (1985).
Adams was best known for her daytime soap opera roles. She
starred as Belle Clemens on The Secret Storm from 1968 to 1974. As
Belle Clemens, she was the show's reigning villainess for the last years of its
run, stopping at almost nothing to destroy the life of the show's leading
heroine, Amy Ames. The two rivals were, at one time, related through marriage.
In 1983, she began playing Dina Abbott
Mergeron on The Young and the
Restless. As Dina Abbott on The Young and the Restless from 1983–86, in
1991 and again in 1996, she caused major disruptions in the lives of her three
children and ex-husband John Abbott and his wife Jill. She reprised her role as
Dina for three episodes of The Young and the Restless in 2008 when Katharine
Chancellor was presumed dead. In May 2017, Adams returned to her role. The
following March, her performance garnered her first Emmy Nomination for Best
Supporting Actress. In October 2020, it was announced that she would exit the
role. She won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a
Drama Series for her character's storyline tackling Alzheimer's disease, after
her second nomination, on June 25, 2021.
Right before joining The Young and the Restless, Adams
stepped into the role of Myrna Clegg on the defunct daytime drama Capitol after
the departure of actress Carolyn Jones for health reasons, before Marj Dusay,
who remained until the end of the show's run. As Helen Mullin on Generations,
she was involved in a storyline with her husband, Charles, and his black
mistress. She was the third actress to play Beth
Logan, mother of Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang), Donna (Carrie Mitchum, now
Jennifer Gareis), and Katie (Nancy Sloan, now Heather Tom) on The Bold and the Beautiful (1991). In
1999, she appeared on Days of Our Lives
as Dr. Claire McIntyre.
In addition to her daytime works, Adams made more than 40
appearances on primetime television. She guest-starred on The New Dick Van Dyke
Show; Adam-12; Starsky and Hutch; Marcus Welby, M.D.; Phyllis; The Streets of
San Francisco; Emergency!; The Love Boat; Barnaby Jones; Hart to Hart; Happy
Days; Hill Street Blues; Who's the Boss?; Matlock; and Columbo. She also had a
recurring role on Walker, Texas Ranger from 2000 to 2001. In 2000, she
played First Lady Matthews in the television film The President's Man, starring
Chuck Norris and Dylan Neal.
Adams died in Los Angeles on April 25, 2024, at the age of
85.
Selected filmography
1961 Splendor in
the Grass June
1968–1974 The
Secret Storm Belle Clemens
Britton Kincaid
1975 Emergency! Rita Hudson S5Ep8
1976 Special
Delivery Mrs. Hubert Zane
1983–2021 The
Young and the Restless Dina Abbott
Mergeron Recurring role; 1983–1986, 1991,
1996, 2008, 2017–2020
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a
Drama Series (2021)
Nominated — Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting
Actress in a Drama Series (2018)
1983 Capitol Myrna Clegg
1985 Gotcha! Maria Moore
1989–1990 Generations Helen Mullin
1991 The Bold and
the Beautiful Beth Logan
1999 Days of Our
Lives Claire McIntyre
2000 The
President's Man First Lady Matthews
2000–2001 Walker,
Texas Ranger Betsy Harper 3 Episodes
No comments:
Post a Comment