Rita Walter ( McLaughlin; March 8, 1951 – December 25, 2022) was an American actress, best known for her role as Carol Deming on the popular
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
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 soa ...
'', which she played from May 1970 to December 1981.
Originally credited by her maiden name, Rita McLaughlin, she made her acting debut in the 1960s on ''
The Patty Duke Show
''The Patty Duke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Sidney Sheldon and William Asher. The series ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, to April 27, 1966.
The series was developed as a vehicle for teenage star Patty Duke, who h ...
'', in the uncredited role of Patty Duke's double. Prior to that, she was also one of
Don Herbert
Donald Jeffry Herbert (July 10, 1917 – June 12, 2007), better known as Mr. Wizard, was the creator and host of ''Watch Mr. Wizard'' (1951–65, 1971–72) and ''Mr. Wizard's World'' (1983–90), which were educational television programs for c ...
's child assistants in the '' Watch Mr. Wizard'' television series and was featured in a TV commercial for Phillips Milk of Magnesia in 1967.
Walter's first daytime soap role was in 1966 as the original Wendy Phillips on ''
The Secret Storm
''The Secret Storm'' is an American soap opera that the CBS television network transmitted from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas ''Search for Tomorrow'' and ''Love ...
'', but it would be a short stint. Four years later, in May 1970, she joined the ''ATWT'' cast as Carol Deming (and her later married names Hughes Stallings Andropoulos Frazier) until her exit from the serial on
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
Day 1981. She also appeared in the 1985 movie ''Cry From the Mountain''.
Walter, who had been married to Reverend Norman Walter since 1976, was an
optician
An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...