Ann Flood (born Maryanne Elizabeth Ott; November 12, 1932 – October 7, 2022) was an American actress, best known for her role as journalist and author Nancy Pollock Karr in the
soap opera
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
The Edge of Night
''The Edge of Night'' is an American mystery crime drama soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions.
It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network for most of its ...
'', a role she began in 1962. Flood portrayed the show's heroine for 22 years, witnessing the show's transition from live to taped broadcasts and its move from
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
to
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
.
Early years
Flood was born in
Jamaica, Queens, New York
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. It has a popular large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis, Queens, Hollis, ...
, the daughter Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ott. She graduated from
Bay Shore High School
Bay Shore High School is a public high school located in Bay Shore, New York. The school has about 2,000 students in grades 9 to 12. but a summer job changed her plans. She worked as a receptionist at a beach club where many of the members were actors who put on shows for the community. One of them invited her to take a small part in a play, and that sparked Flood's interest in acting. She took lessons from a dramatic coach and began to learn more about the profession from other actors. She said that changing her name for acting was "purely psychological. Maryanne Ott is not as euphonious as Ann Flood."
Career
Flood had notable roles on Broadway, making her debut in the 1954 musical ''Kismet,'' in which she began as a show girl but was promoted to a singing part when two cast members became sick. She went on to play opposite
Don Ameche
Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, repertory theatre, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 19 ...
in ''Holiday for Lovers'' (1957). Her television debut came earlier, in a 1952 live production of the
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...
play, ''
The Fortune Hunter
''The Fortune Hunter'' is a drama in three acts by W. S. Gilbert. The piece concerns an heiress who loses her fortune. Her shallow husband sues to annul the marriage, leaving her pregnant and taking up with a wealthy former lover. The piece wa ...
'', for
WOR-TV
WWOR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York metropolitan area as the flagship of the MyNetworkTV programming service. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alo ...
Armstrong Circle Theatre
''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with '' The United States Steel Ho ...
The Philco Television Playhouse
''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the ...
''. She was also known for roles in various commercials, including those for Good Seasons salad dressing, Newport cigarettes, Ivory Snow detergent, and Sterling beer. Before starting on ''The Edge of Night'', she played the leading role of another journalist, Elizabeth "Liz" Fraser Allen in the soap opera ''
From These Roots
''From These Roots'' is an American soap opera that aired from June 30, 1958, to December 29, 1961. It was created and written by Frank Provo and John Pickard. The show was seen on NBC.
Storyline
Actress Ann Flood starred as Elizabeth "Liz" ...
'' (1958–61).
In ''The Edge of Night'', Nancy's marriage to Mike Karr remains as one of the longest in soap history. Nancy and Mike had no children of their own, but the character of Laurie (Mike's daughter by his first wife Sara) came to consider Nancy as her mother. Flood continued in the role through the series' finale in 1984, by which time she was the show's longest-serving cast member."Ann Flood" Metacritic.com; retrieved July 6, 2013.
For her work on the show, Flood was twice nominated for the
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...
in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, in 1982 and 1984.
After ''Edge of Night'', Flood continued to act in daytime dramas. She was cast in a succession of shorter-term and recurring roles, playing Ella Hobbs, a villain on ''
Search for Tomorrow
''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986.
Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show f ...
'', who tried to kill the show's leading character, Joanne, and played a variety of society matrons on '' Another World'' (Rose Livingston, 1986–1987), ''
One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...
'' (Mrs. Guthrie, 1991), and ''
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 so ...
'', recurring from 1992 to 1993 as business executive Ruth Mansfield. In 1987, she joined the cast of ''
All My Children
''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...
'' playing the recurring role of Bitsy Davidson, Cecily's snooty mother, and was briefly under contract to the show. Her last appearance aired in January 1990.
Other work included guest-starring roles in prime-time TV programs such as ''
The Cosby Show
''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...
'', and a role in the 1988 feature film, ''
Mystic Pizza
''Mystic Pizza'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Donald Petrie in his feature directorial debut, and starring Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts and Lili Taylor. It follows the coming-of-age of three young Portuguese-Am ...
''.
Personal life and death
Flood was married since 1952 to sportscaster and media network executive
Herb Granath
Herb Granath (1928 - November 26, 2019) was an American sportscaster. In 2001, he was awarded the Sports Emmy for Sports Lifetime Achievement Award. Granath spent the bulk of his career with ABC, spearheading their movements into cable and int ...
until his death in 2019. She had three sons and one daughter.
Flood died in
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...
, on October 7, 2022, five weeks before her 90th birthday.