William Donald MacLaughlin (November 24, 1906 – May 28, 1986) was an American actor. The son of a doctor, MacLaughlin was born November 24, 1906, in Webster, Iowa. He studied speech and English at

Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University was a private university in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, United States. It was Iowa's first co-educational institution of higher learning and the oldest of its type west of the Mississippi River. The institution was affiliated ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, and the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Early years

MacLaughlin's family contained "a long line of ministers", and he planned to study for the ministry when he entered college.

Television

MacLaughlin originated the role of lawyer Chris Hughes on ''

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 ...

'' in 1956, and played the role until his death in 1986. Contract negotiations kept him (and his on-screen wife Helen Wagner) off the soap for most of the early 1980s, but the show finally welcomed the two back in a big storyline with heavy uses of past clips from the show. In the story, Chris and his wife Nancy were celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary. In real life, ''As the World Turns'' was celebrating its thirtieth anniversary on the air. MacLaughlin was also a member of the

Gang Busters ''Gang Busters'' is an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered on January 15, 1936 and was broadcast for more 21 years through November 27, 1957. H ...

Radio

Prior to TV, MacLaughlin was active on radio, beginning in 1933. He starred as the title character on radio's ''

David Harding, Counterspy ''David Harding, Counterspy'' is a 1950 American film noir crime film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring Willard Parker. It was based on the radio series '' Counterspy''. Howard St John reprised his role as David Harding in '' Counterspy Meet ...

'' in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1945, he joined the cast of '' The Romance of Helen Trent'', in the role of Dwight Swanson, "a rancher who becomes interested in Helen Trent." MacLaughlin's other roles on radio included those listed in the table below. He was also in the cast of ''Buck Private and His Girl''.

Stage

MacLaughlin appeared in a 1948 Broadway production of

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...

's play, '' The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden'' and in ''Virginia Reel'' (1947) and ''The Fifth Column'' (1940).

Personal life

MacLaughlin married Mary Prugh, a newspaperwoman. They had three children.

Death

After a brief illness, Maclaughlin died on May 28, 1986, at his daughter's home in

Goshen, Connecticut Goshen is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,150 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. Geography Goshen is in central Litchfield County and is bordered to the ea ...

, and is buried in Dover, Vermont.

References

External links

* * * 1906 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male radio actors American male soap opera actors American male stage actors American male television actors Male actors from Iowa People from Keokuk County, Iowa Place of death missing {{US-tv-actor-1900s-stub