Eileen Riley Siegel is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, Play (theatre), play, Radio series, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or b ...

on the American soap opera '' One Life to Live''. The role was played by

Patricia Roe Patricia Roe (September 18, 1928 – May 18, 2005), later known as Patricia Roe Bell, was an American actress, best known for her work in Broadway theatre and in the soap operas ''The Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding L ...

from July 1968 until March 1972, and by

Alice Hirson Alice Hirson (born March 10, 1929) is an American actress best known for her roles on television. She began her career on stage, before roles on daytime soap operas. She is best known for her roles as Mavis Anderson in the CBS prime time soap ope ...

from March 1972 until the character's last appearance in May 1976.

Background and storyline

Introduced as a

supporting character A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo ap ...

to older sister to

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

Joe Riley (

Lee Patterson Lee Patterson (March 31, 1929 – February 14, 2007) was a Canadian film and television actor. Life and career Patterson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, as Beverley Frank Atherly Patterson. He attended the Ontario College of Art and D ...

), Eileen Riley Siegel (Roe) is an

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...

married to

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish lawyer Dave Siegel (Allen Miller) featured in one of the first

interfaith marriage Interfaith marriage, sometimes called a "mixed marriage", is marriage between spouses professing different religions. Although interfaith marriages are often established as civil marriages, in some instances they may be established as a religio ...

s on American soap operas. When Joe initially marries media heiress and lead protagonist

Victoria Lord Victoria Lord is a fictional character and matriarch of the Lord family on the American soap opera ''One Life to Live'', played for over 41 years by six-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning actress Erika Slezak. The character was created as one of the ...

(

Gillian Spencer Gillian Spencer (born December 18, 1939) is an American soap opera actress and writer. She had supporting roles on the soaps ''The Secret Storm'' as Lynn Wilkins Warren from 1961-1962 and ''The Edge of Night'' as Leora Davies in 1963 before join ...

Erika Slezak Erika Alma Hermina Slezak (; born August 5, 1946) is an American actress, best known for her role as Victoria "Viki" Lord on the American daytime soap opera '' One Life to Live'' from 1971 through the television finale in 2012 and again in th ...

after 1971) in June 1969, the Siegels' twin children,

Julie Siegel Julie may refer to: * Julie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Julie'' (1956 film), an American film noir starring Doris Day * ''Julie'' (1975 film), a Hindi film by K. S. Sethumadhava ...

(Lee Warwick) and Tim Siegel (Bill Fowler, William Cox), premiere on the series. David serves as the primary

legal counsel A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor ...

for dynamic characters on the series, and Eileen as the familial confidante of Joe. While on a reporting assignment in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

for ''The Banner'' in September 1970, journalist Joe is

presumed dead A presumption of death occurs when a person is thought to be dead by a group of people despite the absence of direct proof of the person's death, such as the finding of remains (e.g., a corpse or skeleton) attributable to that person. Such a pre ...

after his car drives over a cliff and his body goes missing. Joe's widow Victoria Lord Riley (Slezak) declares him

legally dead ''Legally Dead'' is a 1923 American drama film directed by William Parke and written by Harvey Gates. The film stars Milton Sills, Margaret Campbell, Claire Adams, Eddie Sturgis, Faye O'Neill, and Charles A. Stevenson. The film was released o ...

and begins dating Steve Burke (Bernard Grant) in 1971, to Eileen's grief as she held out hope her brother survived the crash. Victoria marries Steve in 1972, and Joe reappears in Llanview soon thereafter. The reappearance of Joe delights his sister (Hirson), but leaves Victoria dismayed at her possible

bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...

. Victoria and Joe's marriage is dissolved at his legal 1970 death date. Joe and Victoria eventually remarry in September 1974. Dave dies of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

in December 1972, and Eileen copes by

abusing Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

painkillers An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It i ...

in 1973. Eventually she seeks treatment from Dr. Dorian Cramer (

Nancy Pinkerton Nancy Pinkerton Peabody (May 7, 1940 – March 4, 2010) was an American actress. Pinkerton is perhaps best known as the original actress to play Dorian Lord, Dr. Dorian Lord on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC daytime soap opera ''One Life ...

). Julie's husband Dr. Mark Toland ( Tom Lee Jones) carries on an

extramarital affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or Passion (emotion), passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor ...

with Dorian, unbeknownst to Julie (Leonie Norton after 1974). Eileen briefly romances Ben Farmer (Rod Browning), whose wife Rachel Wilson Farmer (

Nancy Barrett Nancy Barrett (born October 5, 1941) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Carolyn Stoddard (among other characters) in the 1960s gothic soap opera ''Dark Shadows''. Biography Barrett was born in Shreveport, Louisiana ...

) dies because of a hospital mishap involving Dorian and Mark. Julie strongly objects to Eileen dating anyone, and demands she remain utterly devoted to the memory of David. Julie goes so far as trying to seduce Ben in order to break up her mother's relationship with him. Eileen's son Tim (

Tom Berenger Tom Berenger (born Thomas Michael Moore; May 31, 1949) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes in ''Platoon'' (1986). He is also known for playing Jake ...

) returns to Llanview a law school dropout in 1975, leaving Eileen shocked. He becomes a construction worker and betroths Jenny Wolek (

Katherine Glass Katherine Glass (born January 11, 1947) is an American actress best remembered for her television work in the 1970s. Career Glass was raised as a Roman Catholic in New Haven, Connecticut."Kathy takes a day at a time" by Jon-Michael Reed, ''The ...

). Eileen disapproves of the speed of the engagement and persuades him to postpone rushed nuptials. Tim suffers an accident in a fight with

Vince Wolek Vince Wolek is a fictional character from the American soap opera, '' One Life to Live''. Actor Antony Ponzini originated the role from the debut episode in 1968 through 1975, and briefly reappeared in 1987. Casting Vincent was created by series ...

(

Jordan Charney Jordan Charney (born April 1, 1937) is an American character actor. Many of his earliest roles were on daytime television, with appearances in numerous soaps. Jordan created the role of creepy Julian Dark in the early to mid-1960s on the CBS so ...

) in 1976 that leaves him gravely injured, and he marries Jenny shortly before dying that April. Mourning Tim, the mother and daughter widows Eileen and Julie leave Llanview for Florida in May 1976.

References

External links

Eileen Riley Siegel profile – SoapCentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley Siegel, Eileen One Life to Live characters Television characters introduced in 1968 Fictional housewives Fictional characters from Pennsylvania American female characters in television