Jacqueline Courtney (born Sharon Courtney; September 24, 1946 – December 20, 2010) was an American actress best known for her work on daytime

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 ...

s. Courtney's initial appearance on television came in 1951 when she performed on WAAT in Newark. After short stints on ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Our Five Daughters ''Our Five Daughters'' was a daytime soap opera that ran on NBC from January 2 to September 28, 1962. The show was written by Leonard Stadd and directed by Paul Lammers, and aired for a half-hour, five days a week, at 3:30 PM EST, right afte ...

'', Courtney became famous for her role as

Alice Matthews Frame ''Another World'' is an American television soap opera that aired on NBC from May 4, 1964, to June 25, 1999. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J. Bell, and was produced by Procter & Gamble Productions at NBC Studios, 1268 Ea ...

on '' Another World''; she played the role from the show's debut in May 1964 until July 1975. It was during the late 1960s that the Alice/Steve/Rachel triangle became one of the hottest storylines on daytime, pairing her with

George Reinholt George Kilpatrick Reinholt (August 22, 1940 – November 11, 2013) was an American actor. Reinholt played the character of Erik Fulda in ''The Secret Storm'' for a year starting in 1967. His greatest fame came with two subsequent soap r ...

as the charismatic

Steve Frame ''Another World'' is an American television soap opera that aired on NBC from May 4, 1964, to June 25, 1999. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J. Bell, and was produced by Procter & Gamble Productions at NBC Studios, 1268 Ea ...

, and setting her in a rivalry with "bad girl" Rachel Davis, played at the time by

Robin Strasser Robin Victory in Europe Strasser (born May 7, 1945) is an American actress, best known for her role as Dorian Lord on the ABC daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live''. Life and career Strasser's middle name is a tribute to her being born the d ...

and later by

Victoria Wyndham Victoria Camargo (born May 22, 1945), known professionally as Victoria Wyndham, is an American actress best known for her role as Rachel Cory on the soap opera '' Another World''. Early years Born on May 22, 1945, in Chicago, Victoria Camargo, ...

. In 1975, Courtney and Reinholt were fired, allegedly for "storyline purposes." Head writer

Harding Lemay Harding Lemay (March 16, 1922 – May 26, 2018), also known as Pete Lemay, was an American screenwriter and playwright who was the head writer for the soap opera '' Another World''. Career Lemay was head writer of the soap opera ''Another World' ...

wrote in his memoir, ''Eight Years in Another World'', that Courtney was fired because she was a bad actress who refused to learn lines as written, although she had huge popularity with the soap audience. After being dismissed by producer

Paul Rauch Paul Rauch (December 23, 1933 – December 10, 2012) was an American television and film producer. Rauch's work was primarily in American soap operas. Career Rauch's earlier jobs included Vice President, Programs-East Coast for CBS, Supervising P ...

, Courtney went on to play

Pat Ashley Pat or PAT may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Pat (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a gardener * Pat (''Saturday Night Live''), an androgynous character * Postman Pat, a British children's TV character * Pat ...

on ABC's ''

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 ...

'', where she was reunited with

, playing

Tony Lord Tony Lord is a United Kingdom gardener, photographer and author. In 2005 the Royal Horticultural Society awarded him the Victoria Medal of Honour (V.M.H) for his work as a garden photographer, horticultural consultant and writer. Lord started o ...

. In 1979, just as Courtney was involved in a storyline involving a psychotic twin sister, Maggie,

joined the cast as

Dorian Lord Dorian Lord is a fictional character and matriarch of the Cramer family on the American daytime drama ''One Life to Live'', played most notably and for the list of longest-serving soap opera actors#United States, longest duration by actress Robin ...

. Courtney remained on the show until September 1983, when the network fired her just before bringing Paul Rauch in as producer. Courtney reconciled her differences with ''Another World'' and started back on the show as Alice on the 20th anniversary show in May 1984. She played the role until the next year when she was let go due to lack of story for the character. In 1989 she returned for the show's 25th anniversary and for

Mackenzie Cory This is a list of some of the major characters that have appeared in the soap opera '' Another World'', which originally aired from May 4, 1964, to June 25, 1999. A ;Joyce Abernathy :Played by Rena Sofer, 1987 ;Dave Adama :Played by John Mattey ...

's funeral. After a small role as madame Diane Winston on '' Loving'' in 1987, Courtney retired from acting, though she appeared, alongside Reinholt, on the TV special ''50 Years of Soaps: An All-Star Celebration'' in 1994. Courtney died on December 20, 2010, aged 64, from metastatic melanoma.Notice of death of Jacqueline Courtney
welovesoaps.net, December 2010; accessed September 28, 2014. In 1973, Courtney received Best Actress, Single Performance, recognition in The First Annual Afternoon TV Writers And Editors Awards.

Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtney, Jacqueline 1946 births 2010 deaths American soap opera actresses Actresses from East Orange, New Jersey Deaths from melanoma in the United States Deaths from cancer in Michigan 21st-century American women