Helen Gallagher, Broadway Actress and ‘Ryan’s Hope’ Star, Dies at 98

Emmy-winning actress Helen Gallagher, who played Maeve Ryan on the ABC soap opera Ryan’s Hope, has died. She was 98.

Her passing was confirmed by Edith Meeks, executive and artistic director at New York’s Herbert Berghof Studio, who told The Washington Post that Gallagher died on Sunday (November 24) at a hospital in Manhattan, New York. Gallagher taught a “Singing for the Musical Theater” class at the studio for many years.

Born on July 19, 1926, in New York City, Gallagher first made her mark as a Broadway performer, appearing in productions such as Make a Wish, Hazel Flagg, Portofino, High Button Shoes, and Sweet Charity, for which she received a 1967 Tony Award nomination for Featured Actress.

She won her first Tony Award in 1952 for her performance in the revival of Pal Joey and earned her second Tony in 1971 for her role in the revival of the musical No, No, Nanette. She also performed at the 1971 and 1972 Tony Awards telecasts alongside her No, No, Nanette castmate, Bobby Van.

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Despite her long history on Broadway, many know Gallagher best for her role as the Irish matriarch Maeve Ryan on ABC’s Ryan’s Hope. She portrayed Maeve throughout the show’s run from 1975 to 1989 and was nominated for five Daytime Emmy Awards for her work, winning in 1976, 1977, and 1988.

“Ryan’s Hope was the best,” Gallagher said in 1997 interview with RyansBarOnline. “First of all, it was a half-hour show — wonderfully cast and wonderfully written. There were plenty of times when it was boring, but as a rule, it was really interesting — the people were centered and had work to do. It wasn’t just a matter of sitting around on couches talking about your emotional problems. There was a life going on in that place, maybe because it was centered on a bar. It was just magic.”

After Ryan’s Hope was canceled in 1989, Gallagher went on to guest star in Another World and also appeared in All My Children and One Life to Live. She also appeared in Law & Order and The Cosby Mysteries and continued to act in various off-Broadway and other theater productions.

On the big screen, she starred in Kirk Douglas’ Strangers When We Meet (1960) and with Christopher Walken in James Ivory’s Roseland (1977).

She last appeared on screen as herself in 2009 in an episode of PBS’ biography series American Masters, in a feature on dancer/choreographer/producer Jerome Robbins.