Mary Stuart

Mary Stuart played a central role on *Search for Tomorrow* (1951) for nearly four decades, becoming one of daytime television's most popular actresses. As the noble Joanne Gardner Barron Tate Vincente Tourneur, she remained with the show for its entire run. After her character was written out, she continued to pursue acting opportunities. Born Mary Houchins on July 4, 1926, in Miami, Florida, she grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Showing musical talent from a young age, she performed with local bands at age 12 and with the USO at military bases during high school. After graduating, she worked as a photojournalist before moving toward an acting career in New York.

Working as a hat check girl and table photographer at New York's Hotel Roosevelt Grill, she began singing on the club stage, where she was discovered by producer Joe Pasternak, who signed her to a contract with MGM. After moving to Hollywood, she appeared in minor roles and doubled for stars in screen tests. Frustrated by the lack of progress and playing roles such as a Mexican half-breed in *Thunderhoof* (1948) and a cigarette girl in *The Girl from Jones Beach* (1949), she left Hollywood and returned to New York to study acting.

She found her breakthrough role when the director of *Search for Tomorrow* saw her in an acting class performance. She married Time-Life executive Richard Krolik a month before the soap opera's premiere, and the couple had two children, Jeffrey and Cynthia. Both Mary and her character endured numerous challenges, including attempts by writers to kill off her character and several near-cancellations of the show, which ended in 1989. In 1962, she became the first daytime performer to be nominated for an Emmy Award, competing against prime-time actresses Shirley Booth, Cara Williams, Gertrude Berg, and Mary Tyler Moore. She lost to Booth for her role in *Hazel*. At age 63, she took on the role of a judge in *One Life to Live* (1968) in 1988 for a year, followed by a longer role on *Guiding Light* (1952) in 1996. She remained on that show until her death from cancer in 2002 at age 75. Her autobiography, *Both of Me*, published in 1980, also serves as a detailed history of *Search for Tomorrow*.