Sadie Gray
Sadie Gray | |||||||||||
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One Life to Live character | |||||||||||
Portrayed by |
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Duration | 1968–86 | ||||||||||
First appearance | July 1968 | ||||||||||
Last appearance | December 1986 | ||||||||||
Classification | Former, regular | ||||||||||
Created by | Agnes Nixon | ||||||||||
Introduced by |
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Crossover appearances | All My Children | ||||||||||
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Sadie Gray is a fictional character from the American soap opera One Life to Live, played by Broadway actress and singer Lillian Hayman from 1968 to 1986.[1] Sadie regularly sings at special functions and occasions during her appearance on the serial.
Background and casting
One Life to Live creator Agnes Nixon cast Lillian Hayman in the supporting role of "Sadie" shortly after the show premiere in July 1968. Nixon named the role on her actual family housekeeper, Sadie Gay, and based the character's founding plotline on the 1959 film Imitation of Life.[2]
Hayman played the character role for 18 years until 1986, when show executive producer Paul Rauch declined to renew her contract with ABC Daytime at a time when she was the longest-tenured actor with the show and after the firing of her onscreen daughter Ellen Holly (Carla Gray).[3][4][5]
Storyline
Sadie is introduced in July 1968 as former
A mystery woman named
She takes a job as family housekeeper to Llanview Hospital psychiatrist
Hayman's airtime as "Sadie" increases after a period of intermittent appearances in the early 1980s when Carla returns to appear regularly in fictional Llanview in 1983, after a three-year absence. Sadie encourages Carla to rekindle her relationship with Ed, to no avail. Carla accepts a job practicing law in Arizona and disappears from the show in 1985. Sadie's appearances decline after September 1985, and eventually Sadie disappears from the show in 1986. Her former son-in-law and former Llanview police commissioner Ed says during an appearance in 2000 that Sadie dies in the 1990s.[15][16][17]
References
- ^ "Blacks In The Soaps". Ebony. Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company. March 1978. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-451-49825-0.
- ^ "Lillian Hayman, 72, Actress and Singer". The New York Times. New York City. November 2, 1994. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
- ISBN 978-1-56836-158-1.
- ^ "Tipoff". Wilmington Morning Star. Wilmington, North Carolina. October 23, 1985. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- ISBN 978-1-4013-2309-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-02-865821-6.
- ^ Howell, Howard O. (October 1979). "Ellen Holly: 'One Life to Live' Star Will Have Eight-Million Guests At Her TV Wedding". Ebony. Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
- ^ James, Cathy Lynette (1991). Soap Opera Mythology & Racial-ethnic Social Change: An Analysis of African American, Asian/Pacific American, & Mexican/Hispanic American Storylines During the 1980s. University of California, San Diego, Department of Sociology.
- ^ "Services Held In NY For 'One Life To Live' Actress, 72, Who Died Of Heart Attack". Jet. Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company. January 9, 1995. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
- Ocala Star-Banner. Ocala, Florida. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- ^ Cooper, Mary Ann (December 21, 1978). "Speaking Of Soaps". The Times-News. Hendersonville, North Carolina. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
- ^ Hirsch, Lynda (June 25, 1979). "Scanning The Soaps". Toledo Blade. Toledo, Ohio. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- ^ "Wedding's One Of 'Soaps' Loveliest". Evening Independent. St. Petersburg, Florida. October 12, 1979. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- The Gazette. Montreal. May 14, 1984. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- ^ One Life to Live. Season 18. 1986–87. American Broadcasting Company.
- ^ One Life to Live. Season 31. April 2000. American Broadcasting Company.