Latest news with #Ashville
The Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Beloved star who played iconic role for incredible 50 years as the first soap ‘vixen' dies aged 91
A BELOVED soap opera star who played an iconic character for 50 years has died, aged 91. Eileen Fulton, best known for her on and off portrayal of Lisa Miller in the popular show As the World Turns, died on July 14 in her hometown of Ashville, North Carolina. 4 4 Her tragic passing came "after a period of declining health", Groce Funeral Home 's obituary for her said. Fulton popularised her character Lisa with a "bad girl" aesthetic, winning the hearts of many at home - from 1960 all the way until 2010. The star previously revealed that her character had been written as a more innocent "sweet girl next door" figure. But after delivering her lines in a more "conniving" manner to make Lisa more interesting, the writers picked up on the idea and played into it. Her character was renowned for her "vixen" vibe - and Time magazine once described Fulton's interpretation of Lisa as a "superb****h". Later on in the show, Lisa became a more gentle dame, with her personality maturing as both the actress and character grew older. At one point during the show, Fulton famously had a "grandma clause" locked into her contract. This would have prevented the character of Lisa from having grandchildren - out of fear that it would make her seem old or irrelevant. Her iconic portrayal of Lisa on As the World Turns earned her a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1988 and 2004. Fulton and Don Hastings - who played her first husband on the show - were also both given Lifetime Achievement honors at the Daytime Emmys. Eighties TV star with A-list actress daughter and famous ex passes away aged 78 after year-long battle with cancer Eileen Fulton was born as Margaret McClarty in Asheville in 1933. She moved homes frequently as a child due to her dad's vocation as a Methodist priest. By the age of two, she was already keen on acting. She interrupted one of her dad's services by singing the old folk song Shortnin' Bread - and the endured the resulting spanking, she told the Washington Post. Fulton majored in music at Greensboro College and her dad got her a job in a church choir. But she was dead-set on moving to New York City - with big dreams of "being the greatest actress on Broadway". She studied under renowned acting teachers Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg, as well as modern dance pioneer Martha Graham. And her journey continued after embarking on a showbiz career that finally took off in 1960 - when she was cast on As the World Turns. For the next 50 years, she repeatedly left the show. But she always wound up coming back - on one occasion commenting: "I've quit forever three times." Early on in the show, Fulton worked tirelessly to juggle the soap and the stage. She would film by day - acting in such shows as The Fantasticks - and act by night, in the Broadway production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? for example. Her most enduring role, however, will always be known as her chic and ruthlessly conniving portrayal of Lisa on As the World Turns. Fan-favourite Lisa made a whopping eight thousand appearances on the show - cementing herself as a core presence on the soap opera. She was known for her quick-thinking improvised quips while performing live - and her character even got a brief spin-off called Our Private World in 1965. Alongside her soap work, she performed a touring cabaret act. She one said: "I love to sing. I love to make the audience cry. Of course, then I have to cheer them up." Fulton also wrote a string of novels during the 1980s and 1990s - including six murder mysteries and a roman à clef called Soap Opera. She is survived by one of her two brothers, both of her sisters-in-law and her niece, as well as a grandnephew and grandniece.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
As the World Turns star Eileen Fulton dead at 91: Actress played iconic 'bad girl' for half a century
As the World Turns star Eileen Fulton, who acted on the legendary soap opera on and off for half a century, has died at the age of 91. She won the hearts of fans as the scenery-chewing 'bad girl' Lisa Grimaldi, a role she originated in 1960 and played for the final time on the show's last episode in 2010. Fulton has revealed that although Lisa was conceived as a 'sweet girl next door,' she felt the character was insufficiently interesting and so she delivered her lines in a 'conniving' fashion that prompted the writers to change course and make her sinister. Over the decades her character grew from a young 'vixen' - whom Time magazine once branded a 'superb****' - into a gentler grande dame. At one point during the show, Fulton famously had a 'granny clause' installed in her contract that would prevent Lisa from having grandchildren, for fear that she would be written off the show if her character were seen as old and irrelevant. She died July 14 in her hometown of Ashville, North Carolina 'after a period of declining health,' according to an obituary from the local Groce Funeral Home. Although she was born in Asheville in 1933, she had a peripatetic childhood as a result of her father's vocation as a Methodist minister. She had the performing bug from the age of two, when she cut into one of her father's services by singing the old folk song Shortnin' Bread and braved the resultant spanking, she told the Washington Post. Fulton majored in music at Greensboro College and her father got her a job in a church choir, but she was determined to move to New York City, harboring dreams 'of being the greatest actress on Broadway.' After studying under the seminal acting teachers Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg, as well as modern dance pioneer Martha Graham, she embarked on a showbiz career that finally took off in 1960 when she was cast on As the World Turns. Over the next 50 years, she repeatedly left the show - 'I've quit forever three times,' she once drily remarked - but always wound up coming back. In the early years of the show, Fulton worked tirelessly to juggle the soap and the New York stage, acting in such shows as The Fantasticks and as a replacement in the original Broadway production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. But her most enduring role, the one that cemented her position in showbiz history, was as the stylish and ruthlessly conniving Lisa on As the World Turns. She cycled through a dizzying succession of what eventually turned out to be eight husbands, remaining herself a consistently tantalizing presence on the show. Fulton was the one who changed the character from the 'sweet girl' she was originally conceived as into the scenery-chewing villainess she became. Since the show was filmed live, she felt she could not 'change her lines' but she could 'change my intentions once we were on the air,' she told the Television Academy.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
North Yorkshire teen set to debut for the English Independent Schools National Squad
A NORTH Yorkshire teenager is set to compete against the best young footballing talent in the UK after being picked to play at national level. Luke Colman, aged 13 and a Year 8 pupil at Ashville in Harrogate, has been selected for the Independent Schools Football Association's (ISFA) U14 National Squad. Advertisement In doing so, he is aiming to follow in the footsteps of football stars such as Frank Lampard, James Beattie, Quinton Fortune, Fraser Foster who all competed as part of ISFA teams before forging successful careers at the highest level. The team plays international fixtures against the likes of Wales Schools and Scotland Schools, as well as matches including the Academy sides of major Premiership clubs at prestigious stadiums across the country. Luke, who plays at the centre of midfield, has competed for ISFA's U13 Yorkshire & North East Squad. He was promoted to the national squad after successfully competing at a Regional Representative Festival over Easter. Advertisement As well as captaining Ashville's U13s football team, Luke plays for Pannal Sports Juniors and Harrogate & Craven District Schoolboys Football Teams. He said: 'I enjoy all kinds of sports – including rugby, hockey, basketball, cricket, swimming and athletics – and all the Ashville specialist coaches have been so supportive in developing my skills and giving me the confidence to progress to the next level. 'I'm very much looking forward to making my debut for ISFA's National team and competing with and against some really talented young footballers. It will be a new experience - one I hope I can build on.' Head of Ashville, Rhiannon Wilkinson, said: 'Luke excels across an array of school sports and his selection is just reward for his abilities and hard work. "The whole Ashville family is looking forward to his representing his school, home town and his country and winning his first 'cap'. "We hope it is the first of many.'
