Passages: Herlie was ABC soap’s mother figure since 1976

NEW YORK — Eileen Herlie, who appeared on “All My Children” for more than three decades as the motherly Myrtle Fargate, has died at 90.

Herlie died Wednesday of pneumonia, said Julie Hanan Carruthers, the ABC soap opera’s executive producer.

The actress joined the show in 1976 to play Myrtle, who became the surrogate mother to many of the soap’s major characters.

Herlie’s last appearance on the program was in June.

Before joining “All My Children,” Herlie was a regular on Broadway. She made her debut in Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker” in 1955, playing milliner Irene Molloy.

Musical theater buffs knew Herlie from “Take Me Along” (1959), an adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s “Ah, Wilderness!” in which she played Jackie Gleason’s love interest, and “All American” (1962), in which Herlie co-starred with Ray Bolger.

Associated Press