Mary Stuart

Mary Stuart (born Mary Stuart Houchins; July 4, 1926 – February 28, 2002) was an American actress, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. A former silver screen starlet, she was best known for her starring role as Joanne on the CBS/NBC soap opera Search for Tomorrow, which she played for 35 years without interruption (1951–86). After her divorce from her first husband, with whom she raised two children, she began a side career as a guitarist and a singer-songwriter, first singing on Search for Tomorrow and then releasing her own album in 1973. At the time of her death, she had played the role of Meta Bauer on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light for six years. For her work in daytime drama, she was given the Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy.