Eileen Herlie.I've been a big fan of All My Children over the years. Not so much these days; I only see 10 to 15 minutes a day. But over the years I watched it pretty faithfully.
Myrtle Fargate, the lady who played her, passed on, at the age of 90.
Myrtle has to be one of the most beloved characters on the show. An ex-carny, she knew all the ropes in dealing with people, making friends of good and bad people alike, and always held her own.
Myrtle had a boarding house, which allowed a lot of interaction with the various characters as they moved into town.
The storyline that I remember earliest in my time of watching the show involved Langley Wallingford, who Myrtle knew from their carny days. He was a pretend professor and married into money with Phoebe Tyler. His real name wasn't Langley, but a much less classy, Lenny. I can't remember the details of how it worked out, but they had some great scenes together.
The strangest storyline involving Myrtle that comes to mind was when she had a kind of romantic relationship with a guy named Red, who turned out to be Kris Kringle, Santa Claus!
Everyone loved her, that's for sure. And she even had a kind of playful sexuality (not consummated of course) going with younger men, who treated her as a very knowing equal, kind of a partner, like an appreciated broad. One man that comes to mind, Zack Slater. She also acted as a trusted confidante in many many scenes.
I always loved seeing Myrtle Fargate whenever she was on.
