Photo Credit: Ghetty Images
Joan Benedict, best known for her role as Edith Fairchild on "General Hospital," passed away at 96 on June 24 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles due to complications from a stroke. Her family confirmed her death to Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter.
Born on July 21, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York, Benedict began performing at the age of 7 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She studied dance at the Rome Opera Ballet School and later transitioned into acting. Among her early television roles were appearances on "Candid Camera" and "The Steve Allen Show" in the 1950s. She amassed numerous TV credits, including "The Smith Family," "Apple's Way," "The Incredible Hulk," "Fantasy Island," "Hunter," and "Days of Our Lives."
Benedict's film career included roles in "The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington," "A Month of Sundays," and "The Theory of Everything." She also had a distinguished theater career, starring in productions such as "Promises, Promises," "The Beauty Queen of Leenane," and her autobiographical one-woman show "The Loves of My Life." Reflecting on her passion for theater, she once said, "The theater for me is like being in church. When you feel the audience and feel that communication with other souls, it's like music."
Benedict's personal life was marked by notable relationships. She married actor John Myhers in 1962, and they had a daughter, Claudia. After Myhers' death in 1992, she married Oscar-winning actor Rod Steiger in 2000, who passed away in 2002. She later had a relationship with actor Jeremy Slate until his death in 2006. In a 2016 interview, Benedict remarked, "Both of my husbands, and my lifetime partner Jeremy, were wonderful men who respected me as an actress. They all died from different forms of cancer, so my memories are sometimes bittersweet, but with no regrets."
Benedict's final acting role was in the 2017 movie "Opus of an Angel."
