Maurice Benard Reveals Lee Meriwether Alzheimer’s Diagnosis

This past Sunday, Maurice Benard sat down with his GH co-star, Vernee Watson, who plays Aunt Stella, for his most recent State Of Mind. Before he dug into a deep conversation with the two-time Daytime Emmy winner, Bernard revealed some sad news about past guest Kyle Oldham, the daughter of actress Lee Meriwether.

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Fans recall Meriwether from her various roles on TV. She made headlines for winning Miss America in 1955; also, she was an on-air personality at the long-running NBC morning news program TODAY. She acted both as Catwoman on the big screen in the movie Batman and also as Betty Jones on the private eye drama Barnaby Jones, which starred Buddy Ebsen as her crime-solving TV father-in-law. Meriwether is also known to soap fans for stepping into the role of Ruth Martin on All My Children while beloved Mary Fickett was on leave.

Benard shared that Lee’s daughter, Kyle Oldham, a past guest on State Of Mind, would be coming on again to his show. “[Kyle’s] mother has Alzheimer’s,” the actor said. He added that Kyle informed him that she too has been diagnosed with the condition. “We decided that she was gonna come in [and be on State Of Mind] so the audience could see with their eyes what Alzheimer’s does to someone. So I’ll have her come in every six months or whatever it is.”

Benard added that the realization that Kyle has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s sank in more fully. “I started to cry because I came to realize that there’s gonna be a time when she can’t come in,” he added. “Who knows how long? A couple of years? It’s going to be sad but beautiful.”

The actor’s fans know that not only did Benard play out an Alzheimer’s storyline on GH with TV dad Max Gail (ex-Mike) but in real life, Benard’s late father Humberto also had the disease. You can watch the episode with Vernee Watson here.