Actress Mary Linda Rapelye has died at the age of 76. She’s known to soap fans for her runs as Maggie Crawford on As the World Turns and Faith Kipling on One Life to Live.
She passed away on April 5, 2021, following a brave battle with cancer, according to an obituary in the Boothbay Register, a local paper in Maine.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Rapelye took to the stage at an early age. When she was 5-years-old, she appeared in an outdoor production at The Starlight Theater. After her role was completed, she climbed off stage and sat in her father’s lap.
After attending Barstow School For Girls, Wellesley College, and the University of Kansas School of Fine Arts, she began her professional career.
Rapelye had a key role in the 1967 film In Cold Blood, based on the Truman Capote novel about two men who killed the Clutter family in rural Kansas, forever changing the way Americans felt about being safe in their own homes. Rapelye played Susan Kidwell, the teen best friend of Nancy Clutter, who discovered the family after they were murdered.
In 1979, Rapelye landed the role of Faith Kipling, wife of Ivan Kipling (Jack Betts), one of One Life to Live’s most dastardly villains. Following her stint in LLanview, Rapelye won the role of Maggie Crawford, the sophisticated and glamorous sister of Lyla (Anne Sward).
In Oakdale, Maggie was involved in a few triangles; she lost Tom (then Justin Deas) to her own niece Margo (Margaret Colin; Hillary B. Smith); next, Lyla competed against her own sister for the affections of lawman Frank Andropoulos (Jacques Perreault). Maggie adopted a homeless infant named Jill and fought the girl’s biological father Cal (Luke Reilly) for custody. Cal decided to give his daughter to Maggie as she was marrying Frank on Christmas Eve.
Despite Maggie and Frank’s professions (soaps always need lawyers and cops), the two left Oakdale to live in California in 1985 and were seldom mentioned after their departure.
Post-ATWT, Rapelye’s credits include Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II (she also appeared in the original Star Trek series) and the Sandra Bullock/Ryan Reynolds film The Proposal.
She resided in Connecticut for a decade and was married to Dr. Jim Flint. She created the company “You’re a Doll,” which was marketed throughout the United States. She had her own cosmetics line Rapelye Cosmetics, which included multiple shades of lipsticks.
Passionate about animals, Rapelye created a farm haven for multiple breeds of animals, most notably Goldendoodles. The farm also hosted weddings and large parties.
Rapelye is survived by her brother, Gardiner Rapelye Jr., who was at her side, along with dear friends Julianna and Will Anderson, when she passed away. She is also survived by many cousins and their families. Soap Hub sends sincere condolences to Mary Linda Rapelye’s friends, family, and fans at this difficult time.
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