Ryan’s Hope Star Helen Gallagher, Winner of Three Emmys, Dead at 98
Emmy winner Helen Gallagher, who played matriarch Maeve Ryan on the ABC soap Ryan’s Hope, has died at the age of 98, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Gallagher passed away on Sunday, her colleagues at the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York City announced. (She taught a musical theater singing class there.)
Gallagher first gained fame as a stage actress on Broadway, appearing in productions of Sweet Charity, Pal Joey and No, No, Nanette, winning a pair of Tony awards. In 1975, she took on the role of Maeve Ryan, the mother of a large Irish American family in New York City, when Ryan’s Hope debuted on ABC. It ran for 13 years, offering early roles to future stars such as Christian Slater, Kate Mulgrew and Marg Helgenberger.
Gallagher remained a member of the Ryan’s Hope cast until it wrapped up in 1989. (The series finale ended with Gallagher’s Maeve singing her signature tune “Danny Boy” at the family bar.) She was nominated for five Daytime Emmys for her work as Maeve, winning three times, in 1976, 1977 and 1988. Following the end of Ryan’s Hope, she went on to appear on other soaps like Another World, All My Children and One Life to Live. Her other TV credits include Law & Order and The Cosby Mysteries.
Her Ryan’s Hope co-star Ron Hale, who played Roger Coleridge, passed away in August at the age of 78.
Sweet memories.
RIP
I just happened to be looking around you tube yesterday, and i saw the original opening of “Ryan’s Hope” where Maeve is with Johnnie and he’s holding the grandchild up in the air. What a great show that was….followed it all through the mid 70’s into the 80’s. Helen had a beautiful irish brogue. She was a class act!
I often rewatch the clip of her singing “Danny Boy” on the show’s finale and it always brings me to tears 🪻
I clearly remember her as playing the mom in Ryan’s Hope; one of my “most favorite” ABC soap operas; I loved her Irish accent!
The Star Trek character Captain Janeway played the daughter on Ryan’s Hope!
Daily viewing line-up was:Ryan’s Hope, One Life to Live, then General Hospital!!!