Marj Dusay

Actress Marj Dusay got her start in showbiz in the 1950s, modeling and studying acting in New York City while her then-husband studied medicine. The couple eventually moved to California and she quickly generated modelling work for television commercials. It was not long before she started landing roles on television and in feature films, including parts on the spy parody "Get Smart," the Elvis Presley movie "Clambake," and a memorable part on a third season episode of "Star Trek" (a fan non-favorite), where she stole Spock's brain. Outside of her busy television schedule throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Dusay also appeared in the Clint Eastwood directed film "Breezy," starring William Holden and Kay Lenz. Although at ease with more glamorous roles, she was also comfortable with broader comedic roles as well--she was an original member of the improvisational comedy troupe The Session, which also counted founder Rob Reiner, Larry Bishop, and Richard Dreyfuss, among others, in its ranks. Her comedic side was able to shine on the '80s sitcom favorite "The Facts of Life," where she played the mother of Blair Warner. Dusay's most famous roles, however, are arguably her juicy turn as Alexandra Spaulding on the long-running daytime soap "Guiding Light" and her role on "All My Children" as scheming Vanessa Bennett. While offscreen, Dusay has been a member of the Kansas University Advisory Board for the Theatre Arts and supported Project Angel Food, an AIDS support organization. She lost her son to the disease in 1993. Marj Dusay died on January 28, 2020 at the age of 83.