Eileen Fulton, Longtime ‘Bad Girl’ Lisa on ‘As the World Turns,’ Dies at 91

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Eileen Fulton, a actress who played the role of Lisa Miller for nearly 50 years on the CBS soap opera “As the World Turns,” and was known as one of the earliest “bad girls” of daytime television, has passed away at the age of 91.

In my heartfelt words, I’m sorrowfully sharing that the remarkable Fulton took her final breath in Asheville, North Carolina, on the 14th of July, following a lengthy struggle with deteriorating health.

Four years into the airing of “As the World Turns”, Fulton began appearing in the top daytime soap opera in 1960, initially for a three-month summer plotline. She left the series on three occasions – one time to star in her own prime-time spinoff titled “Our Private World” in 1965 – but remained until the final episode was broadcast on September 17, 2010.

In a different phrasing: Lisa, a character, had eight husbands on screen, with Nicolas Coster playing two of them. Three marriages resulted in divorces, four ended tragically in death, and one was nullified. When the series As the World Turns concluded, her character’s extensive name was Lisa Miller Hughes Eldridge Shea Colman McColl Mitchell Grimaldi Chedwyn. Additionally, she had numerous romantic relationships outside of marriage.

I’m quite the hopeless romantic, I guess that’s why I fall in love so often,” Fulton shared during a chat with the Television Academy Foundation in 2005 on their website The Interviews. (First person perspective as a gamer)

Back in ’98, I got inducted into the Soap Opera Hall of Fame – quite an honor! Then, in 2004, they bestowed upon me a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmys. Being one of the early soap opera actors to have my own publicist was just another cool milestone on this wild journey.

Additionally, she hired a security guard to safeguard her from disgruntled spectators who disagreed with Lisa’s actions. She commented, “There was a fascinating mix of admiration and animosity [towards me].

In the ’70s, Fulton requested a clause in her contract ensuring she wouldn’t portray a grandmother role. She explained this decision to the Los Angeles Times in 2000, stating, “Grandmothers weren’t depicted with any romance back then, and I didn’t want that for myself.” Over time, she came to accept this condition.

Born on September 13, 1933, in Asheville, North Carolina, Margaret Elizabeth McLarty, the eldest of three siblings, had a schoolteacher mother named Peggy and a Methodist preacher father called James. By the third grade, she had already decided that she wanted to pursue acting as her career.

After graduating from Lee Edwards High School in Asheville and earning my degree as a music and drama major from Greensboro College in 1956, I packed my bags for the Big Apple. In New York, I honed my acting skills under the tutelage of Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse, where I shared the stage with a rising star named Keir Dullea.

In 1960, Fulton had acted as a hooker in the movie “Girl of the Night,” with Anne Francis. Later, someone from the soap opera “As the World Turns” contacted her manager to ask if Lois Smith, who starred in “East of Eden,” was available to play Lisa. Since Smith wasn’t available, they proposed Fulton instead.

She confidently stated, “I had a feeling I would secure that role. Among the 250 other contestants at the audition, I had this intuition.

Lisa had been expected to play the role of the innocent girl next door, but she declared, “I’m fed up with being the sweet girl next door.” She might not be able to alter her script, but during the live broadcast, she could certainly modify her intentions. A cunning plan popped into her mind regarding Bob, her first TV husband portrayed by Don Hastings.

For a brief period in the early ’60s, Fulton would spend his mornings working on the soap opera “As the World Turns” (while it was being broadcast live), quickly dash to the Billy Rose Theater on Broadway for matinee performances of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, and then show up at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in the evenings for “The Fantasticks”.

In 1963, Fulton temporarily left “As the World Turns” to pursue other opportunities, such as acting opposite Hal Holbrook in an off-Broadway production of “Abe Lincoln in Illinois.” However, she struggled to find more work afterwards, and viewers didn’t warm up to her replacement, Pamela King. As a result, Fulton eventually returned to the show.

1965 saw her departure once more, as she embarked on a new role in the show “Our Private World“, which was broadcast on CBS every Wednesday and Friday evening. Prior to this, Lisa had abandoned Oakdale following her split with Bob, and moved to Chicago where she married the affluent John Eldridge. (Coster portrayed Eldridge; later on, he would play Eduardo Grimaldi, Lisa’s seventh husband.)

Despite being taken off the air in September, only four months after its debut, Fulton returned to As the World Turns in 1966.

In 1983, Fulton departed due to a contract disagreement, with Betsy von Furstenberg stepping in as her replacement. However, when she learned that the writers were considering offing Lisa, she staged another return. “Nobody would accept Lisa’s death unless I’m the one to do it,” she asserted.

Fulton wrote two autobiographies titled “How My World Turns” (1970) and “As My World Still Turns” (1995), along with numerous murder mysteries, and a novel called “Soap Opera: A Novel” (1999). She was also a cabaret performer and had her own clothing line available at J.C. Penney.

In real life, Fulton, unlike Lisa, was married (and divorced) only three times.

Among the survivors are her brother, Charles Furman McLarty; her niece, Katherine Morris, along with her kids, Everly Ann Morris and Easton Lane Morris; and her sister-in-law, Chris Page McLarty.

Back in 2010, during an interview with NPR, I knew all too well that plenty of viewers weren’t fond of my on-screen persona. One viewer, in particular, seemed to have a special disdain for the character I played.

She shared an anecdote about her early days on a TV show: “I was standing outside Lord & Taylor, just a few weeks into the series, when a stunningly elegant woman in a genuine Chanel suit approached me. ‘Aren’t you Lisa?’, she asked. I confirmed, ‘Yes, that’s my role.’ To which she retorted, ‘I despise you!’ and gave me a slap! The onlookers seemed to view her as a heroine instead of me.

However, it struck me, “Ah, they’ve connected with it.” Yet, a telegram arrived at the studio. It read, “If Lisa marries Bob, I’ll stop watching ‘As the World Turns’ forever.” This was the moment that solidified the character’s impact.

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2025-07-20 05:25