Marie Masters

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Marie Masters (Susan, ATWT)

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The 411

Marie Masters, an Ohio native, didn't become involved in showbiz until she was an adult. After graduating from high school, she attended Marian College in Indiana, where she obtained her bachelor's degree in art history. She then went to New York City ("I had about $35," she recalls) and got a job working at the city desk at Women's Wear Daily.

While in the city, she studied acting with Uta Hagen and Wynn Handman. She finally made her Broadway debut in There's a Girl in My Soup. She also appeared in the off-Broadway productions of A Sound of Silence, Halfway Home and Andrew After Dark.

In 1966, she did a year-long stint at LOVE OF LIFE; then, in 1968, she briefly appeared on ANOTHER WORLD. Soon after, she joined fellow Procter & Gamble show, ATWT, where she stayed until 1979.

Her personal life suddenly became more hectic when she had twins with then-husband, Jay Harris, an entertainment lawyer, in 1969. She and Harris divorced when the children were very young, leaving her to raise them alone for the next few years.

The actress took a leap of faith when she she left daytime to try her luck outside of Oakdale in 1979. For the next few years, she toiled in Hollywood, appearing in movies, such as Scream for Help and appearing on TV shows, such as CONCRETE COWBOYS. She even spent some time on OLTL in 1982.

During that time, Masters married actor Robert Lipton, who played ATWT's Jeff from 1978-84. They wed in 1983 (and divorced in 1988). Masters finally returned to New York and ATWT in 1986. Throughout her second stint on the show, she received much praise, earning three Soap Opera Digest Award nominations. However, after then-Head Writer Douglas Marland died in 1993, her screen time began to diminish.

From 2000-02, she began doing double duty, writing dialogue for the soap and was part of the Emmy-winning team. Despite being on recurring status, she was then rewarded with a big storyline in 2003 with John James's Dr. Rick Decker.

Today, Masters is still part of the Oakdale canvas and is one of several respected vets in the cast.

Et Cetera

Five Random Facts
— Is the assistant artistic director for The New Group, a nonprofit theater.
— Is active with the Fresh Air Fund, Actors Fund and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
— Masters's real-life daughter, Jenny, played her on-screen daughter, Emily, on ATWT from 1975-79.
— Co-wrote the films The Special, Mad Money, Played Out, and Loveland.
— When she was wed to Lipton, she was the sister-in-law of THE MOD SQUAD's Peggy Lipton.

Career Highlights

Other Soap Roles
ONE LIFE TO LIVE (Helen Murdoch, 1982)
ANOTHER WORLD (Missy Palmer, 1968)
LOVE OF LIFE (Hester Ferris, 1966-67)

TV Roles
LAW & ORDER (Laura Tinsdale, 2001; Mary Cushman, 1994)
CONCRETE COWBOYS (Carol, 1981)
SECRETS OF MIDLAND HEIGHTS (Fran, 1980)
PREMIERE (Paula, 1968)

Film Roles
Scream for Help (Karen Cromwell Fox, 1984)
Slayground (Joni, 1983)
A Day at the Beach (1970)

Memorable Masters

"We all make mistakes. Big mistakes. Sometimes, you spend a whole lifetime dealing with the mistakes you've made. Not sometimes, all the time. I think in terms of a theatrical story, people relate to how they solve this problem. ‘Look at what she did: that's horrible, but what's she going to do now?' "
— Soap Opera Digest, 5/15/07

"I was very surprised because they don't often write things for a woman my age. That's just a reality. And the other reality is that I'm not under contract, so it was really a gift. They put it in my lap and you say, ‘Thank you so much.' "
— On being given a juicy storyline, Digest, 7/22/03

"I love to watch television. I love it; it's my secret vice. I'm addicted to Lifetime. I watch every TV movie about people who murder people and all those family tragedies. My kids will say, ‘Mom, turn off the television!' But I'll say, ‘No, I have to watch this!' "
— Digest, 10/20/98

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