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Carrie Nye

1936 – 2006

American actress

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About Carrie Nye

Lived 1936 – 2006 (aged 69). Carrie Nye was an American actor, stage actor, television actor and film actor.

Carolyn Nye McGeoy (October 14, 1936 – July 14, 2006), known professionally as Carrie Nye, was an American actress. In her career spanning 32 years, she was nominated for a Tony Award in 1965, a Primetime Emmy Award in 1980, and a Drama Desk Award in 1981.

Early life Nye was born Carolyn Nye McGeoy on October 14, 1936, the only child of Frank Rice McGeoy Jr., a cotton planter Nye was interested in dancing when she was a child. She was trained in ballet and planned on a career as a dancer. Her focus changed when a summer camp activity gave her a part in a play by Tennessee Williams. "That did it", she said.

She attended Greenwood High School, Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and the Yale School of Drama,

Nye was a member of the Delta Debutante Society, and she made her debut in Greenville, Mississippi. The following year she portrayed Tiffany Richards in the original cast of Mary, Mary. She received a Tony Award nomination in 1965 for her portrayal of Helen Walsingham in Half a Sixpence. She appeared in two more productions on Broadway during the 1960s, A Very Rich Woman (1965) and Cop-Out (1969).

Nye made her feature film debut in The Group (1966), the film adaptation of Mary McCarthy's novel. Other film appearances included The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), the classic horror film Creepshow (1982), Too Scared to Scream (1985), and the Shelley Long comedy Hello Again (1987).

Nye was featured in a number of television movies during the 1970s, including Screaming Skull (1973) and The Users (1978). She also acted in the television movie Divorce His, Divorce Hers (1973), which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Nye wrote a humorous essay that year published in Time about the experience. In 1978, Nye was a semi-regular panelist on the PBS quiz show We Interrupt This Week. She received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 1980 for her portrayal of Tallulah Bankhead in the television film The Scarlett O'Hara War. That same year she returned to Broadway to perform the role of Lorraine Sheldon in a revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner. She was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her performance.

In 1984, Nye was cast on the daytime soap opera Guiding Light as Susan Piper, an unscrupulous real estate agent going to great lengths, including murder, trying to reclaim a cottage that harbors a deep secret. Her portrayal of the villainous character proved popular for some time, culminating in a location shoot in Barbados, ending with a memorable death scene where she fell into quicksand.

When Nye's friend Ellen Weston became head writer of Guiding Light in 2003, she created another character for Nye, the mysterious Caroline Carruthers. Despite acclaim for Nye's performance, this storyline was unpopular, changing history for several of the show's core characters (whom she had crossed paths with in her first stint) and Nye's character was written off after six months.

Personal life and death Nye was married to Dick Cavett, from June 4, 1964, until her death. They met at Yale and had no children. Nye and Cavett bought Tick Hall, a house in Montauk, New York, designed by Stanford White. It burned down in 1997, but with the assistance of architects and preservationists, she and Cavett built an exact replica of the house. Their accomplishment became the subject of a documentary film From the Ashes: The Life and Times of Tick Hall (2003). 1980 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special The Scarlett O'Hara War

1965 Tony Awards Best Supporting or Featured Actress in a Musical Half a Sixpence

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
Yale School of Drama, Stephens College, Yale University
Also known as
Carolyn Nye McGeoy, Carrie Nye Cavett

Family & relationships

Spouse
Dick Cavett

People in Carrie Nye's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Carrie Nye's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Carrie Nye?

American actress (1936-2006)

When was Carrie Nye born?

Carrie Nye was born on 14 October 1936 in Greenwood.

When did Carrie Nye die?

Carrie Nye died on 14 July 2006 in Manhattan.

What was Carrie Nye's occupation?

Carrie Nye was an actor, stage actor, television actor and film actor.

What nationality was Carrie Nye?

Carrie Nye was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Carrie Nye

· Wikidata: Q2940244

· DBpedia: Carrie Nye

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Carrie Nye. https://biography.guide/carrie-nye/

MLA: "Carrie Nye." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/carrie-nye/.

Chicago: "Carrie Nye." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/carrie-nye/.

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