Helen Wagner

Helen Losee Wagner (September 3, 1918 – May 1, 2010) was an American actress.

Born in Lubbock, Texas, she is best known for her role as Nancy Hughes McClosky on the soap opera As the World Turns. After appearing in the soap opera for some 50 years, at the time of her death she was the longest serving actor on an American soap opera.

As the World Turns

Wagner played the soap opera's matriarch, Nancy Hughes, from its debut on April 2, 1956, until her death. She was acknowledged in Guinness World Records for having the longest run in a single role on television, a position she held until 2010.

Wagner spoke the show's very first line, "Good morning, dear."

On November 22, 1963, Wagner inadvertently became part of broadcast history. About ten minutes into that day's episode of As the World Turns, a scene featuring her character was interrupted by Walter Cronkite's first news bulletin that President John F. Kennedy had been shot in Dallas (this bulletin was audio only, as the studio camera was not ready until 20 minutes later). Wagner later remembered that she and actor Santos Ortega, who played Grandpa Hughes, continued with the scene as it was broadcast live, unaware of the unfolding tragedy until they were told about it during a commercial break.

After the death of costar and onscreen husband Don McLaughlin in 1986, the Nancy Hughes character became a widow. She later met and married Dan McClosky (Dan Frazer) and was subsequently part of a storyline in which Dan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. After it culminated in Dan's death, Wagner faced many years with little to no part in the story. She returned to the screen with a pivotal role in a 2004 storyline revolving around her grandson's marriage to naïve teenager Alison Stewart (played by Jessica Dunphy). In 2005, 2006, and 2007, Wagner averaged around three appearances a month on the serial. She was prominently featured in the show's 50th anniversary episode in April 2006.

Wagner's death came less than two months before As The World Turns taped its final episode. CBS announced on December 9, 2009, that it was cancelling the show after 54 years on the air. Many fans had hoped that Wagner would be able to close the series with the line "Good night, dear," just as she had uttered "Good morning, dear" as the first line of the program back in 1956. The last episode was taped on June 23, 2010, and aired on September 17, 2010.

She was presented with a "Lifetime Achievement" Emmy by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in May 2004.