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"Working together, there's nothing better than working together on a project where everyone wants to be creative and get the most out of it." Marj Dusay spent more than thirty years of her life working in Hollywood. Throughout that time, Dusay managed to secure roles in over 90 different projects. Known primarily for her work on television, Dusay starred in projects like All My Children and Guiding Light.

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A prolific character actor, Dusay was seemingly never afraid of taking on different types of work. Originally known for playing characters on soap operas, Dusay has also starred in projects like Star Trek and A Chronicle of Corpses. With such a wide and varied body of work, let's take some time in order to closer inspect one of the most prolific television actors of our time.

Born in Kansas

Marjorie Ellen Pivonka Mahoney was born on February 20, 1936, in the town of Russel, Kansas. Dusay was born second out of six children to her parents. She spent her entire childhood in Kansas before up and making her move to Los Angeles in the 50s. Due to the era, as well as Dusay's own reticence, sharing her early childhood, not much is known about how Dusay spent her time as a child. What we do know about Dusay is that she was raised with five other children in her home. We also know that Marj would meet her future husband, John Dusay, as a child. John had also grown up in Kansas and the two had become fast friends.

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After graduating from her small-town high school, Dusay would pack her bags in order to head to Kansas City. While in Kansas City, Dusay would enroll at the University of Kansas. Her time at college was tremendously informative for the rest of her life. Dusay would ingratiate herself with the theater department before starring in several major productions. She clearly left an impression on the facility as she later returned as an adult to work on the Kansas University Advisory Board for the Theatre Arts. Dusay would also spend four years serving as the  Film Commission Chairwoman.

While Dusay attended college, she began to work on her career as a model. Dusay would work for several companies in and around Kansas City before deciding to make her move to Los Angeles in pursuit of a career on television.

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Prolific Television Career

While we now know Marj Dusay as one of the most successful daytime television actors of all time, her path to success was hardly an easy one. Dusay moved out to Los Angeles after growing up in the Midwest. Like a fish out of the water, Dusay had to work hard to establish herself in this new and competitive market. Dusay would end up performing as a member of an improv comedy troupe in the 60s known as The Session. The improv group included future famous faces like Richard Dreyfuss, Rob Reiner, Phil Mishkin, David Arkin, and Larry Bishop.

After spending several years honing her skills, Dusay would make her television debut in 1967 on the show, Cimarron Strip. Following that performance, Dusay would appear in several other projects during her first year on television. Of those projects, her most notable early roles were in Get Smart (1967), The Second Hundred Years (1967), and Clambake (1967) alongside Elvis Presley. Dusay would spend much of her early career working as a character actor in the biggest shows of the time. One of her most popular roles would be as Kara in an episode of the 1968 science fiction series, Star Trek.

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While Dusay had established herself as a daytime actor, she wouldn't make her major break until 1983 when she landed a leading role on the soap opera, Capitol. Dusay would make her soap opera debut by replacing the actress Carolyn Jones in the role of Myrna Clegg. Dusay would appear as the character in eight episodes spanning across four years. While far from one of her most famous roles, Capitol would push Dusay into the soap opera market for the duration of her career.

Following her success in Capitol, Dusay would go on to score an eight-episode arc on the immensely popular television show, The Facts of Life (1981). Dusay would play Monica Warner for eight episodes spanning from 1981 to 1987. This project would lead directly into Dusay's first major role, this time on the show Santa Barbara (1987). Dusay would land the part of Pamela Capwell Conrad, a role that she would reprise for 83 episodes. Her arc was dark and demented on the program and it featured some of the most entertaining twists that the program would air.

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Despite being in the industry for over thirty years, Dusay's most defining work wouldn't hit the small screen until the late 90s. Dusay would take on the role of Vanessa Bennett in All My Children from 1998 until 2002, appearing in 50 episodes along the way. While this was going on, Dusay had also picked up a recurring role on Guiding Light. In Guiding Light (1994 - 2009), Dusay would play Alexandra Spaulding for 122 episodes. Dusay's character of Alexandra had one of the happier endings on the show, appearing in the final episode in order to get the send-off that her fans thought she deserved.

In her private life, Dusay had two notable relationships. She would marry her childhood sweetheart, John Dusay, in 1956. The couple would stay together until 1961. John and Marj had two children together. Following her divorce, Dusay married Thomas Perrine in 1967 until his tragic passing in 1988.