“As The World Turns” Star Helen Wagner Dies At 91

Helen Wagner

“As The World Turns” Star Helen Wagner Dies At 91.  Actress and Guinness World Record holder Helen Wagner has died. The “As the World Turns” star, who had played Nancy Hughes for more than a half century up until her death, died Saturday. She was 91. Wagner held the record for playing the same role on television for the longest time. She spoke the first words “Good morning, dear” on the CBS show when it premiered in 1956. In 2004, she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.  Before joining the soap opera show, she played the role of Trudy Bauer Palmer on “Guiding Light.” She also had a prominent stage career and appeared in the original Broadway production of “Oklahoma!” and the 1941 musical “Sunny River.” She was also featured in the 1946 production of “The Winter’s Tale,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” The Bad Seed,” “My Name Is Acquilon,” and ‘Love of Four Colonels.” She was married to Broadway producer Robert Willey from 1954 to his death in 2009. Her cause of death was not released.