Meg Bennett(1948-2024)

The eldest daughter of a printing company executive and a psychologist, Meg had a comfortable childhood in Pasadena, California. She majored in drama at Northwestern, acting in summer stock between terms. Hired in 1971 as the "Cadillac Eldorado convertible girl" for a New York auto show, she decided on Manhattan as home, which proved a fortuitous choice. In an elevator, a man asked Meg if she wanted to be on a quiz show. Thus was born a champion of NBC's Three on a Match, with winnings that included complete furnishings for her new apartment. A part in the original Broadway cast of "Grease" led to the role of the good girl, Liza, on Search for Tomorrow (1951). Meg quickly beguiled the cast, which included Kevin Kline and Morgan Fairchild, who had beaten out Meg for the show's vixen role nine months earlier. In 1978 Meg left that soap and New York for acting opportunities in California. But a bout of hepatitis interrupted those plans. Meg's weight dropped to 95 pounds. While recovering, she was approached about a part on The Young and the Restless (1973). A fragile character at first, Julia Newman then transformed into a strong and mature character. Also because Meg's on-the-set script doctoring had impressed the production staff, series creator William J. Bell who then suggested her a career alternative: Thus her script career began, leading her to soap operas General Hospital (1963) and Sunset Beach (1997). Meg is married to fellow writer Robert Guza Jr..