Veteran TV actress Abby Dalton, who co-starred on the ’80s primetime soap Falcon Crest, has died at the age of 88, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Dalton passed away on Nov. 23 in Los Angeles following a long illness, her family said in a statement.
Dalton was a television staple in the 1960s: She played nurse Martha Hale on CBS’ Hennesey, starring opposite Jackie Cooper and earning an Emmy nomination for the role in 1961, and also played Rat Packer Joey Bishop’s wife on his self-titled NBC sitcom. Plus, she made frequent appearances through the years on game shows like Hollywood Squares, Match Game, Super Password, and The $25,000 Pyramid.
In 1981, Dalton took the role of winemaker Julia Cumson, the daughter of matriarch Angela Channing, on the CBS drama Falcon Crest. The primetime soap became a ratings hit for the Eye network, and Dalton’s character was put through the wringer: sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence for murder, institutionalized in a mental hospital and blinded by an earthquake before ending up in a convent. Dalton moved down to recurring status for Seasons 5 and 6 before leaving the show for good in 1986.
After Falcon Crest, she made appearances on Murder, She Wrote and Hotel. Her daughter Kathleen Kinmont later married actor Lorenzo Lamas, who played Dalton’s son Lance on Falcon Crest.
We were just watching her on The Joey Bishop Show this past a Thanksgiving weekend. Hennessy is a tv classic as was Ms. Dalton, a classic and lady of class. Every thing she did, she always did well. If there is a Hall of Fame for television, Abby Dalton should be a charter member. May she rest in perpetual peace.
Such class. She was so memorable on Falcon Crest. This one hurts.