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. She played the role of Trudy Bauer during the initial TV years of Guiding Light in the early 1950s. She appeared on the early soap Valiant Lady, as well as on primetime programs including The World of Mr. Sweeney, Mister Peepers, Inner Sanctum, and the Philco-Goodyear Playhouse. Helen Losee Wagner was born on September 3, 1918, in Lubbock, Texas, one of two daughters of Charles and Janette (née Tinker) Wagner. She studied music and drama at Monmouth College in Illinois where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1938.Before signing a 13-week contract for As the World Turns in 1956, Wagner had been a singer and stage actress, sometimes working as a church soloist to pay the rent. She had roles in the stage plays Sunny River, Oklahoma! and The Bad Seed on Broadway.In 1954, she married Robert Willey, an actor and theater producer. He died in 2009. Wagner died of cancer on May 1, 2010, at the age of 91.