Lynn Loring, Early Soap Star Turned Producer, Dead at 80

Lynn Loring, whose work on TV as a child actor led to later success as a TV exec and producer, died December 23, 2023, at 80. THR reports her family kept her death out of the news until now.

Loring was born Lynn Zimring in NYC on July 14, 1943.

Her first experiences acting on television came in 1951, the same year she was cast as Patti Barron on the first season of the iconic soap opera "Search for Tomorrow," a role she played for a decade.

During that time, she was a regular on the short-lived series "The Jean Carroll Show" (1953-1954) and appeared on several early dramatic anthology series, including "Starlight Theatre" (1951), "Robert Montgomery Presents" (1953), and "Omnibus" (1955).

After appearing in the movie classic "Splendor in the Grass" in 1961, she played a female beatnik on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (1962) and was one of the stars of the Desilu sitcom "Fair Exchange" (1962-1963) and of "The FBI" (1965-1966).

Other TV guest spots included "Gunsmoke" (1963), "Perry Mason" (1964), "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (1964), "The Big Valley" (1965), "Bonanza" (1966), and "My Three Sons" (1968).

She married actor Roy Thinnes in 1967, starring with him in the 1969 feature "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun."

Loring's acting appearances slowed in the '70s, coming to an end in 1975.

She then went to work for Aaron Spelling, producing the TV movies "The Return of Mod Squad" (1979), the anorexia drama "The Best Little Girl in the World" (1981), and the male-stripper camp classic "Making of a Male Model" with Joan Collins and Jon-Erik Hexum.

In 1983, Loring, with Aaron Spelling and Lauren Shuler, produced the smash-hit feature "Mr. Mom," starring Michael Keaton and Teri Garr. The movie cost a reported $5M to make and grossed over $60M, making it one of the biggest hits of the year.

While serving as president of MGM/UA Television — a rare position of power in Hollywood for a young woman in the 1980s — she suggested that the Oscar-winning drama "In the Heat of the Night" would make a great series, and should star Carroll O'Connor. The series happened, starred O'Connor, and ran from 1988-1995.

Loring and Thinnes divorced in 1984. She was predeceased by second husband Michael Bergman, and is survived by her two children.