Helen Gallagher, Broadway Star & Maeve Ryan on 'Ryan's Hope,' Dies at 98

Tony winner Helen Gallagher, who played Maeve Ryan on the soap "Ryan's Hope," died Sunday at 98.

Her colleagues at the Herbert Berghof Studio confirmed her passing. She had taught a singing class there in the past.

Born July 19, 1926, in Brooklyn, she grew up in Scarsdale, New York, and in the Bronx, studying dance as a child and at the American School of Ballet.

In 1949, at the dawn of TV, Gallagher hosted her own talent-search show, "Manhattan Showcase," but the stage was where she herself was most obviously a star.

Having made her Broadway debut in Cole Porter's "Seven Lively Arts" in 1944, she went on to have an important and acclaimed career on the stage, receiving Tonys for "Pal Joey" (1952) and "No, No, Nanette" (1971).

She was also in the original Broadway production of "Sweet Charity" (1966), first as Nickie (for which she was Tony-nominated) and later as the title character, singing the iconic "Big Spender." She was directed and choreographed by the legendary Bob Fosse in the show.

Gallagher's Broadway career spanned from 1944-1981, and included more than 20 shows. She was active on the stage until 1984.

A wider audience knew her as matriarch Maeve Ryan for the entire run of the ABC daytime soap "Ryan's Hope" (1975-1989), which famously ended with her character warbling "Danny Boy."

For her work on the show, she won three Daytime Emmys.

She went on to work on the soaps "Another World" (1989), "All My Children" (1995), and "One Life to Live" (1997-1998). She also guested on "Law & Order" (1993) and "The Cosby Mysteries" (1995).

Films included "Strangers When We Meet" (1960) and "Roseland" (1977). Her last film was the drama "Neptune's Rocking Horse" in 1997.

Gallagher was married and divorced once, and is survived by friends and admirers.