Joan Benedict Steiger

{{Infobox person

| name = Joan Benedict Steiger

| image = Cropped_Photo_of_Joan_Benedict_Steiger.jpg

| caption =

| birth_name = Joan Benedict

| birth_date = {{birth date|1927|07|21}}

| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|06|24|1927|07|21}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| resting_place = Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California, U.S.

| spouse = {{ubl

| {{marriage|John Myhers|1962|1992|reason=his death}}

| {{marriage|Rod Steiger|2000|2002|reason=his death}}

}}

| partner = Jeremy Slate (2002–2006; his death)

| children = 1

}}

Joan Benedict Steiger (July 21, 1927 – June 24, 2024) was an American actress best known for her role as Edith Fairchild on General Hospital.{{Cite web |url=http://www.joanbenedictsteiger.com/press/press10.html |title=Joan Benedict Steiger's Collected Stories in Venice Magazine |access-date=2010-03-18 |archive-date=2011-07-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705004101/http://www.joanbenedictsteiger.com/press/press10.html |url-status=dead }}

Early life and education

Benedict Steiger was born in Brooklyn, New York, and first performed at the age of seven at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She continued her training at Rome Opera Ballet School, before studying with acting coaches Robert Lewis and Stella Adler, founders of the Actors Studio in New York.

Career

=Theatre=

Her list of stage credits include acclaimed productions of contemporary offerings such as Promises, Promises, The Beauty Queen of Leenane,{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatermania.com/los-angeles-theater/news/full-cast-set-for-the-beauty-queen-of-leenane-at-m_13616.html|title=Full Cast Set for The Beauty Queen of Leenane at Malibu Stage | TheaterMania|website=www.theatermania.com|accessdate=Dec 3, 2020}} Collected Stories by Donald Margulies, P.J. Barry's The Octette Bridge Club, Horton Foote's The Traveling Lady, and Morris West's The World is Made of Glass, opposite Don Knotts in the comedy The Mind with the Dirty Man, and others.

=Film=

Benedict Steiger is known for a classic bit from the original version of Candid Camera, where she played a lost tourist looking for directions from passersby.{{Cite web |url=http://www.joanbenedictsteiger.com/press/press20.html |title=Joan Benedict Steiger's Collected Stories in Venice Magazine |access-date=2010-03-18 |archive-date=2011-07-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705004146/http://www.joanbenedictsteiger.com/press/press20.html |url-status=dead }} She was also part of the ensemble of the original Steve Allen Show, where she did double duty as the spokesperson for Hazel Bishop cosmetics. On daytime drama, she had regular and recurring roles on General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, and Capitol.{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0070785/|title=Joan Benedict Steiger|website=IMDb|accessdate=Dec 3, 2020}} She has a starring role the 2011 feature Dead Border.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1815663/|title=Dead Border|accessdate=Dec 3, 2020|via=IMDb}}

Personal life

Joan Benedict Steiger's personal relationships are the basis for her one-woman show, The Loves of my Life. Her first marriage was to actor John Myhers, best known for his work in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,{{Cite web|url=https://www.answers.com/redirectSearch|title=Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions|website=Answers|accessdate=Dec 3, 2020}} and they were married from 1962 until Myhers' death in 1992. Benedict Steiger is also the widow of the Academy Award-winning actor Rod Steiger, whom she married October 10, 2000. They appeared in two films together, A Month of Sundays and the telefilm The Flying Dutchman. Following Rod Steiger's death in 2002, Benedict Steiger's partner was actor Jeremy Slate, a veteran of over 80 films and television shows dating back to 1959, until his death in 2006.{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0805177/|title=Jeremy Slate|website=IMDb|accessdate=Dec 3, 2020}}

Steiger lived in Malibu, California.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} She died from complications of a stroke at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, on June 24, 2024. She was 96.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/joan-benedict-dead-candid-camera-rod-steiger-1235940998/|title=Joan Benedict, ‘Candid Camera’ Actress and Widow of Rod Steiger, Dies at 96|work=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Mike|last=Barnes|date=8 July 2024|access-date=8 July 2024}}