Awwww . . . the actress who played Ruth Martin died before the end of "All My Children".

[no_hypocrisy]

http://www.northjersey.com/obituaries/famous/All_My_Children_star_Mary_Fickett_played_Ruth_Martin_dies_.html

Mary Fickett, who played compassionate nurse Ruth Martin on ABC's "All My Children," has died at age 83.

The veteran daytime drama star died Thursday at her home in Virginia, the network said.

Fickett was an original cast member of "All My Children," which premiered in 1970, and for decades she appeared alongside Ray MacDonnell, who played her on-screen husband, Dr. Joe Martin, in the fictional town of Pine Valley, Pa. She retired from the show in 2000.

In 1973, she became the first performer to receive an Emmy for work on a daytime soap opera. As the mother of a young man who was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, Ruth Martin gave an impassioned anti-war speech that won Fickett the award.

[JI7]

1. another actress has been playing Ruth in recent years

but Mary Fickett played her the longest .

a lot of the longtime actors from AMC died in recent years. the ones who played Palmer, Aunt Phoebe, Myrtle.

[femmocrat]

2. Lee Meriwether played her in recent years. n/t