Louise Shaffer
Encyclopedia
Biography
Shaffer was born in Woodbridge, ConnecticutWoodbridge, Connecticut
Woodbridge is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,983 at the 2000 census. It is one of the wealthiest towns in Connecticut, ranking 16th in the state in terms of per capita income, and is home to many of the faculty of Yale University...
, where she showed an interest in acting early on in her life. After finishing high school, she attended Connecticut College for Women
Connecticut College
Connecticut College is a private liberal arts college located in New London, Connecticut.The college was founded in 1911, as Connecticut College for Women, in response to Wesleyan University closing its doors to women...
, then Yale Drama School. Shaffer is a coloratura soprano
Coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano who specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs and leaps. The term coloratura refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice...
was trained at Juilliard.
Actress
Throughout her life, Shaffer has appeared in numerous soap operaSoap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s, including Hidden Faces
Hidden Faces
Hidden Faces is an American soap opera that aired on NBC from December 30, 1968 to June 27, 1969. The series was created by Irving Vendig, who also created the long-running Procter & Gamble serial The Edge of Night....
, Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
where she played two separate roles; that of Emily Rogers Hunter and Stephanie Wilkins
Stephanie Wilkins
Stephanie Wilkins Collins Pace Wyatt was a fictional character on the long-running American Soap Opera Search for Tomorrow. She was played from 1974 to 1984 by actress Maree Cheatham and from 1984 to 1986 by actress and writer Louise Shaffer....
, Where the Heart Is
Where the Heart Is (1969 TV series)
Where the Heart Is is an American soap opera telecast on the CBS television network from September 8, 1969 to March 23, 1973. Created by Lou Scofield and Margaret DePriest, the program ran for 25 minutes, the remaining five minutes of its timeslot ceded to a CBS news break.Scofield and DePriest...
(in which she played James Mitchell
James Mitchell (actor)
James Mitchell was an American actor and dancer. Although he is best known to television audiences as Palmer Cortlandt on the soap opera All My Children , theatre and dance historians remember him as one of Agnes de Mille's leading dancers...
's stony and somewhat snobby sister, Allison Hathaway Archer Jessup), The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
(where she played Serena Faraday/Josie), All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
, and Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
. However, her most recognized role was that of Rae Woodard on Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
, a role she played from 1977 to 1984, and then reprised for the show's finale in 1989.
She was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
s for her portrayal of Rae Woodard on Ryan's Hope; she won the award in 1983. In addition to her daytime roles, Shaffer also had a role on the short-lived Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
sitcom All That Glitters.
Author
As Shaffer aged, it became increasingly obvious to her that it was getting harder to find steady work as an actress. Partially because of this, she began writing for soaps instead of acting on them. Since the late eighties, she has written for Ryan's HopeRyan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
, Loving
Loving (TV series)
Caden Grant Carlton loves Mika Ayako Ryan more.Loving is an American television soap opera which aired on ABC's daytime lineup from June 26, 1983 to November 10, 1995 for 3,169 episodes...
, General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
, and As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
.
In addition to scriptwriting, Shaffer has written numerous books.
Personal life
Shaffer was formerly married to actor Toby Tompkins. She is currently married to Roger Crews, who also wrote for Ryan's HopeRyan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
and Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
.
Acting credits
| Opening date | Closing date | Title | Role | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Master, New York | |||
| First One Asleep, | Esther | Belasco | ||
| Keep It In The Family | Understudy | Plymouth | ||
| Two Gentlemen of Verona | >Delacorte | |||
| Playwrights Horizon | ||||
| Second Hairdresser Second Model Cigarette Girl |
46th Street |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Run For Your Life | Donna Sanders | Episode: "A Very Small Injustice" |
| 1968 | Hidden Faces | Maratha Logan | |
| 1969– 1973 |
Where the Heart Is Where the Heart Is (1969 TV series) Where the Heart Is is an American soap opera telecast on the CBS television network from September 8, 1969 to March 23, 1973. Created by Lou Scofield and Margaret DePriest, the program ran for 25 minutes, the remaining five minutes of its timeslot ceded to a CBS news break.Scofield and DePriest... |
Allison Hathaway Archer Jessup | Unknown episodes |
| 1975– 1976 |
Josie/Serena Faraday | Unknown episodes | |
| 1977 | Kojak Kojak Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier... |
Francie Foster | Episode: "Kojak's Day, Parts 1 and 2" |
| 1977 | All That Glitters | Andrea Martin | |
| 1977– 1989 |
Ryan's Hope Ryan's Hope Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC... |
Rae Woodard | 549 episodes |
| 1980 | Quincy, M.E. Quincy, M.E. Quincy, M.E., also called Quincy, is a United States television series from Universal Studios that aired from October 3, 1976, to September 5, 1983, on NBC... |
Mrs. Davenport | Episode: "Deadly Arena" |
| 1984– 1985 |
Search for Tomorrow Search for Tomorrow Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the... |
Stephanie Wilkins Wyatt #2 | Episodes: 1.8574 and 1.8669 |
| 1987 | Matlock Matlock (TV series) Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The show's format was similar... |
Elinor | Episode: "The Rat Pack" |
| 1987 | Police Story: The Freeway Killings | Laura Healey | |
| 1988 | All My Children All My Children All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most... |
Goldie Kane | |
| 1994 | Guiding Light Guiding Light Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009... |
Judge Tillman |
Writing credits
- All My ChildrenAll My ChildrenAll My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
(2000–2002) - As the World TurnsAs the World TurnsAs the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
(1994–2000) - General HospitalGeneral HospitalGeneral Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
(1992–1993) - LovingLoving (TV series)Caden Grant Carlton loves Mika Ayako Ryan more.Loving is an American television soap opera which aired on ABC's daytime lineup from June 26, 1983 to November 10, 1995 for 3,169 episodes...
(1990–1991) - Another WorldAnother World (TV series)Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
(1989) - Ryan's HopeRyan's HopeRyan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
(1987–1989)