Melba Rae was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 soap opera

Soap 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,...

 actress.

Career

Rae was a key figure in early daytime television, playing the wife of the couple next door on 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...

for 20 years — from its inception in 1951 until her untimely death of a cerebral hemorrhage. Her character, Marge Bergman

Marge Bergman

Marge Bergman was a character in the now-cancelled American soap opera Search for Tomorrow. She was played by actress Melba Rae until her death in 1971....

, was best friends with the main character of the series, Joanne

Joanne Gardner

Joanne Gardner was the main character on the long-running soap opera Search for Tomorrow. For 35 years, the role was played by actress Mary Stuart...

 (played by Mary Stuart

Mary Stuart (actress)

Mary Stuart was an American actress and singer/songwriter.She was born as Mary Stuart Houchins in Miami, Florida and grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she graduated from Tulsa Central High School and attended the University of Tulsa before embarking on her professional career...

).

Personal life

Rae, a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  was married to Gilbert Shawn (1921 — 2005) from September 2, 1955 until her death. The couple had a son and daughter. Their son, Eric Shawn

Eric Shawn

Eric Shawn is an American television news reporter for the Fox News Channel.Shawn was born in New York City, the son of Gilbert Shawn, a former Army lieutenant colonel, and Melba Rae, a soap opera actress best known for her role on Search for Tomorrow.He currently co-hosts the Sunday morning...

, became a reporter for Fox News Channel

Fox News Channel

Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...

. Gilbert Shawn moved to Orlando, Florida

Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

 later in life, where he died at the age of 84.

External links