Nancy Frangione, Another World Star, Dead At 70
On August 18, "Another World" alum Nancy Frangione died in her hometown of Barnstable, Massachusetts, at the age of 70. At the time of this writing, her cause of death is unknown. Born on July 10, 1953, Frangione would journey into the soap opera world in 1977 when she played Tara Martin on "All My Children." But in 1981, she would bring the scheming and troublesome Cecile DePoulignac to life on "Another World," and the hellion quickly became a fan favorite.
Frangione portrayed Cecile as a force of nature, and her entanglement with the characters Jamie Frame (then Richard Bekins), Sandy Cory (Christopher Rich), and Blaine Ewing (Laura Malone) would become a legendary soap quadrangle. After exiting in 1984, Fragione would continue to recur as Cecile until 1996. In 1985, when the late "One Life to Live" star Andrea Evans fell ill, Frangione took on the role of the feisty Tina Roberts for a short time.
She and her former co-star Rich were married from 1982 to 1996, and she is survived by their daughter, Mariel.
Her resume included many other roles
Beloved soap star Nancy Frangione also appeared on other TV series including "Matlock," and "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," as well as the TV movie, "In the Line of Duty: A Cop for the Killing," in which she played a lawyer named Maggie who tried in vain to get her client acquitted. "Days of Our Lives" gave a subtle nod to "Another World" when it mentioned the character Cass Winthrop (Stephen Schnetzer) on December 7, 2022, and fans were in a tizzy, illustrating that "AW" is still in the collective zeitgeist.
And that love for the defunct sudser is evident as fans on social media are reeling over Frangione's death. One fan's love for her character Cecile dePoulignac was overwhelming as they wrote on Twitter, "Another week, another soap icon falls away: RIP to the great Nancy Frangione, who was a hoot and a HALF as wily vixen Cecile dePoulignac — easily a first-ballot pick on my personal all-time top 10 soap characters list — every damn time she paid Bay City a visit."
The Barnstable High School alumni confirmed her death, and the announcement was posted in the "You're really from Barnstable if you remember . . ." Facebook group, with a photo of Frangione and her cat. The post also noted, "She would also occasionally guest star on 'The Nanny' as Fran Drescher's cousin, [Marsha]," another role for which she was well-known.