Joan Benedict, General Hospital Star, Dead At 96
Actor Joan Benedict has died. A spokesperson confirmed that she died on June 24, 2024, at 96 years old, from complications due to a stroke. Benedict may be recognized by soap opera fans since she played Edith Fairchild on "General Hospital" and appeared as a real estate agent on "Days of Our Lives." She also appeared on "Candid Camera" and the sketch show "The Steve Allen Show."
However, the late "General Hospital" actor's acting career also included working in the theater world multiple times, and one of her acting coaches was the famous Stella Adler.
"The theatre for me is like being in church," Benedict said in a 2016 interview with Women Fitness. "When you feel the audience and feel that communication with other souls, it's like music. As a performer, I'm always pursuing that wonderful experience where you are completely alert and clear and yet transported through your imagination."
Benedict had three great loves throughout her life
Joan Benedict's love life included two husbands, both of whom were actors as well. Benedict met her second husband, Rod Steiger, first when she was 19. They worked together, but their initial personal relationship did not last. Benedict's first husband was John Myhers. They were married from 1962 to 1992, when Myhers died. The couple shared a daughter, Claudia Myhers Tschudin. They are survived by Myhers Tschudin and her daughters, Hanna and Ashley.
Benedict told Women Fitness that Steiger reached out to her a few years after Myhers' death after someone brought her up at a party. Steiger and Benedict were married from 2000 to 2002 when Steiger died. Benedict and Steiger worked on two movies together before his passing.
Benedict also had a partner, Jeremy Slate, who was a soap actor as well. Slate was known for "One Life to Live," and he and Benedict were together until he died in 2006. She never seemed to fall out of love with any of the men she loved. In her Women Fitness interview, Benedict spoke highly about her three loves and added, "They all died from different forms of cancer, so my memories are sometimes bittersweet, but with no regrets."