‘General Hospital’ Star Elizabeth MacRae Dies at 88

(Dreamstime)

Actor Elizabeth MacRae, best known for her role in “General Hospital,” died at age 88.

News outlet City View reported that MacRae died peacefully Monday at Highland House Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

“She had a wonderful life,” said her nephew Jim MacRae. “She was bright and articulate. She was still getting fan mail at Highland House.”

Born in Columbia, South Carolina, and raised in Fayetteville, MacRae pursued her passion for acting after graduating from Holton-Arms School in Washington, D.C. She auditioned for Otto Preminger’s “Saint Joan” in Atlanta but did not get the part, the New York Post reported.

MacRae later moved to New York City, where she landed her first television role in 1958, appearing as a courtroom witness on CBS’s “The Verdict Is Yours.”

She continued to build her acting career with roles in various shows such as “Naked City,” “Harrigan and Son,” “Maverick,” “Surfside 6,” “The Untouchables,” and “I Dream of Jeannie.”

Her most well-known role came when she played Lou-Ann Poovie, the girlfriend of Jim Nabors’ character, on the CBS spinoff “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” MacRae remained on the show for three years until it ended in 1969.

MacRae also starred in several soap operas, including “General Hospital,” where she played Meg Baldwin from 1969-73. She appeared in “Days of Our Lives,” “Guiding Light,” “Search for Tomorrow,” and “Another World.”

Her film credits include “Love in a Goldfish Bowl,” “Everything’s Ducky,” “For Love or Money,” “The Conversation,” and “Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!”

After 30 years in Hollywood, MacRae retired and moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina, with her husband, Charles Day Halsey Jr., who died in March at the age of 96. They were married for 55 years.

“When Charles died, she went down quick,” MacRae’s nephew told City View. “It’s sad, but she has crossed the river. She had a wonderful life. The last few years were rough, but she is with my dad, who she adored, her father and mother, sister and husband. She lived a good life.”