Marj Dusay
ON SOAP OPERA DIGEST AND WEEKLY ONLINE
SOAP STAR STATS
Marj Dusay (Alexandra, GL)
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— PGP
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Vital Statistics
- Birthdate:
- February 20
- Hails From:
- Born in Hays, KS; raised in Russell, KS
- Marital Status:
- Widowed
- Children:
- Daughter Debra is an actress married to producer David Blocker. They share a daughter, Deena; son Randy died in 1993 at age 36.
- Home Sweet Home:
- Dusay currently resides in Manhattan in New York City
THE 411
Marj (Marjorie) Dusay never imagined a life in the spotlight. Growing up the second of six children in a large Irish/Bohemian family, she was more interested in academics and athletics than theatrics. As a child, she was a talented honors student, equestrian and even a rodeo queen. Following in her parents’ footsteps (both were teachers), Dusay spent two years studying education at Kansas University before dropping out. At 19, she eloped with her childhood sweetheart, John Dusay. After becoming a young mother of two, Dusay picked up a gig as a department-store model for extra money. The job eventually led to other modeling and commercial work in New York.
A few years later, Dusay and her family moved to San Francisco. Then, in 1966, the divorced model packed her bags for Los Angeles with her kids in tow. There, she studied acting and joined the legendary improv comedy troupe The Session, alongside Richard Dreyfus and Rob Reiner. She is considered a founding member.
Throughout her career, Dusay has done more than 200 guest spots on television shows, including STAR TREK (as Kara in the "Spock’s Brain" episode in 1968), PERFECT STRANGERS, THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR and MURDER, SHE WROTE. In 1967, she married her second husband, Thomas Perine, who passed away in 1988.
Dusay is also a veritable soap vet, landing roles as powerful, uncompromising leading ladies, including CAPITOL’s Myrna Clegg (her daytime debut) and SANTA BARBARA’s Pamela Capwell. Dusay moved back to New York in 1993 to replace Beverlee McKinsey as GL’s Alexandra Spaulding. She left in 1999, then hopped networks to take on the role of Vanessa Cortlandt on AMC that same year. She returned to GL in 2002.
ET CETERA
— Dusay’s father was Kansas Senator Bob Dole’s high-school teacher and coach.
— As Kansas film commissioner from 1984-98, Dusay helped bring the film world to the Midwest.
— Dusay was a champion debater in high school.
— Elvis Presley was Dusay’s co-star in her big-screen debut, Clambake.
— Dusay’s favorite TV program is THE DAILY SHOW.
— Dusay’s son-in-law, producer David Blocker, is the son of the late actor Dan Blocker, whose famed role was “Hoss” Cartwright on BONANZA.
— Dusay’s family on her mother’s side are decedents of the composer Anton Dvorak.
— Dusay’s modeling work with Hartsfield’s department store in Kansas City helped put her first husband through medical school.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
OTHER SOAP ROLES
CAPITOL (Myrna Clegg, 1983-86)
DALLAS (Marge Billings, 1986)
SANTA BARBARA (Pamela Capwell Conrad, 1987-88)
DAYS OF OUR LIVES (Vivian Alamain, 1992-93)
ALL MY CHILDREN (Vanessa Cortlandt, 1999-2002)
FILM ROLES
Pride & Loyalty (Jeanne, 2002)
A Chronicle of Corpses (Grandmother Eliot, 2000)
Love Walked In (Mrs. Moore, 1998)
12 Bucks (Oldie, 1998)
Siao Yu (Rita, 1995)
Made in Heaven (Mrs. Packert, 1987)
MacArthur (Jean MacArthur, 1977)
Breezy (Betty Tobin, 1973)
Pendulum (Liz Tennant, 1969)
Sweet November (Carol, 1968)
Clambake (waitress, 1967)
TV ROLES (recurring)
THE FACTS OF LIFE (Monica Warner, 1981-87)
SQUARE PEGS (Beverly Tepperman, 1982)
SONS AND DAUGHTERS (1991)
STUDIO 5B (with GL’s Justin Deas, Buzz)
THE STEVE ALLEN SUMMER COMEDY SHOW
THEATER AND IMPROV
Tale of the Allergist’s Wife (off-Broadway)
The Care and Custody of Barbara Moon (off-Broadway)
Good Will (off-Broadway)
The Committee (off-Broadway)
The Woman’s Gym (off-Broadway)
Man and Superman (off-Broadway)
The Session (improv)
NOMINATIONS
In 1995, Dusay garnered a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Leading Actress.
MEMORABLE QUOTES
“There’s nothing worse than power worn incorrectly on a woman. It’s not feminine. It’s not womanly and women don’t need it.” — Soap Opera Digest, 5/3/88
“When something like this happens to your own child you think you’ll go crazy; and when you know for so long, you just don’t want to face it.” — Dusay on her son’s AIDS-related death, Soap Opera Weekly, 1/11/94
“I think it’s difficult for soaps to write for someone my age and not be so stilted that all she does is wear jewelry and act like a lady.” — Digest, 7/28/98
“Most of the time, the thought of [lust] is better than the deed. Speaking personally, sometimes the deed is better than the thought but most of the time, it’s really memory that is romance. Memory, touching, comfort, protection. I think those things can be very, very sexy.” — Dusay on Vanessa’s romance with Palmer Cortlandt on AMC, Digest, 9/7/99
“One thing I’ve figured out in my little bird mind is that the questions are important, the answers aren’t.... The questions start conversations; the answers finish them.” — Digest, 10/26/99
KUDOS
“One of the great things about working with Marj is that she’s very spontaneous. It helps you stay moment-to-moment because you just never know what she’s going to do.” — Vincent Irizarry (ex-David, AMC; ex-Lujack, GL; David, Y&R), Digest, 1/2/01
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
www.marjdusay.com
