Susan Sullivan

She also previously dated actor Cary Grant. For many years, she was the spokeswoman for Tylenol brand aspirin. Varsi suffered from Lyme disease, which contributed to her death from respiratory failure. Her partner for over fifteen years has been psychologist and author Connell Cowan. It was the last time she was seen on film. She played the snooty country-club matriarch Kitty Montgomery on the series from 1997 to 2002 and gained a new audience altogether. Varsi appears only for a moment in the film and is almost unrecognizable; Deborah, the central character, crumples in misery on the floor of the dayroom, and Varsi breaks away from the wall, kneels by Deborah's side, and whispers a Roman Catholic blessing. However, it was not until a supporting role in the movie My Best Friend's Wedding (as the mother of Cameron Diaz's character) that ABC executives were interested in Sullivan for a part on a new sitcom, Dharma and Greg. In the book, Sylvia was a patient in the mental hospital who ordinarily stood frozen by the wall and very rarely spoke, although completely aware of everything around her.

Sullivan drifted out of the public consciousness again, with appearances on The George Carlin Show and the political drama The Monroes in the early and mid-1990s. Another very brief but memorable Varsi role was Sylvia in I Never Promised You A Rose Garden, based on the Joanne Greenberg novel about a Jewish teen whose allegiance to an alternate universe called the Kingdom Of Yr has led to her being diagnosed as a schizophrenic. Until her character was killed off, Sullivan had appeared in every episode of the series (out of the 227 episodes produced, she had appeared in the first 207). Varsi was rendered virtually mute and had to dub in her voice parts later. When Sullivan wished to leave the show, the writers of the series had her exit in dramatic fashion, with Maggie drowning at the bottom of the family pool, the result of her wedding ring being caught in the pool drain after she tried to fish her son's toys out. The director, John Korty, would not let Varsi off for her dad's funeral. The role of Maggie brought her back into the limelight and was her most successful role to date, acting on the series from 1981 to 1989. Her portrayal of the would-be Oldest One with a dead-flat affect but compassionate expression and soft, recollected speaking voice was partly caused by the death of her father just before filming began.

At first, Sullivan turned down the role, but accepted when the producers insisted. Science fiction and fantasy film fans probably remember Varsi best as Valancy Carmody in The People, a 1972 ABC-TV Movie of the Week based on a story by Zenna Henderson about peaceful alien refugees living on earth. This role led to a successful audition for Falcon Crest. She appeared in the films Ten North Frederick (1958) and Compulsion (1959) and worked steadily throughout the 1960s. Her film career faded by the end of the decade and during the 1970s she played several television roles. In 1980, she wished to restart her career by appearing on the sitcom It's a Living. The same year, she shared a Golden Globe as "Most Promising Newcomer" with Sandra Dee and Carolyn Jones. Julie Farr in Having Babies, which was made into two television movies and later a weekly series, was much ballyhooed but, in the end, proved very unsuccessful. Born in San Mateo, California, Varsi made her screen debut in Peyton Place (1958), and received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Her role as Dr. Diane Marie Varsi (February 23, 1938 - November 19, 1992) was an American film and television actress. An Emmy nomination for her role as Maggie Porter in the television drama Rich Man, Poor Man: Book II brought her even more attention. Taking over the role from Judith Barcroft, Sullivan played the role from 1971 to 1976 and it was this role that first established her as a household name. Starting with a part on A World Apart in 1970, she moved to a five year stint as Lenore Moore Curtin Delaney on Another World.

From there, she played parts in daytime dramas. She got her start in acting in the 1960s, playing opposite Dustin Hoffman in the Broadway play Jimmy Shine. While putting herself through college at Hofstra University, she worked as a Playboy bunny. Susan Michaela Sullivan (born November 18, 1944 in New York City) is an American actress, most known for her role as Maggie Gioberti Channing on the nighttime soap opera Falcon Crest.