At the age of 96, Joan Benedict Steiger (Opus of an Angel, Dollhouse) passed away from stroke complications on June 24 in Los Angeles at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. As reported by Deadline, Benedict was known for her involvement in the original Candid Camera stock company and her marriage to actor Rod Steiger (In the Heat of the Night, On the Waterfront).
Benedict was born on July 21, 1927, in Brooklyn. She took dance lessons at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in her childhood before attending the Rome Opera Ballet School. Upon her return to New York, she pursued acting classes at The Actors Studio, where she learned from Robert Lewis (Monsieur Verdoux, Anything Goes) and Stella Adler (My Girl Tisa, Shadow of the Thin Man).
Starting her career as Joan Benedict, she made her television debut in the 1950s on Candid Camera and The Steve Allen Show, Deadline reports. In the 1970s, she appeared in a variety of TV series, including The Smith Family, Apple’s Way, The Incredible Hulk and Fantasy Island, earning numerous TV credits.
Her subsequent TV and film roles included The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington, Hotel and The Trials of Rosie O’Neill. She had a recurring role as Edith Fairchild on General Hospital and also appeared in Days of Our Lives and Capitol.
In addition to her TV roles, Benedict’s talents extended to the stage. According to Deadline, she performed in regional theaters and Off Broadway productions such as Promises, Promises, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Donald Margulies’ Collected Stories, Horton Foote’s The Traveling Lady, as well as in solo shows like Leona and the autobiographical The Loves of My Life.
According to Deadline, Benedict said in an interview, “The theatre for me is like being in church. 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.”
Surviving Benedict is her daughter, Claudia Myhers Tschudin, and her granddaughters, Hanna Tschudin and Ashley Tschudin.