Farewell To a True Daytime Legend

The incomparable Eileen Herlie, who has amazing credits to her name and played the amazing Myrtle Fargate since 1976, passed away this week at the age of 90. I have long been convinced that Myrtle was the greatest character in Pine Valley, and everything I have heard or read about Eileen Herlie has been uniformly awesome. Her castmates loved her, and she sparkled with anybody she shared the screen with. She will truly be missed.

What are your favorite Myrtle scenes, clips, and friendships? Discuss her fabulosity in the comments!

Comments

[Miry]

am soo sad that I will not be seeing her on AMC anymore. She was the Matriarch of the show.
When I had read spoilers about the possibility of Myrtle being killed off during the tornado I was soo sad... now, I am devastated.

What will we/AMC do now?

I know it may seem weird... but she had that grandmother feel to me, and I hate to lose family.

Here are some clips of my favorite Myrtle scenes in memory/tribute to Eileen Herlie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfqOftJGF1M&eurl=
and I just love this mvid that someone made as an ode to Myrtle and Zach's friendship. I like to think of it now as an Ode to Myrtle Fargate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3fiWBXdCPQ&eurl

[Sarah]

Myrtle was such a fantastic character. Her charm, compassion, and fierce loyalty to those she loved was legendary. If Myrtle loved you, you were never alone. But she didn't take crap or suffer fools, and she always told it straight in whatever way would best serve the situation. She was able to dispense tough love or just be a supportive ear, whatever the situation called for in the moment. She was lady, a grand dame, and a real broad! To me she was the heart and soul of Pine Valley. Her unique carnie background was funny but it never took away from her wisdom which was world class. Her role as loyal friend and confidante to so many was inspiring. I remember her dress shop and how everyone in town was always there. It was the place to be, the female bonding or bitching center of the show, whether to pick out a date night dress or an upcoming wedding party needing gowns galore all of PV trusted Myrtle. Later she ran the boarding house where she befriended newbies and made PV home for them, for all of us. I'm too emotional to recall exact scenes. But a few moments keep flashing for me like Erica's intervention, Bianca's rape, Zach's arrival, Phoebe's funeral, and all the major weddings, births and funerals she was always there.

I can only imagine what an incredible woman Eileen Herlie was to be so flawless and delightful as Myrtle. It's the end of an era.

[Elisabeth]

Awww. I don't watch AMC so I only saw a couple of her scenes, but the woman was darling. My grandma has a good friend named Myrtle, so I need no convincing that ladies named Myrtle are fabulous.

[Gerri]

I haven't really watched AMC daily until about 3 years ago. I love the Zach & Myrtle scenes.

[Beth R.]

I don't have a single favorite Myrtle moment...she was just Myrtle. Every moment was golden.

[Nicole]

This is very sad news. Myrtle was one of the only good hearted characters left in Pine Valley and I couldn't agree more with Mallory in that she was the best.

[Margie]

I was very saddened to hear about Eileen's death. I have watched her since her very first day on AMC. She was like family to me. I especially loved her scenes with Susan Lucci and I'll always remember her storylines with "Santa". God bless you Eileen.

[KLe]

Such terrible news. Eileen Herlie was a daytime gem and Myrtle Fargate will forever be remembered as a legend by the fans of All My Children.

[Cate]

That is so sad!! My favorite Myrtle scenes are when she's giving advice which is pretty much all of them and when she talks about her carni days. I especially liked her friendship with Zach, they had some great scenes together.

I hope AMC does something really special for her, I mean she's been an active part of the show for over 30 years she deserves an awesome tribute.

[Beth]

Myrtle and Eileen ruled. God bless her. I'm really sad we won't get to see a final Zach/Myrtle scene.

[Cece]

I am so saddened by this. I just knew Myrtle was going to outlive them all. My favorite scenes also were the ones between she and Zach. She made him human long before Kendall did. She is going to be truly, truly missed.

[SusieQ]

The show just won't be the same with out her. Myrtle was the best!

Here's a great clip of Myrtle and Palmer drinking together.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=JLBCJZNJhj0

[Natalie]

I'll miss that grand ol' dame. I really enjoyed her scenes with Erica and especially
Zach...he was like her drinking buddy