One Life to Live Actress Pamela Payton-Wright Dead at 78

Veteran actress Pamela Payton-Wright, best known to soap fans as Addie Cramer on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, has died at the age of 78. She passed away on December 14 in Harmony, PA.

Payton-Wright began her career in in the early ’70s with roles on popular primetime series like CANNON, MANNIX, GUNSMOKE, and BONANZA as well as appearing in movies like Corky and Going in Style. She also had a very successful career on Broadway in shows like The Cherry Orchard, The Crucible, and M. Butterfly. She played Juliet in Romeo & Juliet and Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Addie was beloved by OLTL characters and fans alike. (Photo Credit: ABC/Lou Rocco)

In 1979, she joined the cast of NBC sudser ANOTHER WORLD as Hazel Parker for a year but is best remembered for her turn as Agatha “Addie” Cramer on OLTL, a character she portrayed on a recurring basis from 1991 until the soap left the air in 2012. Addie was Dorian’s older sister and Blair’s mother. Dorian was stunned to learn that her sister hadn’t died but had been institutionalized by their parents and the siblings enjoyed an emotional reunion. Later, Addie was able to rejoin society with the help of a new medication and became a proper part of the Cramer family, even briefly marrying Dorian’s ex, David Vickers!

Payton-Wright is survived by her son, Oliver Dickon Hedley Butler and his wife, Cynthia Flowers, as well as brother Gordon Trafford Payton-Wright, sisters Brenda Payton-Wright Davies and Barbara Payton-Wright Quackenbush, and her two nephews, Payton David Quackenbush and Peter Wright Quackenbush. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones during this difficult time. For more on your favorite OLTL stars, keep reading the ABC edition of Soaps In Depth magazine.