Actress Caroline McWilliams dies at 64

LOS ANGELES - Caroline McWilliams, an actress and director best known for her work on the TV series "Benson" and "Soap," has died. She was 64.

She died Feb. 11 at her home here from complications of multiple myeloma, her family said.

Caroline Margaret McWilliams was born April 4, 1945, in Seattle but grew up in Barrington, R.I. She graduated in 1966 with a bachelor's degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Her first break on television was on the long-running soap opera "Guiding Light," in which she appeared for several years beginning in 1969. While in New York, she built her stage career.

McWilliams' credits included "Boccaccio," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "The Rothschilds," along with productions for the New York Shakespeare Festival and the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Conn.

She also appeared on the soap opera "Another World" in 1975.

In 1978 and '79, she played Sally on the ABC comedy "Soap," and from 1979 to '81 played Marcy Hill on the series "Benson," a spinoff from "Soap" starring Robert Guillaume.

Other TV appearances included starring in the 1989 series "Nearly Departed" with Eric Idle, "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Judging Amy." Her movie roles included "Mermaids" in 1990.

McWilliams, who was divorced from actor Michael Keaton, is survived by her son, Sean Douglas, and sisters Kelly-Jo Dvareckas, Norma Liedtke and Patti McWilliams.

- Los Angeles Times