Mary Ryan Munisteri obit

MARY MUNISTERI Obituary

 

She was not on the list.

MUNISTERI--Mary Ryan (1939-2022). Mary Ryan Munisteri died peacefully at her home in Brooklyn, NY, on January 29, 2022 at 82 years old. Starting her career in the mid-1970s, she was considered a pioneer in 1970s daytime serial television, writing for programs like" Love of Life," "Guiding Light," "As the World Turns," and other shows. A graduate of Trinity College (now Trinity Washington University) in Washington, D.C., Mary went on to graduate from Yale University with an M.A.T. degree. She settled in Brooklyn, NY, where her best friend and co-writer Claire Labine named for Mary the main character "Mary Ryan" (a role originated by Kate Mulgrew) on the eponymous soap opera "Ryan's Hope," for which Mary was a longtime script, long-story, and "breakdown" writer. With approximately a dozen Daytime Emmy awards to her name, Mary also won a best writing Emmy Award for the short film "Mandy's Grandmother" (starring Maureen O'Sullivan), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film. Mary was also head of the Writers Development Program at CBS and finished her career with a long stint writing for the successful daytime show "General Hospital." She retired in 2005. She is survived by her children, Matt Munisteri (Carmela Marner), Ben Munisteri (James Bowyer), and Adele Munisteri (Andres Gleich), and two grandchildren, Arlo and Calla Gleich. The family will announce a memorial service at a later date.

 

Positions held

Guiding Light

 

Head writer: May 1986-October 1986

Loving

 

Head writer: August 1991-December 1991

Ryan's Hope

 

Head writer: August 1982 - January 1983

Associate head writer: August 1975 - July 1982, January 1983– May 1984

Awards and nominations

Daytime Emmy Awards

 

Wins

 

(1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983 & 1984; Best Writing; Ryan's Hope)

(1981; Best Writing; Mandy's Grandmother)

Writers Guild of America Award

 

Wins

 

(1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983 & 1984 seasons; Ryan's Hope)

Nominations

 

(1980 season; Ryan's Hope)

 

Writer

As the World Turns (1956)

As the World Turns

6.2

TV Series

associate head writer

breakdown writer

writer

1994–2003

42 episodes

 

Maurice Benard, Ingo Rademacher, Julie Berman, Steve Burton, Tyler Christopher, Nancy Lee Grahn, Rebecca Herbst, Kelly Monaco, Kirsten Storms, Laura Wright, Dominic Zamprogna, and Chad Duell in General Hospital (1963)

General Hospital

6.6

TV Series

writer

breakdown writer

associate head writer

1983–2000

27 episodes

 

Vic Noto in Loving (1983)

Loving

7.0

TV Series

head writer

1991–1992

99 episodes

 

Tribes (1990)

Tribes

8.4

TV Series

written by

1990

95 episodes

 

Guiding Light (1952)

Guiding Light

6.5

TV Series

head writer

1986

5 episodes

 

Kate Mulgrew, Bernard Barrow, Helen Gallagher, Malcolm Groome, and Michael Hawkins in Ryan's Hope (1975)

Ryan's Hope

7.2

TV Series

head writer

writer

teleplay ...

1975–1985

2905 episodes

 

Susan Lucci, Debbi Morgan, Rebecca Budig, Cameron Mathison, and Darnell Williams in All My Children (1970)

All My Children

6.8

TV Series

story consultant

1985

1 episode

 

Maureen O'Sullivan and Amy Levitan in Mandy's Grandmother (1979)

Mandy's Grandmother

6.5

Short

Writer (as Mary Ryan Munisteri)

1979

 

Director

Maurice Benard, Ingo Rademacher, Julie Berman, Steve Burton, Tyler Christopher, Nancy Lee Grahn, Rebecca Herbst, Kelly Monaco, Kirsten Storms, Laura Wright, Dominic Zamprogna, and Chad Duell in General Hospital (1963)

General Hospital

6.6

TV Series

Director

2012

1 episode

 

Kristen Alderson, Kassie Wesley DePaiva, Erika Slezak, Trevor St. John, and John-Paul Lavoisier in One Life to Live (1968)

One Life to Live

6.9

TV Series

Director

2008–2012

108 episodes

 

Second Unit or Assistant Director

Kristen Alderson, Kassie Wesley DePaiva, Erika Slezak, Trevor St. John, and John-Paul Lavoisier in One Life to Live (1968)

One Life to Live

6.9

TV Series

associate director

2001–2007

16 episodes