Rita Walter obit

As the World Turns Vet Dies at 71 On the Anniversary of Her Soap Exit

 

She was not on the list.

On December 26, David McLaughlin, the brother of former As the World Turns star Rita Walter, reported that she had died a day earlier, on the anniversary of her exit from the soap in 1981 following an 11-year run as Carol Deming Hughes Stallings Andropoulos Frazier.

“My sweet, loving sister Rita was called to Jesus… on His birthday,” read his message. “She was a well-known actress as well as dedicated server of the Lord Jesus.

“May you rest in peace, sis. I love you forever,” he added. “You’ve taken my heart with you.”

She was best known for her role as Carol Deming on the popular soap opera As the World Turns, which she played from May 1970 to December 1981.

Originally credited by her maiden name, Rita McLaughlin, she made her acting debut in the 1960s on The Patty Duke Show, in the uncredited role of Patty Duke's double. Prior to that, she was also one of Don Herbert's child assistants in the Watch Mr. Wizard television series and was featured in a TV commercial for Phillips Milk of Magnesia in 1967.

Walter's first daytime soap role was in 1966 as the original Wendy Phillips on The Secret Storm, but it would be a short stint. Four years later, in May 1970, she joined the ATWT cast as Carol Deming (and her later married names Hughes Stallings Andropoulos Frazier) until her exit from the serial on Christmas Day 1981. She also appeared in the 1985 movie Cry From the Mountain.

Walter, who had been married to Reverend Norman Walter since 1976, was an optician working at Warby Parker in Westfield, New Jersey. She has three children, Brian, Jillian and Amy, and 8 grandchildren.

 

Actress

Cry from the Mountain (1985)

Cry from the Mountain

Carolyn Sanders

1985

 

As the World Turns (1956)

As the World Turns

Carol AndropoulosCarol Stallings

TV Series

1972–1982

9 episodes

 

Zeit zu leben (1969)

Zeit zu leben

Stewardess

1969

 

The Patty Duke Show (1963)

The Patty Duke Show

Nicki (uncredited)

TV Series

1966

1 episode

 

Don Herbert in Mr. Wizard (1951)

Mr. Wizard

Rita (as Rita McLaughlin)

TV Series

1964

3 episodes

 

Nicolas Coster in The Secret Storm (1954)

The Secret Storm

Wendy Porter #1 (1966)

TV Series

1954