Caroline Margaret McWilliams (April 4, 1945 - February 11, 2010) was an American actress best known for her portrayal of Marcy Hill in the television series Benson. Coincidentally, McWilliams had also appeared in its parent-series Soap as Sally, a woman planted to Burt Campbell to destroy his marriage (by Ingrid Svenson, his sister-in-law's enemy). McWilliams was a regular on the CBS soap, Guiding Light (as Janet Norris) for several years and also appeared in a short-term role (as Tracy DeWitt) on the NBC soap Another World. She also had a recurring role on Beverly Hills, 90210 playing the mother of Jamie Walters' character Ray Pruit.

Personal life

Although she was born in Seattle, McWilliams grew up in Rhode Island. She graduated in 1966 with a bachelor's degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She was married in 1982 to Michael Keaton, with whom she had a son, Sean, born in 1983. They divorced in 1990.

Career

McWilliams's television appearances spanned every decade from the 1960s through the 2000s. She was a regular player on Guiding Light as Janet Mason Norris from 1969 until 1975. She played a prostitute who helped an immigrant stay in the country on Barney Miller in 1977. She was a semi-regular on Soap during the second season in 1978. She then appeared on Benson (as a different character) when that series premiered in 1979. She remained on Benson until 1981: the storyline stated that her character was departing to get married (her fiance on the show having been played by Ted Danson).

After this, she made a number of one-time appearances in comedies and dramas as well as appearing in numerous made-for-television movies.

McWilliams appeared in two major motion pictures:

• White Water Summer (1987) - as Virginia Block
• Mermaids (1990) - as Carrie

Illness and death

Caroline McWilliams died from multiple myeloma at her home in Los Angeles, California on February 11, 2010, aged 64.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]