Jacklyn Zeman, who performed Bobbie Spencer for 45 years on ABC’s Common Hospital, has died. She was 70.
Zeman died after a brief battle with most cancers, her household confirmed Wednesday. Information of her dying was first introduced by the present’s government producer, Frank Valentini.
“I’m heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved Jackie Zeman,” he wrote on Twitter. “Identical to her character, the legendary Bobbie Spencer, she was a shiny gentle and a real skilled that introduced a lot optimistic vitality along with her work.”
ABC Leisure and Common Hospital additionally launched an announcement stating, “Jacklyn Zeman has been a beloved member of the Common Hospital and ABC household since she originated the long-lasting position of Bobbie Spencer over 45 years in the past. She leaves behind a long-lasting legacy for her Emmy-nominated portrayal of the dangerous lady turned heroine and can all the time be remembered for her sort coronary heart and radiant spirit. We’re devastated by the information of her passing, and ship our deepest condolences to Jackie’s household, associates and family members.”
Zeman joined Common Hospital in 1977 as Barbara Jean, who glided by Bobbie, and was the feisty youthful sister of Anthony Geary’s Luke Spencer. Zeman grew to treat Geary as household off digicam. “I’m most likely nearer to him than I might be a real-life brother,” she informed co-star Maurice Benard final yr on his YouTube collection State of Thoughts.
Bobbie had labored as a teen prostitute and given up a child for adoption however had managed to show her life round and grow to be a nurse at Common Hospital. Zeman’s portrayal of Spencer was a spirited, upbeat girl who was as candy as pie however who additionally had a way of self. She didn’t endure fools and had no downside revoking the niceties if warranted.
Jacklyn Zeman, as Bobbie Spencer on ABC’s ‘Common Hospital,’ attends to a affected person in an ambulance throughout a taping of ‘GH’s’ first prime-time particular in Los Angeles, on Nov. 20, 1996.
AP Photograph/Susan Sterner
“Bobbie has been an interesting individual for me to play,” she stated in an interview in 1982. “I get to do … all of the issues that almost all girls take into consideration however wouldn’t dare.”
One in every of Zeman’s most memorable scenes was in 1994, when Bobbie’s daughter B.J. was in a faculty bus accident that left her mind useless. Bobbie and then-husband Tony (performed by Brad Maule) made the choice to donate their daughter’s coronary heart to her cousin, Maxie, who had Kawasaki illness.
Actor Laura Wright, who performs Bobbie’s daughter Carly Spencer, posted a collection of damaged coronary heart emojis. Jon Lindstrom, who performs Kevin Collins wrote, “That is going to take me a minute to course of. I can’t consider such a life pressure as hers has left.”
Born March 6, 1953, in Englewood, N.J., Zeman found a love for dance as a baby, and as a teen started appearing at school productions. She labored in Venezuela as a dancer after highschool and was pre-med at New York College however dropped out when she was supplied a contract on the ABC cleaning soap One Life to Dwell after initially being employed for simply three days of labor.
On One Life, she performed Lana McClain for a bit of multiple yr after which left for Common Hospital. “I didn’t even audition,” she informed a blogger in 2010. Zeman was nominated for 4 Daytime Emmy Awards for her work on the present.
Exterior cleaning soap operas, Zeman labored as a Playboy Bunny to assist pay for faculty and likewise acted in commercials. She had a job in 1982’s Nationwide Lampoon’s Class Reunion and appeared in a string of TV motion pictures, together with the ABC Afterschool Particular Montana Crossroads in 1993. She additionally had a collection common position as Sofia Madison within the crime drama collection The Bay, incomes her a fifth Emmy Award nomination.
Zeman final’s look on Common Hospital was in April for the marriage of her character’s grandson. The identical month, she additionally celebrated the present’s sixtieth anniversary by posting a video on Instagram to followers.
“A terrific, huge heartfelt thanks to the very particular individuals who have been watching us and supporting us and retaining us on the air all these years. We love you,” she stated.
She was married and divorced 3 times, first to Glenn Gordon and later to Steve Gribbin and disc jockey Murray “Murray the Ok” Kaufman. Zeman’s survivors embody two daughters, Cassidy and Lacey, from her marriage to Gordon.
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