Eileen Fulton, best known as “the original bad girl of daytime TV,“ passed away at age 91 on July 14, 2025, at her home in Asheville, North Carolina, after a period of declining health.”
Fulton Was Born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty In September 1933
Fulton was an iconic soap star. She was born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty in September 1933. She moved to New York City in 1956. Her stage name was Eileen Fulton.
The daytime legend played Lisa Miller on the now-defunct As the World Turns on and off for fifty years. Her character would go on to marry a grand total of eight times.
Additionally, Lisa enjoyed several affairs in between and often during her many marriages. Set in the fictional town of Oakdale, Illinois, Lisa began stirring up trouble when she hired a housekeeper to clean her home and took the credit for her immaculate abode.
Of course, that sounds perfectly tame compared to the soaps now. However, this was 1960. Over the years, Fulton’s Lisa evolved to become a legendary schemer.
She was initially married to Bob Hughes on the sudser. Lisa, like Fulton, was also a singer on the show and the proud owner of Mona Lisa restaurant.
In real life, Fulton performed in cabaret and numerous plays, including Abe Lincoln in Illinois with Hal Holbrook, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and The Fantasticks.
In 1965, the creator of ATWT launched the spin-off soap, Our Private World, which focused on Fulton’s character, Lisa.
The series only ran for a few months. Afterward, the actress returned to ATWT. Fulton was also an accomplished author, having written several books.
Her first book was an autobiography titled As My World Turns. In the 1980s, she wrote several murder mystery novels. In 1995, she co-authored a second autobiography titled As My World Still Turns. In the meantime, she released an album.
Fulton Had It Written Into Her Contract that She Would Not Become A Grandmother
Interestingly, in the 1960s, Fulton had it written into her contract that her character would not become a grandmother.
She felt that if Lisa Miller became a grandmother, she would become irrelevant, lose her glamour, and her character would be completely derailed.
Fans mistakenly believed that Fulton’s “granny clause” was still in effect in 1986 when her on-screen daughter-in-law, Margo, chose to have an abortion. Fulton received sacks of threatening hate mail because of the misunderstanding.
In fact, she received so much hate mail that she elected to have her bodyguard for fear of her safety. Fulton retired from acting and performing in 2019, opting to move to North Carolina.
As for her personal life, Fulton married her first husband, Bill Cochrane, in 1957, but they later divorced. She married her second husband, Danny Furtunato, in 1970. The couple divorced in 1980.
Her last marriage to Rick McMorrow in 1989 ended three months later. She never had any children, always remained glamorous, and never became a grandmother.
According to Grace Funeral Home, her funeral service will be held on August 9. Fulton is survived by her brother, Charles McLarty, and sister-in-law, Chris McLarty, her niece, Katherine Morris, and their children.
Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.
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