Augusta Dabney

Augusta Keith Dabney (October 23, 1918 – February 4, 2008) was an American actress known for her roles on many soap operas, such as the wealthy but kindly matriarch Isabelle Alden on the daytime series Loving. She played the role from 1983 to 1987, from 1988–91, and again from 1994–95, returning to the part after Celeste Holm and Patricia Barry played the role but did not stay with the part for various reasons.

Augusta Dabney
Dabney with William Prince at right and John Connell in Young Doctor Malone in 1962.
Born	Augusta Keith Dabney October 23, 1918 Berkeley, California, U.S.
Died	February 4, 2008 (aged 89) Dobbs Ferry, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1949–2001
Spouse(s)	Kevin McCarthy ​ ​ (m. 1941; div. 1961)​ William Prince ​ ​ (m. 1964; died 1996)​
Children	3

Career

In the early days of live television, she appeared in numerous episodes of such anthology drama series as Studio One, Kraft Television Theatre, and Robert Montgomery Presents. She also had roles on numerous other daytime soaps, including Young Dr. Malone as leading character Tracey Malone, Another World as Laura Baxter (1964-1965), As the World Turns in two different roles, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, Guiding Light as the original Barbara Norris (1970), A World Apart as leading character Betty Kahlman Barry (1970-1971), General Hospital as Lee Baldwin's second wife, Caroline Chandler (1975-1976), One Life to Live as Pat Kendall's mother, Helena Ashley (1979) and The Doctors as Theodora Van Allen (1980-1981).

Personal life

Dabney was married twice. Her first husband was actor Kevin McCarthy, with whom she had three children. They were married in 1941 and divorced in 1961. She was sister-in-law to writer Mary McCarthy during this marriage. Her second husband was actor William Prince. They were married from 1964 until his death in 1996. Dabney and Prince appeared together on at least four soaps: Young Dr. Malone (before their marriage), Another World, As the World Turns, and A World Apart. They also appeared together in one film, The Paper (1994), where they portrayed a married couple (the parents of the lead character, Henry Hackett, played by Michael Keaton). Her last performance was on an episode of 100 Centre Street (2001).

In 1957, Dabney was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her starring performance in a film drama, That Night!

Death

She died in 2008, aged 89, from undisclosed causes, in Dobbs Ferry, New York. She was survived by her three children from her first marriage (James Kevin McCarthy, Lillah McCarthy and Mary Dabney McCarthy) and her four stepchildren from her second marriage (Jeremy Prince, Liza Alldredge, Nicholas Prince and Dinah Daly), and six grandchildren.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1957	That Night!	Wife Maggie Bowden
1971	Plaza Suite	Mrs. Eisler
1972	The Heartbreak Kid	Colorado Woman
1977	Fire Sale	Mrs. Cooper
1982	Cold River	Elizabeth Allison
1986	Violets Are Blue	Ethel Sawyer
1988	Shakedown	Judge Maynard
1988	Running on Empty	Abigail Patterson
1988	Bum Rap	Mon
1994	The Paper	Sarah Hackett
2000	Fear of Fiction	Mrs. Anderssen

External links

• Augusta Dabney at IMDb
• Augusta Dabney at the Internet Broadway Database
• Obituary, variety.com; accessed August 3, 2015.