Margaret Elizabeth McLarty (September 13, 1933 – July 14, 2025), known professionally as Eileen Fulton, was an American actress, singer and author. She portrayed Lisa Grimaldi on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns, which she played almost continuously for 50 years, from May 18, 1960, until the show's ending on September 17, 2010. She also starred on Our Private World (1965), a primetime spin-off of As the World Turns. For her work on ATWT, she received an Editor's Award at the Soap Opera Digest Awards in 1991 and a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. Fulton appeared in theatrical productions including the original Broadway run of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? She performed a cabaret act at theaters in New York and Los Angeles. She co-authored two autobiographies, How My World Turns and As My World Still Turns. She also wrote a novel titled Soap Opera, and six murder-mystery novels.
Early life
Fulton was born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty in Asheville, North Carolina, on September 13, 1933. When she was two years old, Fulton interrupted church services by performing the song "Shortnin' Bread".
Her father's work as a minister caused the family to move frequently. They lived in Mount Holly, Winston-Salem, Boone, Belmont, and Marion. When she was in the third grade, Fulton told her parents, "When I grow up and become a movie star, I'm going to get you a house of your own." Fulton also played an elf in a production of James Thurber's The 13 Clocks. She majored in music. After graduation, her father found her a job working with a local church choir, but she wanted to move to New York.
Career
1956–1960: As the World Turns
Fulton made her professional acting debut in the play The Lost Colony in Manteo, North Carolina. She moved to New York in 1956 and attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.
She was cast as Lisa Grimaldi (then known as Lisa Miller) on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns, first airing May 18, 1960. Fulton originated the role. In her early years on the show, the character of Lisa was married to Dr. Bob Hughes (Don Hastings). That romance eventually failed, but she went on to have seven more marriages.
In the 1960s, Fulton became the first soap actress to hire a publicist. The character of Lisa became hated after a sequence in which she hired a maid to clean the house and went gallivanting about town. When mother-in-law Nancy complimented Lisa on what a nice home she made for her son Bob, the audience became furious, stopping Fulton on the street and slapping her.
She once refused to film a scene where the character of Lisa was being spanked, because she believed it glorified spousal abuse. Another time, when the show's producer and head writer, Irna Phillips, refused to tell her if Lisa was the culprit during a murder mystery, Fulton told her, "We're live–don’t forget. And if you don’t tell me, I'll make up your mind for you on the air." She also starred Off-Broadway in The Fantasticks.
In 1970, Fulton co-authored her first autobiography, How My World Turns. She also released her debut album, The Same Old World, on the Pan label. She was briefly absent from ATWT in the late 1970s and the role of Lisa was recast with actress Lynn Rogers.
1988–1998: Books
In the late 1980s, she wrote a series of six murder-mystery novels: Take One for Murder, Death of a Golden Girl, Dying for Stardom, Lights, Camera, Death, A Setting for Murder, and Fatal Flashback. In June 1990, she took a leave of absence from ATWT while she underwent gynecological surgery. The role of Lisa was temporarily recast with Jane Powell. She took another short break from ATWT in 1992 and was replaced with Maeve McGuire. Jane Powell filled in for Fulton again briefly in 1993 and 1994. She was inducted into the Soap Opera Hall of Fame in 1998.
On June 1, 2000, ATWT aired a special clip montage to honor Fulton and her co-star Don Hastings' 40th anniversaries on the show. In 2004, they both received Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Awards. She was absent from ATWT for a few days in 2004 and the role of Lisa was temporarily recast with Carmen Duncan. She played Joyce Singleton in the drama film Tinsel Town (2005), written and directed by Kenneth del Vecchio. She also appeared as Mrs. Carreck in The Drum Beats Twice (2008), another film written and directed by del Vecchio.
The cancellation of As the World Turns was announced in December 2009. In May 2010, ATWT aired a tribute episode, celebrating Fulton's 50th year on the show. In the episode, the show's younger cast members re-enacted classic scenes of Lisa and Nancy (Helen Wagner). Fulton remained on the show through its cancellation, but she only appeared briefly in the final episode, airing September 17, 2010.
In 2010, Fulton performed her cabaret act at Don't Tell Mama in New York. In April 2011, she brought her act, titled "Blame It on My Youth," to the New Hope Cabaret in Pennsylvania.
Personal life and death
In honor of her father, Fulton established a music scholarship at Brevard College in North Carolina. She also established a fine arts scholarship in her mother and her names at their alma mater, Greensboro College. She was awarded an honorary doctorate at Greensboro College when she spoke at their commencement.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1960
|Girl of the Night
|Lisa Mae Bailey
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|2005
|The Signs of the Cross
|Betty
|
|-
|Tinsel Town
|Joyce Singleton
|
|-
|Rose Woes and Joe's
|Multiple Woman Customers
|
|-
|2008
|The Drum Beats Twice
|Mrs. Carreck
|
|-
|2011
|The Life Zone
|Katherine Wise
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1959
|Nero Wolfe
|Receptionist
|Episode: "Count the Man Down"
|-
|1960–1964, 1966–1983, 1984–2010
|As the World Turns
|Lisa Grimaldi
|Contract role
|-
|rowspan="2"|1962
|Naked City
|Janie Daggett
|Episode: "The Face of the Enemy"
|-
|Armstrong Circle Theatre
|
|Episode: "The Secret Crime"
|-
|1965
|Our Private World
|Lisa Grimaldi
|Series regular, 33 episodes
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Award
!Category
!Title
!Result
!Ref.
|-
|1988
|Daytime Emmy Award
|Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
|As the World Turns
|
|