Margaret Mason

Early life and career

Born and raised in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, Mason was of Polish-Czechoslovakian descent. As a child, she went to a convent boarding school. In 1958, she graduated from Saint Cyral's Girls Academy in Danville, Pennsylvania.

In 1962, Mason moved from Iowa to Hollywood. In an interview, she mentioned it was tough to get acting jobs, having to take other part-time jobs and acting lessons while looking for roles. In 1963, sponsored by Rock Hudson, she was a 'Deb Star' of Universal Studios. She appeared in The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and guest starred in several television shows. Meanwhile, her husband E. Nick Alexander wrote a script No More Trees, which would star Mason. The film was never made.

Following an extended break due to health issues, Mason returned to acting in 1970. Although advised to keep her health conditions a secret, she was open about them, and ironically became more successful than in the 1960s. She first landed the role of Linda Patterson in Days of Our Lives, which she played for a year and a half until December 1971. Concerning her role, she told the press in a 1978 interview: "It's always been a love-hate relationship between Linda and the viewers. I'm the misunderstood bad lady." She played Linda as "a well-meaning troublemaker who wants to help others, only to see her efforts boomerang."

From late 1972 until its cancellation in 1974, Mason portrayed main character Selena Cross in the daytime soap opera Return to Peyton Place. In an interview, she said she "just loves working on R.T.T.P." She returned to Days of Our Lives in 1975, and remained on the soap opera until 1980, returning once more in 1982. During the late 1970s, Linda became one of the few female business executives on daytime, taking over Anderson Manufacturing while her husband Bob was recovering from a heart attack. Afterwards, she starred as the devious Eve Howard, Victor Newman's former secretary and lover on The Young and the Restless on and off from 1980 to 1984, and briefly in 1993. Eve notoriously tried to kill Nikki on her wedding day to Victor Newman (after trying to poison Victor the year before), then snuck into their trunk before they decided not to leave on their honeymoon. Her 1993 return saw a less calculating version of Eve, more concerned about the fact that her son Cole might be in love with his own sister, Victoria. In between, she appeared briefly on General Hospital as a relationship consultant who was really a secret madame.

Personal life

Mason was a devout Catholic, and once considered becoming a nun. In 1968, she had double pneumonia, cancer surgery, a heart attack and heart surgery. According to the actress, surviving these setbacks changed her personality, from being a "panicky, fussing" woman who became "excited about nothing and being upset about small things" to one who was "unhurried, calm, pausing to savor life". It took her a year and a half to rehabilitate, and although she frequently felt over-tired in her later life, she insisted she fully recovered, saying, "I feel much better than I did before the operation. I can now ride and swim, and I play golf with Nick. Now, I enjoy life as it is, every day, every moment!"

In the 1960s, Mason met actor-writer E. Nick Alexander, whom she married on November 17, 1970. She was a close friend of Mary K. Wells, her Return to Peyton Place co-star. She raised his daughter Lisa Howard from an earlier marriage. In 1999, Mason died of a heart attack at age 58. She was survived by her husband Alexander, a daughter, her mother and her sister.