Melba Rae

Melba Rae was best known for her portrayal of "Marge Bergman", best friend to "Joanne Gardner", on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow (1951), from 1951 until her untimely death from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1971. Rae was the first high-profile daytime actress to die unexpectedly during an active series. A lifelong member of the Mormon church and native of Utah, Rae married Gilbert S. Shawn in a Mormon ceremony in New York City on September 2, 1955. The couple had two children, Eric Shawn and Lisa Shawn.