From the 1950s right up to 2017, if you turned on your TV, Peggy McCay was there. She stepped onscreen to play bit parts on dozens of hit shows, was pulled to star in several short-lived series, and ultimately became known for originating major characters in soap operas like Love of Life and Days of Our Lives. However, classic TV fans might possibly remember her best for a role she took in 1963.

On The Andy Griffith Show, McCay played Andy Taylor's high school sweetheart in the memorable episode "Class Reunion." As Sharon DeSpain, when McCay appears, Andy's heart goes soft, and they share a dance then a moonlit stroll. As they walk off, Barney Fife sighs, “It was one of the great natural romances of all time, and it’s still going on.”

The Andy Griffith Show

The Andy Griffith Show

McCay didn't just play sweethearts, of course. We saw her step into Perry Mason's court as a defendant in "The Case of the Long-Legged Models." On Bonanza, she was the one who took care of a badly injured Little Joe for the charged episode "Bushwhacked!" Later on Gunsmoke, she plays the wife of Matt Dillon's oldest friend, who takes over as sheriff of Dodge City when Dillon's too badly injured. One of her earliest roles was on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, where her character opens up the episode with a juicy bit of gossip.

Perry Mason

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Bonanza

Gunsmoke

In the 1960s, she also stood out as a TV star on The Young Marrieds and Room for One. In the 1970s, she took on recurring roles on Lou Grant and How the West Was Won. Through the 1980s, she was on Newhart, The Jeffersons, Cagney & Lacey, and then at last in the 1990s, they handed her a much-deserved Emmy for guest starring in an episode of The Trials of Rosie O'Neill.

Lou Grant

Lou Grant

On October 7, the prolific TV actress Peggy McCay passed away at the age of 90.

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