ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, December 21, 1995            TAG: 9512210055
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 4    EDITION: METRO 
COLUMN: TUNE IN TOMORROW
                                             TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: NANCY M. REICHARDT

A STAR THAT WAS PART OF `GUIDING LIGHT' WILL SHINE NO MORE

Daytime television lost one of its most brilliant stars on Nov. 30, with the death of veteran daytime, stage and film actor William Roerick, in Monterey, Mass. Roerick brought a tenderness as well as a toughness to his ``Guiding Light'' character, businessman Henry Chamberlain. He began playing the role in June 1980, and received a Daytime Emmy nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor in 1991. His role will not be recast, and the character's death will be acknowledged on camera in the near future.

Roerick, who was 83 at the time of his death from a heart attack, was born in Hoboken, N.J. He attended Hamilton College and got most of his extensive theatrical training at the Berkshire Playhouse School in Stockbridge, Mass. His theatrical roles span four decades of Broadway history, and include productions such as ``Dear Charlie'' with Tallulah Bankhead, and ``The Heiress'' with Basil Rathbone. He appeared in ``Hamlet'' with John Gielgud, and was in the original production of ``Our Town.'' He was associated with the Berkshire Playhouse School until his death, having served on its board of directors for many years. In 1984, he appeared in his 50th production there, ``Sabrina Fair,'' playing the father of a character he portrayed in the same play 30 years before. Hamilton College named Roerick an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts in 1971.

When not appearing on television or the stage, Roerick enjoyed spending time on his farm near Stockbridge, Mass., gardening, and doing carpentry work. Interested in the study of fungi, he considered himself an amateur mycologist, and was also a self-described ``animal nut.'' He also wrote scripts for the television series ``Mama,'' ``Crime Photographer,'' ``Claudia'' and ``Climax.'' He co-authored the Broadway play ``The Happiest Years.''

Roerick will be sorely missed by his ``Guiding Light'' colleagues and his many fans.

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