Rebecca Balding

Cute, perky, and engaging brunette actress Rebecca Balding was born on September 21, 1948, in Little Rock, Arkansas. The sweet, comely, and spirited Balding first began acting on television in the mid 1970s. She played an eager-beaver cub reporter on three episodes of Lou Grant (1977). She achieved her greatest and most enduring popularity as Carol David, the young lady who becomes a surrogate mother for gay (Billy Crystal)'s child on comedy program Soap (1977). She portrayed David Naughton's receptionist girlfriend in the sitcom Makin' It (1979). Balding tackled two substantial starring roles in a couple of hugely enjoyable early 1980s horror pictures: She was the endearingly spunky college student heroine of the superior slasher winner The Silent Scream (1979) and an equally likable damsel in distress in the immensely entertaining creature feature The Boogens (1981). Alas, her fright film scream queen phase proved to be sadly fleeting. She racked up an impressively large volume of guest spot credits on numerous TV shows: Among the television programs she's appeared in are ER (1994), Melrose Place (1992), Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), Home Improvement (1991), MacGyver (1985), Our House (1986), Family Ties (1982), Trapper John, M.D. (1979), Hotel (1983), Matt Houston (1982), Gimme a Break! (1981), The Insiders (1985), Cagney & Lacey (1981), This Is the Life (1952), I'm a Big Girl Now (1980), Supertrain (1979), Barnaby Jones (1973), The Bionic Woman (1976), and Starsky and Hutch (1975). She gave a touching performance as Edward Asner's estranged dejected daughter in the made-for-TV drama gem The Gathering (1977) and its lesser, more mawkish sequel, The Gathering, Part II (1979). Late in her career, she popped up in a steady recurring part as Phoebe (Alyssa Milano)'s boss Elise Rothman on Charmed (1998). She was married to producer James L. Conway from 1981 until her death at 73 in 2022. She was also survived by two daughters.