Actress Janet Zarish

Janet Zarish is another actress who, like Susan Scannell, became known for her roles on daytime serials.  But like Susan Scannell, she's branched out considerably.

Though she may be best known for playing Natalie Bannon on CBS's "As the World Turns" in the early 1980s, and as Lee Halpern on ABC's "One Life to Live" at two different times: from 1986 to 1988 and again from 2008 to 2009.   But Ms. Zarish has also appeared in prime-time sitcoms and dramas such as  "Law & Order," "New York Undercover," "Mad About You," and "Blue Bloods."  She played a one-shot role in the "Seinfeld" episode "The Alternate Side," now regarded as one of the ten best "Seinfeld" episodes ever. 

Ms. Zarish also worked in off-Broadway theater, starring in Strindberg's Miss Julie  and directing Shakespeare's Measure For Measure.  She's also had roles in movies such as Mystic Pizza and The Next Big Thing.

Ms, Zarish's husband, actor Marc Blum, achieved fame as the adulterous husband in Desperately Seeking Susan and as Bill Lockhart in the family drama "Succession," but, sadly, neither these roles nor any other roles are what ultimately what made him famous; he was one of the first people in the United States to die of COVID.  He died in March 2020, only two weeks after the World Health Organization declared the disease a pandemic. 😢