Mary O'Leary (producer)
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Mary O'Leary is an American television producer, and the former producer of the daytime television dramas Guiding Light, Another World, One Life to Live, General Hospital and The Young & The Restless.[1]
She was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. After graduating from Rhode Island College she moved to New York City to work in theatre production. She spent the next few years stage managing shows Off-Broadway, in Regional Theatre and in Summer Stock, as well as an international tour to India and Syria with Rhode Island’s Tony Award winning regional theatre, Trinity Repertory Company.[2][3]
Her career goal shifted when she was hired to work as a production coordinator for the CBS-TV daytime drama, Guiding Light. Over 11 years she rose in the ranks. She was on the producing team for Guiding Light 40th Anniversary Primetime Special in 1992; Guiding Light Roger Thorpe The Scandal Years (home video) in 1994 and Guiding Light Reva The Scarlet Years (home video) in 1995.[4]
During this the same time she was also co-producer of the theatrical production company, Clunes Associates with Jonathan Frid, who was best known for his portrayal of vampire, Barnabas Collins, on the 1960’s gothic daytime television serial, Dark Shadows. Together they developed a series of one-man shows that Frid performed at universities, libraries and performing arts centers across the country.[5]
After a decade of partnership, Frid retired to Ancaster, Ontario and Mary went on to produce NBC-TV’s Another World and ABC-TV’s One Life to Live. In 2001 she moved to Los Angeles and became a producer for General Hospital. She won four Daytime Emmy Awards for her work.[citation needed]
After eleven years on General Hospital, she switched gears and was the Coordinating Producer for the Sony Pictures/Nickelodeon co-production, Hollywood Heights, a limited-run nighttime series based on the Spanish telenovela, Alcanzar una Estrella (Reach for a Star). This was followed by a five-year stint as a producer for the number one daytime serial, The Young and the Restless, for which she garnered three Daytime Emmy Awards.[citation needed]
In 2019, she was hired to conceive, direct and produce a feature-length documentary about her friend and colleague Jonathan Frid. Dark Shadows and Beyond - The Jonathan Frid Story was released by MPI Media Group in October 2021. The film received several film festival awards, a Telly Award for Excellence and a 2022 Daytime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Special.[6]