5 Patricia Cowley movies and TV shows: A tribute to the star who died at 91 

Hollywood lost another star in actress Patricia Cowley, a Golden Globe winner who appeared in more than 100 TV shows and movies during her acting career. The actress died on Sunday, just two days before her 92nd birthday.

Many of us will recognize Cowley from the NBC sitcom Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, where she played the character of a rebellious housewife. Throughout her career, she continued to appear in TV shows and soap operas, including The Bold and the Beautiful, Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210, The Rockford Files, Friends and The Love Boat.

Patricia Cowley was considered an all-rounder star who molded every character into her unique style of acting. In addition to soap operas, she is widely recognized for her guest appearances across many popular shows.

Here are 5 Patricia Cowley TV shows and movies to remember her by.

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Remembering Patricia Cowley through her TV shows and movies

With a career spanning several decades, Patricia Cowley’s name appears in the credits of over 100 television shows and films.

Here are the Top 5 shows and movies to remember the late actress by:

Please Don’t Eat the Daisies

Patricia Cowley is famously known for headlining the 1965 NBC sitcom Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, where she played the character of Joan Nash. The sitcom was based on Jean Kerr's 1957 book, which was also adapted into a 1960 feature film, starring Doris Day and David Niven.

Cowley appeared opposite Mark Miller, who played her husband, Jim Nash. The sitcom follows the Nash family, who live in an old house in New York with their four sons. Cowley's Joan Nash broke many TV housewife stereotypes (of the 60s), as her character slept through the morning and did what she pleased. While the sitcom ran for only two years, it gained popularity in the 70s, thanks to its many reruns.

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Port Charles

While Patricia Cowley went on to guest star in multiple TV shows after Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, her next series regular role came in ABC's soap opera Port Charles, a spin-off of General Hospital. The opera aired on the network from 1997 to 2003, and Cowley appeared as Mary Scanlon in more than 250 episodes.

This daytime soap opera also featured many actors from the parent series, including Lucy Coe, Kevin Collins, Scott Baldwin, and Karen Wexler. While Port Charles began as a spin-off of General Hospital, it shifted away from the hospital setting in its later years and pivoted into the world of the supernatural.

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There's Always Tomorrow

In 1956, Patricia Cowley starred in Douglas Sirk's romantic melodrama film There's Always Tomorrow, alongside William Reynolds, Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, and Joan Bennett. The movie was adapted from Ursula Parrott's eponymous novel, which was also adapted into a 1934 film.

There's Always Tomorrow follows a toy manufacturer, Clifford Groves, who lives with his wife and three children. After Clifford realises that his family gives him little attention, he rekindles a romance with a past employee, who returns to his town. Cowley played the character of Ann, Cliff's son's girlfriend.

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Generations

Generations is another popular soap opera, which ran on NBC from 1989 to 1991. While Generations was not as popular as other daytime soaps, it became one of the groundbreaking series (of the 90s) for its inclusion of a Black-American family. The soap marked a milestone in television history and explored themes of family, friendship, and social issues prevalent in society.

Patricia Cowley appeared as the recurring character of Rebecca Whitmore in more than 60 episodes, alongside actors like Kristoff St. John, Vivica A. Fox, and Richard Roundtree.

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The Square Jungle

Jerry Hopper-directed 1955 American film noir sports film The Square Jungle is another of Patricia Cowley's popular works. She played the character of Julie Walsh, who was in love with Tony Curtis' Eddie Quaid. Since Eddie was the son of an alcoholic widower and an amateur fighter himself, Julie's father disapproved of her choice.

While The Square Jungle was a typical sports drama film, the subplot involving Cowley and Curtis' romance was a hit among the audience.

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