Elizabeth MacRae, “General Hospital” and “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” Star, Dead at 88

MacRae died peacefully in North Carolina on May 27

Elizabeth MacRae, who starred in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and appeared in General Hospital during the 1970s, has died. She was 88.

MacRae died peacefully on Monday, May 28 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, according to local outlet City View and Deadline. She is survived by five stepchildren, several nieces and nephews and great-nieces and nephews, per her obituary.

“She had a wonderful life,” her nephew, Jim McRae, told City View. “She was bright and articulate. She was still getting fan mail at Highland House.”

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“Elizabeth had the ‘X factor’ that is an important part of being a performer,” Mayon Weeks, who inducted MacRae into the Fayetteville Performing Arts Hall of Fame, told the outlet. “She did ‘light up the room’ when she was present, and that theatrical presence was in full bloom when she starred in the play, Picnic, at Cape Fear Regional Theatre. A warm and delightful person to be with, and an engaging performer in film and on stage. A treasured daughter of our Fayetteville community.”

MacCrae, who was born in Columbia, South Carolina, and grew up in Fayetteville, began pursuing a career in acting in 1956. After being educated in Washington D.C., she moved to New York City and was cast as a courtroom witness in CBS’ The Verdict Is Yours two years later. She went on to star in episodes of Naked City, The Asphalt Jungle, Maverick, Dr. Kildare, The Untouchables, Maverick and Gunsmoke.

In 1966, she scored a recurring role as Lou-Ann Poovie on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Lou-Ann was the girlfriend of Jim Nabors’ title character and McCrae frequently appeared on the show until it ended in 1969.

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MacRae also booked roles in soap operas. She played Meg Baldwin on General Hospital from 1969 to 1973 and had roles in Another World, Days of Our Lives and Guiding Light.

MacRae’s career did include several movie credits, including voicing Ladyfish in the Don Knotts comedy The Incredible Mr. Limpet and a role in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation with Gene Hackman.

In 1989, MacRae left Hollywood and returned to New York City, where she worked at the Freedom Institute as a drug and alcohol counselor. MacRae and her husband, the late Charles Halsey, later moved to Fayetteville, where she grew up. She was inducted into the Fayetteville Performing Arts Hall of Fame in April 2023.

Donations can be made in MacRae’s memory to the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society or St. John's Episcopal Church. A private memorial service will be held at a later date.

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