Veleka Gray sometimes credited as Velekka Gray, is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress, best known for her roles as department store executive Vicki Paisley Cannell on
SomersetSomerset is an American television soap opera which ran on NBC from March 30, 1970 until December 31, 1976. The show was a spinoff of another NBC serial, Another World.-Overview :...
, and as Mia Marriott on
Love of LifeLove of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
from 1977 - 1980.
Career
In 1970, she played the role of
Laura Donnelly ElliottLaura Donnelly Elliott is a fictional character in the American soap opera Love is a Many Splendored Thing. She was played by actress Donna Mills, who is closely identified in the role; Laura was also played by Barbara Stanger and Veleka Gray later on....
on
Love is a Many Splendored ThingLove Is a Many Splendored Thing is an American daytime soap opera which aired on CBS from September 18, 1967 to March 23, 1973. The series was created by Irna Phillips, who served as the first head writer. She was replaced by Jane Avery and Ira Avery in 1968, who were followed by Don Ettlinger,...
taking over the role from actress
Donna MillsDonna Mills is an American actress, most well known for her role as Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing.-Early years:...
. In 1974 she was hired to play the vixen Susan Pritchett on How To Survive A Marriage.
In 1975 she joined the cast of
SomersetSomerset is an American television soap opera which ran on NBC from March 30, 1970 until December 31, 1976. The show was a spinoff of another NBC serial, Another World.-Overview :...
as Victoria Paisley opposite
Joel CrothersJoel Anthony Crothers was an American actor who, in 1981, was noted by columnist Liz Smith to so strongly resemble Tom Selleck that they could be twin brothers...
, who played Julian Cannell. The pair were engaged to be married in real life when he died in 1985. In 1977, she was cast in the role of Mia Marriott on
Love of LifeLove of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
. In April, 1980, she originated the role of nurse Lyla Montgomery on
As The World TurnsAs the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1983, she started on
The Young and the RestlessThe Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
in February 1983 as sassy manicurist Ruby Collins. Ruby had Allison Bancroft (Lynn Wood) as a regular client. Ruby's function was essentially to inform Allison of the porno film featuring her son's girlfriend
Nikki Reed NewmanNicole "Nikki" Reed is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. She has been played by actress Melody Thomas Scott since 1979...
, and later to act as the
audience surrogateIn the study of literature, an audience surrogate is a fictional character with whom the audience can identify, or who expresses the questions and confusion of the audience...
as Allison expressed her enduring disapproval of Nikki and devised various schemes to discredit her. To portray Ruby, Gray was costumed in a frizzy platinum blond wig and ostentatious clothing.
Two months later, in April, Gray began a contract role as a different character in the same series. Her second character was Dr. Sharon Reaves,
Patty WilliamsPatricia Ann "Patty" Williams is a fictional character in the American soap opera The Young and the Restless, portrayed by originating actress Tammy Taylor briefly in 1980 before Lilibet Stern took over the role from 1980 to 1983 and by Andrea Evans from 1983 to October 1984...
' demure and earnest psychiatrist. This dual role made Gray the only actor in soap history to play two roles simultaneously on the same series, that were neither related nor lookalikes.
Filmography
| Film |
| Year |
Film |
Role |
Notes |
| 1970 |
I Love My Wife |
The Stewardess |
|
| 2009 |
Godmother |
The Godmother |
|
| 2009 |
Flood Streets |
Eleanor Cameron |
|
| 2009 |
Flag of my Father |
Dr. Souza |
|
| Television |
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1970 |
The Mod SquadThe Mod Squad is a television series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968, until August 23, 1973. This series starred Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III, and Tige Andrews...
|
Mae Colly |
1 episode |
| 1970–1972 |
Love is a Many Splendored Thing (TV series) |
Laura Donnelly Elliott #2 |
|
| 1974 |
How to Survive a Marriage How to Survive a Marriage is a soap opera which aired on the NBC television network from January 7, 1974 to April 17, 1975. The serial was created by Anne Howard Bailey, with much input from then-NBC Vice President Lin Bolen...
|
Susan Pritchett |
|
| 1975–1976 |
Somerset |
Victoria "Vicki" Paisley |
|
| 1977–1980 |
Love of Life |
Mia Marriott |
|
| 1980 |
As the World TurnsAs the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
|
Lyla Montgomery, R. N. #1 |
|
| 1983–1985 |
The Young and the Restless |
Ruby Collins |
|
| 1983–1984 |
The Young and the Restless |
Dr. Sharon Reaves |
External links