MARY Ryan MUNISTERI

1939 - 2022

MUNISTERI--Mary Ryan (1939-2022). Mary Ryan Munisteri died peacefully at her home in Brooklyn, NY, on January 29, 2022 at 82 years old. Starting her career in the mid-1970s, she was considered a pioneer in 1970s daytime serial television, writing for programs like" Love of Life," "Guiding Light," "As the World Turns," and other shows. A graduate of Trinity College (now Trinity Washington University) in Washington, D.C., Mary went on to graduate from Yale University with an M.A.T. degree. She settled in Brooklyn, NY, where her best friend and co-writer Claire Labine named for Mary the main character "Mary Ryan" (a role originated by Kate Mulgrew) on the eponymous soap opera "Ryan's Hope," for which Mary was a longtime script, long-story, and "breakdown" writer. With approximately a dozen Daytime Emmy awards to her name, Mary also won a best writing Emmy Award for the short film "Mandy's Grandmother" (starring Maureen O'Sullivan), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film. Mary was also head of the Writers Development Program at CBS and finished her career with a long stint writing for the successful daytime show "General Hospital." She retired in 2005. She is survived by her children, Matt Munisteri (Carmela Marner), Ben Munisteri (James Bowyer), and Adele Munisteri (Andres Gleich), and two grandchildren, Arlo and Calla Gleich. The family will announce a memorial service at a later date.