Lynn Benesch

Lynn Benesch
Born	Lynn Benish Westchester, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1969–1987

Lynn Benesch, born Lynn Benish in Westchester, New York, aka Lynn Chester, is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Meredith Lord Wolek on the daytime drama One Life to Live from 1969 to 1973.^[1][2] In 1972 she won praise for her portrayal as a mother who had twins and one was stillborn; this led to addressing the issues around postpartum depression which was still struggling to be understood as a legitimate medical concern.^[3] She briefly reprised the role in 1987, when her character's sister Victoria Lord, having an out of body experience, took a trip to Heaven and reunited her with deceased loved ones.^[4] As Lynn Chester her theatrical credits include "Wait Until Dark" with Shirley Jones and "Star-Spangled Girl" with Anthony Perkins as well as the television series "General Hospital".

A gifted singer and songwriter, she appeared with Skitch Henderson, and Wayland Pickard, with whom she co-wrote original songs which she performs in BBC-5's American import, radio soap opera "Milford-Haven" music episodes.^[5] She was a kindergarten teacher before going into acting and when younger she put on shows for Vietnam vets who were confined to a VA hospital in the late 1960s and early 1970s along with a childhood friend.

Filmography

According to All Media Guide/New York Times:

• The Doctors as Nora^[6]
• One Life to Live (1969-1973, 1987) - as Meredith "Merrie" Lord^[7][8]
• Comedy Tonight (1970)^[9]
• Planet of the Apes (1974)^[10][11][12]
• Gunsmoke (1975) - as Zoe^[13]
• Happy Days (1976) - as Miss Franklin^[14]
• The Next Step Beyond (1978) (sequel series to One Step Beyond^[15][16]
• How the West Was Won (1978) - as Mina^[17]
• Rhoda (1978)^[18]
• The Great Brain (1978)^[19]
• Starsky and Hutch (1979) - as Candy Reese
• Hanging In (1979) - as Mona
• Hunter's Moon (1979)^[20]
• Little House on the Prairie: What Ever Happened to the Class of '56? (1980) - as Amy Phillips Sawyer^[21]
• The Sophisticated Gents (1981) - as Renee Marcus^[22]
• Command 5 (1985) - as Ann Bryan^[23]
• The Young and the Restless (1986) - as Beverly Stark
• Daytimes' Greatest Weddings (2004) - as Meredeth Lord Wolek

References

1. Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials: 1974-1984 Vincent Terrace
2. Daytime TV August 1987 interview.
3. The One Life to Live Gerry Waggett
4. The soap opera encyclopedia Christopher Schemering
5. Judith Robinson, "Whatever Happened To Lynn Benesch?", Soap Opera Digest, February 12, 1985.
6. The encyclopedia of TV science fiction Roger Fulton
7. The complete encyclopedia of television programs, 1947-1979, Volume 2 Vincent Terrace
8. Total television: the comprehensive guide to programming from 1948 to the present Alex McNeil
9. Experimental television, test films, pilots, and trial series, 1925 through 1995 Vincemt Terrace
10. Planet of the apes as American myth: race, politics, and popular culture Eric Greene
11. Planet of the apes: an unofficial companion David Hofstede
12. Science fiction television series: episode guides, histories, and casts and credits for 62 prime time shows, 1959 through 1989 Mark Phillips, Frank Garcia
13. Television westerns episode guide: all United States series, 1949-1996 Harris M. Lentz
14. John Willis' Screen world 1979
15. An Analytical Guide to Television's One Step Beyond, 1959-1961 John Kenneth Muir
16. Science fiction, horror and fantasy film and television credits Harris M. Lentz
17. Television drama series programming: a comprehensive chronicle, 1975-1980 Larry James Gianakos
18. Television, 1970-1980 Vincemt Terrace
19. The motion picture guide, Volume 3 Jay Robert Nash, Stanley Ralph Ross
20. Motion picture players' credits: worldwide performers of 1967 through 1980 with filmographies of their entire careers, 1905-1983 Jeffrey Oliviero
21. "TV guide", Volume 28, 1979
22. Variety international show business reference, 1983 Mike Kaplan
23. Movies made for television: the telefeature and the mini-series, 1964-1986 Alvin H. Marill