Soap Producer Joseph Hardy Dead at 95

Prolific stage director and soap producer Joseph Hardy has died at the age of 95. Deadline reports that he passed away on June 6 after four years of living at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, NJ.

After beginning his career working as a script editor for soaps that shot in New York City, Hardy moved into Off-Broadway productions and directed the original 1976 production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown . He won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director for the musical. He later won the Tony Award for Best Director of a Play for his work on 1969’s Child’s Play .

In television, Hardy directed films like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Great Expectations , as well as television series like James at 16 and The Paper Chase. From 1967-73 he was executive producer of the daytime drama Love Is a Many Splendored Thing. In 1984, he became the executive producer of Ryan’s Hope, where he instituted major changes to save the struggling soap. In 1986 he took over as executive producer of Loving, and from 1989-91, he worked as the executive producer for General Hospital .

Our thoughts are with Hardy’s family and friends during this difficult time.