Gloria Loring
Loring was married to actor Alan Thicke from 1970-1983 and they co-composed the theme songs to Diff'rent Strokes and Facts of Life. The first season of Facts had the cast performing the theme, but the remainder of the run (1980-1988) featured Loring's rendition of the song which remains a strong memory for 80's sitcom devotees. The marriage produced 2 sons, Brennan and Robin. Robin later became a performer in his own right who recorded under just "Thicke".
In 1980 Loring joined NBC daytime soap Days of Our Lives as chanteuse Liz Chandler. The show was going through a dry spell at the time, with many veterans shown the door and a slew of new faces alienating longtime fans. Of the 9 new characters introduced in the 1980-1981 season, only Liz garnered a following. Her singing and world-weary yet good hearted nature were on display for much of the 80's as Liz went through marriages and divorces and the usual soap crises. Loring briefly dated Don Diamont, the hunky actor who played her corrupt husband and would go on to find daytime stardom on The Young and the Restless.
In 1986 Loring had a #1 hit, Friends & Lovers, with Carl Anderson. She left Days that same year and would only make sporadic film and television appearances over the next few decades. Her main efforts were spent in theater and in her recording career. Upon learning her son Brennan had diabetes, Loring became a major fundraiser and advocate for diabetes research. In 1994 Loring married production designer Rene Lagler. They had originally met 24 years earlier on the set of Glen Campbell's variety series. They met again on a plane in 1993 and Loring said she knew this was the man she was going to marry.
Loring's most recent album was a 2003 holiday release, You Make it Christmas.
