Charita Bauer

In the early days of Guiding Light, Charita was close friends with co-star Ellen Demming, who played her sister-in-law Meta Bauer. The two women also shared a dressing room.

Charita was portrayed by Emmy winning actress Kim Zimmer, on the January 25, 2007 episode of Guiding Light. The "Inside the Light" episode told the story of how the show got its start in radio and moved to television, complete with the actors/actresses of today playing the stars of yesteryear.

As the longest running cast member of Guiding Light, Charita would often show new members of the cast "the ropes" and fill them in on the rich history of the series. She was called the cast's unofficial mom.

A member of the Guiding Light crew had once asked Charita to participate in a 4-H Club fair his children were involved with, Charita promised the man she would be there and later that evening politely left a dinner party she was attending to fulfill the promise. The dinner party she was attending, was at that White House!

Charita, and several other Guiding Light cast members, appeared in the 1983 prime-time TV movie The Cradle Will Fall.

Charita was 5'3" with brown hair and brown eyes.

Charita said she never grew tired of meeting fans of Guiding Light and also tried to read and reply to all of her fan mail.

When Charita's Guiding Light character, Bert Bauer, gave birth to a son in 1952, the actress convinced the writers of the show to name the child Michael, to help her avoid making mistakes when addressing him. Charita herself had given birth to a son, Michael, a few years prior.

Not wanting to limit her career by signing with Guiding Light, Charita originally agreed to "try out" playing the role of Bert Bauer for two years.

Charita was one of the most loved people behind the scenes at Guiding Light. Everyone who knew her, from co-stars to the backstage crew referred, to her as "the most generous person they'd ever met".

Between the ages of 9 and 27, Charita had only been unemployed for 2 weeks.

In 1979, Charita was received the "Mother of the Year" award from the National Mother's Day Committee for her portrayal of "Bert Bauer" on Guiding Light.

Although Charita and her Guiding Light character "Bert" shared the same last name, it was pure coincidence.

Charita's radio credits include: - Let's Pretend - Our Gal Sunday - Lora Lawton - Maude's Diary - The Right to Happiness - Second Husband - Young Widder Brown - The Aldrich Family

Charita originated the role of "Little Mary" in the acclaimed Broadway comedy The Women. The show ran for two years and Charita never missed a performance.

In November 1983, Charita had her leg amputated after she suffered from complications due to a blood clot. The surgery and her recovery were written into her Guiding Light storyline.

In 1983, Charita was given the Lifetime Achievement Emmy for her work in daytime television.

As a child, Charita was a model for Macy's.