Actress played gossipy nurse on ‘General Hospital’

Shell Kepler, 49, the actress who for years played gossipy nurse Amy Vining on the television soap opera “General Hospital,” died Friday at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. The cause of death was not announced.

Kepler’s busybody character on “General Hospital” was a fan favorite and enjoyed a long run, from 1979 to 2002.

She also appeared in the 1982 Joan Collins film “Homework,” and a couple of episodes of the situation comedy “Three’s Company.”

A native of Ohio, she moved to California with her family when she was 10. She recalled in 1994 that she didn’t have a driver’s license when she began trying out for film roles.

“I managed to get my girlfriends to drive me to auditions because I wasn’t old enough to drive,” she said. “I was a rather ambitious kid.”

In addition to her television work, she was a businesswoman marketing clothing on the former Home Shopping Club.

In a 1994 interview with the Associated Press, she said her “Lacy Afternoon” collection had sales topping $20 million for that year alone.

She moved to Oregon after her television career ended and became involved in charity fundraising.