Samuel D. Ratcliffe

Samuel D. Ratcliffe (1945–1995) was an American actor and daytime television writer whose career spanned stage, screen, and broadcast drama. He was born in Eagle Lake, Florida, and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, where he later attended Birmingham Southern College. After graduating, he relocated to New York City in 1968 to pursue acting.

During the late 1960s and into the mid-1970s, Ratcliffe worked across multiple performance formats, including commercials, film, and theatre. His Broadway career extended from 1964 to 1972, during which he appeared in Fiddler on the Roof and starred in the musical Hurry, Harry. Off Broadway, he played the role of Matt in The Fantasticks, a production that enjoyed an extended run.

In 1976, Ratcliffe shifted his focus to writing for daytime television dramas. He served as head writer on several NBC properties, including Texas, Another World, and Santa Barbara. His work on Santa Barbara earned him a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991 for Best Writing, as well as Writers Guild of America Awards for the 1991 and 1992 seasons on that same series. He received additional Emmy nominations for Best Writing on Guiding Light in 1985 and on Another World in 1985, 1994, and 1996. The Writers Guild also nominated him for his work on Guiding Light in 1985, on Santa Barbara in 1993, and on Another World across the 1994, 1995, and 1996 seasons. Ratcliffe died in New York City in 1995.