Rita Stapleton

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Lenore Kasdorf as Rita Stapleton on the CBS soap Guiding Light in a screencap from the famous 1980 "hall of mirrors" scene

Rita Stapleton Bauer was a fictional character on the CBS soap Guiding Light. She was played from the time of the character's introduction in 1975 until she was written out in 1981 by Lenore Kasdorf.

When Rita first arrived in Springfield to take a job as a nurse at Cedars Hospital, she began dating Dr. Tim Ryan. However, She soon became interested in Chief of Surgery Ed Bauer (Mart Hulswit), and the two began dating. The two became closer, particularly after Ed helped Rita's elderly mother Viola (Kate Wilkinson) recover from a stroke, and he soon asked Rita to marry him. However, unbeknownst to him, Rita shared a past with his nemesis Roger Thorpe (Michael Zaslow) (who Ed had just found out was the biological father of the child thought to be his, Christina).

Unfortunately for Rita, her past with Roger would come out while she was on trial for the murder of a wealthy, elderly Texas oil man, Cyrus Granger, for whom she had worked as a private duty nurse, prior to coming to Springfield; Roger had also worked for Granger and he and Rita had had a brief fling. Though she was hesitant to provide an alibi, it eventually came out that Rita couldn't have committed the crime, for she was with Roger at the time. (The murder was eventually revealed to have been committed by Granger's demented daughter-in-law, Georgene (Delphi Harrington), who was trying to prevent her father-in-law from changing his will to include Rita, unaware that he had in fact already done so.) While Rita was acquitted, Ed, upset and angry to learn of her past with Roger, broke things off with her. Rita briefly dated Dr. Peter Chapman, though he turned out to be more interested in Ed's ex-wife Holly Norris Bauer (Maureen Garrett).

Eventually, Ed got over his anger and he and Rita reconnected. The two became engaged, but before they were married, Roger appeared at Rita's apartment, angry over how providing an alibi for her during her murder trial had cost him his own marriage. Becoming increasingly enraged, he raped Rita. Afraid that no one would believe her, Rita remained silent and she and Ed were married. A few months later, Roger also raped Holly and Rita became overcome with guilt at having not come forward herself. Holly did press charges, and when it looked like Roger would be acquitted, Rita finally revealed that Roger had raped her too. However, at the same time this was happening, Holly was pointing a gun at Roger and, in a moment of post-traumatic stress, shot him. She was convicted of the murder (despite the extenuating circumstances) and Ed came to resent Rita for not telling him about the rape, causing a strain in their marriage.

Alienated from Ed, Rita began a reckless fling with an old boyfriend, Dr. Greg Fairbanks, who had just relocated to Springfield (and who also began seeing Rita's younger sister Eve (Janet Grey), though neither sister knew Fairbanks was dating the other). When Rita found herself pregnant, she was unable to determine whether Ed or Greg was the father, and she decided to undergo DNA testing on her fetus in order to find out. Before she could get the results, however, Rita spotted a clown at a charity carnival to benefit Cedars as Roger Thorpe (who was presumed to be dead, after having been shot by Holly). After thwarting Roger's attempt to abduct Christina, Roger chased after Rita, cornering her in a hall of mirrors (all the while Donna Summer and Barbara Streisand's disco hit "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)" playing, in a sequence that would win Guiding Light its first "Best Daytime Drama" Emmy in more than a decade). Roger abducted Rita and brought her to a remote cabin. Eventually Ed and his brother, attorney Mike Bauer tracked Roger and Rita down. Roger fled, but he knocked over a lantern as he was leaving which set the cabin on fire. Ed and Mike were able to save Rita, but she lost her baby (who it had since been revealed was Ed's).

Ed and Rita tried to patch their marriage up, but the resentment and hurt was difficult for them to overcome. Ed remained emotionally distant and Rita began to have a torrid affair with Alan Spaulding (Christopher Bernau), who was at the time married to her niece Hope Bauer. When the affair was revealed a few months later by blackmailer Andy Norris, Rita left Springfield for good. It was suggested at the time of her departure that she might be pregnant, but this was never resolved (nor was it resolved whether the baby would have been Alan's or Ed's).