Eileen Herlie, for 32 years the wise matron Myrtle Fargate on the ABC soap opera “All My Children” and earlier an acclaimed performer on Broadway and the London stage, died Wednesday in Manhattan. She was 90 and lived in Manhattan.

The cause was complications of pneumonia, said Francesca James, a longtime friend.

First appearing on “All My Children” in 1976, Miss Herlie portrayed Myrtle as an irrepressible, truth-talking figure offering advice to denizens of the fictional town of Pine Valley, and particularly to the sexy, sassy Erica Kane, played by Susan Lucci. Three times (in 1984, 1985 and 1986) she was nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards as outstanding supporting actress in a drama series. She gave her last performance in June.

Though best known in her later years for her soap opera role, Miss Herlie had a prestigious career from the mid-1940s into the 1970s, working with luminaries like Tyrone Guthrie, Richard Burton, Laurence Olivier, Rex Harrison, Peter Ustinov, Cecil Beaton, John Huston, Mel Brooks and Jackie Gleason.

Her range, from Shakespeare to musicals, regularly drew praise. In 1959 she played Lily in the Broadway production of “Take Me Along,” the boisterous musical based on Eugene O’Neill’s “Ah, Wilderness!”

Reviewing that show, Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times wrote: “Did you know that Eileen Herlie could sing in a voice that is beautifully cultivated? In America she has played farce, Shakespeare and modern drama with unvarying excellence. Here she is in musical comedy. Her affectionate Lily, the instinctive lady and the inevitable schoolteacher, is a lovely performance brought to a fine glow.” Miss Herlie received a Tony nomination for her role in “Take Me Along.”

Miss Herlie also had roles in 10 films, including “For Better, for Worse” (1954), “Freud” (1962) and “The Seagull” (1968).

Eileen Isobel Herlihy was born in Glasgow on March 18, 1918. Her father, Patrick, and her mother, the former Isobel Cowden, frowned on their daughter’s theatrical aspirations. Still, while working for an insurance company, she joined the Scottish National Theater.

She soon left for London and after several smaller roles was cast as the queen in Jean Cocteau’s “Eagle Has Two Heads.” It was her breakthrough, with critics particularly praising her 27-minute soliloquy.

In 1948, Miss Herlie was cast as Queen Gertrude opposite Olivier in his screen version of “Hamlet.” She reprised the role 16 years later on Broadway, opposite Richard Burton. After playing the milliner Irene Molloy in Thornton Wilder’s “Matchmaker,” Miss Herlie moved to the United States in 1955 and played the same role on Broadway.

She performed in nine Broadway shows, including “All American” in 1962, opposite Ray Bolger. She and Bolger sang the musical’s best-known song, “Once Upon a Time,” a Charles Strouse-Lee Adams tune later popularized by Tony Bennett.

Miss Herlie’s two marriages ended in divorce. She is survived by her brother, Alfred Herlihy of Glasgow.

Miss James, who knew Miss Herlie for more than 30 years, said on Friday that her friend often recalled how Olivier had prompted her for her role as his mother in the movie version of “Hamlet.”

“After she was cast,” Miss James said, “Olivier called her on the phone and told her, ‘Eileen, we are going to do this with Freud’s Oedipal complex in mind.’ And she said, ‘Oh, what a good idea, Larry.’ Then she hung up, called a friend and asked, ‘What’s an Oedipal complex?’ ”

The film did conjure sexual desire between mother and son, abetted perhaps by the fact that she was 11 years younger than he was.