Linda Lavin, an award-winning actress identified for starring within the beloved sitcom “Alice,” has died. She was 87.
Lavin had just lately been identified with lung most cancers, and handed away on Sunday from problems of the illness, a consultant advised the Associated Press.
She had been lively within the weeks main as much as her demise, making an look earlier this month on the Los Angeles premiere of the Netflix collection “No Good Deed,” by which she seems.
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Linda Lavin has died. The actress was 87. (CBS through Getty Images)
Lavin appeared to know from an early age that she was destined for all times as an actress, transferring to New York City after graduating from school. Her first huge break got here when she was solid in a musical on Broadway known as “It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman.”
In 1969, she was nominated for her first Tony for her work in “Last of the Red Hot Lovers.”
Linda Lavin and husband, Steve Bakunas, on the “No Good Deed” Los Angeles Premiere at Tudum Theater on December 4, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Gilbert Flores/Variety through Getty Images)
By the 70s, she made the transfer to Los Angeles, the place she started getting jobs as a TV actress. She appeared in an episode of “Rhoda,” then landed a small recurring position in “Barney Miller.”
It was in 1976 that she was chosen to star in a brand new CBS sitcom based mostly on Ellen Burstyn’s Oscar-winning waitress comedy-drama, “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.”
The title was shortened to “Alice,” and Lavin turned a task mannequin for working mothers as Alice Hyatt, a widowed mom with a 12-year-old son working in a roadside diner exterior Phoenix. The present, with Lavin singing the theme track “There’s a New Girl in Town,” ran from 1976 to 1985.
“Alice” solid from left to proper: Polly Holliday as “Flo” Florence Jean Castleberry; Vic Tayback as diner proprietor Mel Sharples; Philip McKeon as Alice’s son Tommy; Linda Lavin as Alice Hyatt; and Beth Howland as Vera Louise Gorman. (Getty Images)
The present turned “Kiss my grits” right into a catchphrase and co-starred Polly Holliday as waitress Flo and Vic Tayback because the gruff proprietor and head chef of Mel’s Diner.
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The collection bounced across the CBS schedule throughout its first two seasons however turned a success main into “All within the Family” on Sunday nights in October 1977. It was amongst prime time’s high 10 collection in 4 of the subsequent 5 seasons. Variety journal listed it among the many all-time greatest office comedies.
“Alice” was based mostly on the Oscar-winning movie “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” (CBS through Getty Images)
When “Alice” ended, Lavin continued working in Hollywood, although she did head back to Broadway for a bit. In 1987, she gained a Tony Award for greatest actress after showing in Neil Simon’s “Broadway Bound.”
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She took a number of roles on stage within the years following her success on “Alice,” together with a flip within the musical “Gypsy” in 1990. Her most up-to-date position there was in 2016 in “Our Mother’s Brief Affair.”
Linda Lavin attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Amazon Studios’ “Being The Ricardos” on the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on December 6, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Lavin continued working up till her demise. In addition to her work in “No Good Deed,” she appeared in an episode of “Elsbeth” this 12 months. Last 12 months, she did voice work for an episode of “Bob’s Burgers.”
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She is survived by her husband, Steve Bakunas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
