Linda Lavin, Acclaimed Star of Sitcom ‘Alice,’ Dead at 87
Linda Lavin, a revered Broadway and TV actress and singer best known for hit CBS series Alice, has died at 87. Lavin died unexpectedly in Los Angeles due to complications from lung cancer, according to her PR representative.
Lavin was best known for playing a waitress named Alice Hyatt on Alice, which ran for nine seasons from 1976. During her tenure on the series, Lavin won two Golden Globes and earned an Emmy nomination. She also won a Tony Award in 1987 for her work in Broadway Bound. The actress had a prolific career on stage and on screen, including recently on shows like Sean Saves the World, Elsbeth, and No Good Deed. She was a series regular on the upcoming Hulu comedy series Mid-Century Modern, which is currently in the midst of filming its debut 10 episodes.
Born on Oct. 15, 1937 in Portland, Maine, Lavin studied theater at the College of William & Mary with the hope of becoming an actress. She moved to New York City shortly after graduating in 1959 and quickly appeared in an off-Broadway revival of George and Ira Gershwin’s Oh, Kay!. She performed in numerous off-Broadway and Broadway shows, including The Riot Act, Wet Paint, The Game Is Up, Hotel Passionato, Little Murders, and It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman.
Lavin transitioned to Hollywood in the mid-’70s, first appearing in an episode of Rhoda. She was cast in a recurring role in Barney Miller in 1975 before leaving the show the following year to star in Alice. The series ran for 202 episodes, 10 of which Lavin herself directed, and was notable for its portrayal of a young single mother working at Mel’s Diner. Lavin also performed the show’s theme song, “There’s a New Girl in Town.”
“I knew it behooved me to learn about single mothers and working women,” Lavin recalled in a 2012 interview. “So I went to Gloria Steinem, whom I had met briefly, and she hooked me up with writers and columnists and newspeople who were writing about working women. I learned that Alice represented 80 percent of all the women who work in this country who were still struggling at 69 cents to the dollar that men were making for the same quality of work. Suddenly, I had a rhetoric, I had a commitment.”
After Alice ended in 1985, Lavin went on to appear in numerous TV series, both as a regular cast member and as a guest star. She memorably had roles in Room for Two, Conrad Bloom, The O.C., The Good Wife, Mom, Santa Clarita Diet, and the Sopranos. Lavin also continued acting on stage, including in plays and musicals like The Diary of Anne Frank and Follies.
She was cast as Phyllis in Netflix series No Good Deed alongside Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano, and attended the show’s premiere on Dec. 4, her final public appearance. Series creator and executive producer Liz Feldman paid tribute to Lavin on Instagram, writing, “Getting to work with you once was an honor and a joy. I loved writing for you on 9JKL all those years ago. I just loved YOU. Being around you. In your magnetic orbit. That we got to collaborate again on No Good Deed was simply a gift. You were, as always, incredibly gracious, totally hilarious and pitch perfect. Ready to play and full of life. Your warmth and kindness was unparalleled.”
Prior to the holiday break, Lavin had filmed seven episodes of Mid-Century Modern, on which she played Sybil Schneiderman. The production is scheduled to resume in January.
Producer Max Mutchnick and David Kohan and director and executive producer James Burrows released a joint statement following Lavin’s death saying, “Working with Linda was one of the highlights of our careers. She was a magnificent actress, singer, musician, and a heat seeking missile with a joke. But more significantly, she was a beautiful soul. Deep, joyful, generous and loving. She made our days better. The entire staff and crew will miss her beyond measure. We are better for having known her.”
Hulu and 20th Television, the studio behind Mid-Century Modern, added in a separate statement, “Our deepest and heartfelt condolences go to Linda Lavin’s family and loved ones. She was a legend in our industry, bringing her tremendous talent to audiences for over seven decades. She will be forever missed by her Mid-Century Modern family, as we mourn this incredible loss together.”
Following the news of her death, many of Lavin’s coworkers and costars shared memories of her on social media. Patricia Heaton called the actress “a true friend and a total force of nature” while Joe Mantegna wrote, “One of the rarest gifts in life is to make a ‘new’ old friend. Linda Lavin was that for me and my family.”