Linda Lavin, an award-winning actress best known for playing the the popular sitcom “Alice,” he is dead. He was 87 years old.
Lavin had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer, and died Sunday of complications from the disease, a representative told the Associated Press.
He remained active in the weeks leading up to his death, appearing earlier this month in the Los Angeles premiere of the Netflix series “No Good Deed,” in which he appears.
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Linda Lavin has died. The actor was 87 years old. (CBS via Getty Images)
Lavin seemed to know from an early age that he was destined for life as an actor, moving to New York City after graduation. His first big break came when he was cast in a Broadway musical called “I'm a Bird…I'm a Plane…I'm Superman.”
In 1969, he was nominated for his first Tony for his work “Last of the Red Hot Lovers”.
Linda Lavin and husband, Steve Bakunas, at the “No Good Deed” Los Angeles Premiere at the Tudum Theater on December 4, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images)
In the 70s, he moved to Los Angeles, where he began to find work as a TV actor. She appeared in an episode of “Rhoda,” and then won a small recurring role in “Barney Miller.”
It was in 1976 that she was cast in a new CBS drama based on Ellen Burstyn's Oscar-winning Waitress comedy-drama, “Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.”
The title was shortened to “Alice,” and Lavin became a role model for working mothers as Alice Hyatt, a widowed mother with a 12-year-old son who works at a restaurant in on the side of the road outside of Phoenix. The show, with Lavin singing the title song “There's a New Girl in Town,” ran from 1976 to 1985.
“Alice” cast left to right: Polly Holliday as “Flo” Florence Jean Castleberry; Vic Tayback as diner owner Mel Sharples; Philip McKeon as Alice's son Tommy; Linda Lavin as Alice Hyatt; and Beth Howland as Vera Louise Gorman. (Getty Images)
The show turned “Kiss my grits” into a catchphrase and starred Polly Holliday as waitress Flo and Vic Tayback as the rowdy owner and head chef of Mel's Diner.
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The series bounced around the CBS schedule during its first two seasons but became a lead-in to “All in the Family” on Sunday nights in October 1977. It was among the top 10 in four of the next five seasons. Variety magazine listed it among the greatest comedies of all time.
“Alice” was based on the Oscar-winning film “Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.” (CBS via Getty Images)
When “Alice” ended, Lavin continued to work in Hollywood, although he worked back to Broadway for a while. In 1987, he won a Tony Award for best actor after appearing in Neil Simon's “Broadway Bound”.
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She took on several stage roles in the years following her success in “Alice,” including a musical adaptation of “Gypsy” in 1990. Her most recent role was in 2016's “The News Our Lady's Briefs.”
Linda Lavin attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Amazon Studios' “Being The Ricardos” at the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum on December 6, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Lavin continued to work until his death. In addition to her work in “No Good Deed,” she appeared in an episode of “Elsbeth” this year. Last year, he 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.