Linda Lavin, the talented actress and singer who won a Tony Award and a Golden Globe, passed away on Sunday at the age of 87.
She was best known for her role in the CBS TV show “Alice,” which she starred in for almost ten years.
Her death was caused by complications from lung cancer, which had only been discovered recently, according to her representatives.
Lavin had a long and successful career in both theater and television, starting when she was very young. Born into a family with a love for music, she began performing at the age of 5, according to her school, William & Mary.
She got her big break in New York, gaining experience in Broadway plays and musicals throughout the 1960s.
She starred in the 1966 musical “It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman,” and the New York Times review at the time praised her performance as “fresh.” “I wish she was in every musical and revue,” wrote Times critic Stanley Kauffmann.
But it was the TV show “Alice” that made Lavin famous. The show is about a widowed mother who wants to become a singer while working at a diner.
Lavin played the main character in every episode of the show, which ran for nine seasons from 1976 to 1985. During that time, she won two Golden Globe Awards, was nominated for a third, and also received an Emmy Award nomination.
In the following years, she worked in television, film, and theater, winning a Tony Award for her lead role in the 1986 play “Broadway Bound,” and earning more Tony nominations for other projects. Her career never slowed down, as she also took on voice acting, directing, producing, and teaching master classes at William & Mary.
Her most recent performance was in the Netflix show “No Good Deed,” which follows three families fighting to buy the same house and was released earlier this month. She had also planned to act in another play, “Mid-Century Modern,” in California this January.
The news of her death led to tributes and messages of sadness from people in Hollywood and Broadway who remembered her as a respected veteran who helped shape the industry.
Actress Patricia Heaton posted a video on X, remembering her time working with Lavin on the short-lived ABC sitcom “Room for Two” from 1992 to 1993.
“She was such a legend. The first major role I had in television was playing her daughter,” Heaton said. “She was my mentor, my guardian angel. She really looked out for me, taught me a lot, not just about acting but about life. And we had dinner a couple months ago when I was in LA, and she was just as sharp and funny and energetic as she always has been.”
“I’m going to miss her. She was a good friend,” Heaton added.
