Broadway and television icon Linda Lavin has passed away at the age of 87.
Shared by the New York Times, Tony Award winning actress Linda Lavin passed away in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday. The 87 year old actress, who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom Alice, reportedly died after complications with lung cancer, according to her representative Michael Gagliardo.
Lavin was born on October 15th, 1937 in Portland, Maine. She quickly began performing as a child before majoring in theatre at William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA.
After graduation, she joined an improv cabaret group called the Compass Players, which would later be known as the Second City company. She later moved to Boston working in theatre before moving to New York. She made her New York stage debut in the Off Broadway musical Oh, Kay! In 1960.
Two years later, Lavin made her debut on the Great White Way, taking on multiple roles in A Family Affair, a musical directed by Hal Prince. She would go on to find a successful career in Broadway plays. According to Playbill, productions include The Riot Act, Something Different, Cop-Out, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Paul Sills’ Story Theatre, and The Enemy is Dead. Afterwards, Lavin would redirect her talents towards musicals, where she would originate the role of Sydney in It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman. In 1966, she would perform “The Boy From…,” written for her by Stephen Sondheim and Mary Rogers, as a part of The Mad Show. .
Lavin would become a household name after finding success in television in the 1970s. Her first big hit in television was her recurring role as Detective Janice Wentworth in Barney Miller, but Lavin’s real launch to stardom came in 1976 when she was cast as the lead role in Alice. Running from 1976 through 1985, the series was based on Martin Scorsese’s film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Playing the role of Alice Hyatt, the show followed a widowed mother and aspiring musical performer on her way to Hollywood. When her car broke down in Phoenix, AZ, Alice took a job at local restaurant Mel’s Diner. The series earned Lavin two Golden Globe nominations and an Emmy nomination.
While in the final season of Alice, Lavin made her movie debut as a celebrity cameo in The Muppets Take Manhattan. Playing a seemingly nice doctor, fans of the iconic puppets may remember her twisting Kermit the Frog all out of shape in the film. She would also appear in two additional film roles in the 80s before returning to Broadway in 1986’s Broadway Bound. In 1990, Lavin replaced Tyne Daly as Rose in Gypsy before taking over for Madeline Kahn in 1994’s The Sisters Rosensweig. She later returned to originating performances, starring in the first Broadway revival of The Diary of Anne Frank, as well as The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, Hollywood Arms, Collected Stories, and The Lyons. Her final Broadway role came in 2016’s Our Mother’s Brief Affair.
Throughout her illustrious stage career, Lavin received 6 Tony nominations, winning one of them for her 1986 performance in Broadway Bound. She also earned honors from Drama Desk, including 8 nominations and 2 wins; 2 Obie Awards; three nominations and one win from Outer Critics Circle; two nominations and one win from Lucille Lortel; two Drama League nominations; and a Theatre World award.
Lavin’s film and television career continued to flourish into the 21st century. Her film career included roles in 2014’s A Short History of Decay, 2017’s How to Be a Latin Lover, and 2019’s Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase. Her small screen appearances include Sean Saves the World, 9JKL, Bones, Santa Clarita Diet, Elsbeth, and many more. Coming in 2025, Linda Lavin will be found in the Hulu original Mid-Century Modern, a comedy series inspired by Golden Girls. The series, which also stars Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, and Nathan Lee Graham, follows three gay men who move to Palm Springs, CA to spend their golden years in the desert paradise. Lavin will be seen taking on a character inspired by Estelle Getty, playing opposite Lane’s Bea Arthur-inspired role.
Linda Lavin is survived by her third husband, Steve Bakunas, as well as her step children and grandchildren.