Iconic Tony winning actress and ‘Alice’ star Linda Lavin dies at 87
On Stage and Screen, a Trailblazing Career
Linda Lavin, a veteran stage and television actress known for her Emmy nominated role in the sitcom Alice and her Tony win on Broadway Bound, died on December 29 at age 87. She died from complications related to recently discovered lung cancer in Los Angeles, said Lavin’s representative.
One Hundred Year Life and Broadway beginnings.
Lavin was born and raised in Portland, ME to stage acting as a child. She graduated from the College of William and Mary and moved to New York City where she did nightclubs and theatrical units. On Broadway, Lavin made her debut in the 1960s and was nominated for her first Tony in 1970, for Neil Simon’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers. She broke through with a role in the musical It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… The legendary Hal Prince directs it, and it’s Superman.
A Tony Winning Success and a Broadway Legacy
Lavin won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role in Simon’s Broadway Bound when that opened on Broadway in 1987. She had earned acclaim two decades earlier for her Broadway contributions, including a Tony nominated performance in Donald Margulies’ Collected Stories in 2012.
Television Stardom: Alice and Beyond
In the mid 1970s she moved to Hollywood where she became nationally known on television as the title character in CBS’s Alice. The show, based on Martin Scorsese’s film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, on which it was based, ran for nine seasons and 202 episodes and made Lavin a household name. Working mothers across America loved her portrayal of widowed waitress Alice Hyatt … raising a young son. But the show’s catchiest theme was the song ‘There’s a New Girl in Town,’ sung by Lavin.
Beyond Alice, Lavin’s television career really took off with memorable roles in Barney Miller, Sean Saves the World, 9JKL, B Positive, and most recently No Good Deed for Netflix. Hulu’s Mid Century Modern is still in production—one of her final projects.
A Legacy of Humor and Grace
Peers and producers alike loved Lavin. Creators Max Mutchnick, David Kohan and James Burrows said she was “a magnificent actress, singer, musician and a heat seeking missile with a joke …a beautiful soul.” The warmth, the kindness, the impeccable comedic timing,’ said Netflix producer Liz Feldman in one statement.
Dedication to Her Craft
She dedicated her craft right up to her last months. Since then, Lavin promoted No Good Deed during its December 4 premiere, as well as continued filming on Mid Century Modern, where she starred opposite Nathan Lane and Matt Bomer.https://nypost.com/2024/12/30/entertainment/linda-lavin-tony-winning-broadway-actress-who-starred-in-the-sitcom-alice-dead-at-87/
Personal Life and Tributes
‘Linda Lavin was — and will always be — Hollywood royalty,’ producer Aaron Kaplan recalled the impact she had, while Hulu and 20th Television called her ‘a legend in our industry.’
By her side when she died was her husband of 19 years, Steve Bakunas, who survives her. She was known as a loving and generous spirit who left an indelible mark on those who knew her and millions who admired her work.
Remembering Linda Lavin
The stage and the screen have offered Linda Lavin, who died Sunday at the age of 87, nearly seven decades of exceptional performances as an actress, singer, writer and director. Lavin’s talent, especially, her humor and humanity, will inspire future generations of artists from her Tony winning turn in the Broadway Bound to her beloved role as Alice Hyatt.
Her work in theatre, television, and on the hearts of audiences stands as her life’s work. read morehttps://usavartalu.com/
