Linda Lavin was a Tony Award-winning Broadway actress and singer who starred on TV in the hit sitcom “Alice.”
- Died: December 29, 2024 (Who else died on December 29?)
- Details of death: Died in Los Angeles of complications from lung cancer at the age of 87.
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Linda Lavin’s legacy
For many, Lavin was best known as Alice Hyatt, the focus of the long-running sitcom “Alice.” It was her first major onscreen role, and over the course of nine seasons, she became a household name. Playing a mom who gave up her dream of singing to become a waitress at a diner, Lavin starred alongside Vic Tayback (1930–1990), Beth Howland (1941–2015), Polly Holliday, and Philip McKeon (1964–2019). She received an Emmy Award nomination and won two Golden Globes for her performance on “Alice.” A talented singer, Lavin was able to showcase her talent on the show. Alice sometimes performed at nightclubs like Vinnie’s House of Veal, and Lavin sang the show’s theme song.
Before Alice Hyatt ever served her first burger, Lavin was an established stage actress. She debuted on Broadway in 1962, appearing in several small roles in the musical “A Family Affair.” By the mid-1960s, she had become a star, with a featured role in “It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman,” and in 1970, she received her first Tony Award nomination for “The Last of the Red Hot Lovers.”
After taking time off from Broadway to star in “Alice,” Lavin made her triumphant return in 1986, starring in Neil Simon’s (1927–2018) “Broadway Bound.” The performance won Lavin a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She earned four more Tony nominations in the 1990s through 2010s, for “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife,” “Collected Stories,” and “The Lyons.” For her long and distinguished career on and off Broadway, Lavin was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2010.
Though “Alice” was Lavin’s biggest TV success, it was far from her only notable role on the small screen. Prior to “Alice,” she had a recurring role on “Barney Miller” and made appearances on shows like “Rhoda” and “Phyllis.” Later, she had starring roles on the short-lived series “Room for Two,” “Sean Saves the World,” “9JKL,” “Yvette Slosch, Agent,” and “B Positive.” She had memorable arcs on “The O.C.,” “The Good Wife,” and “Santa Clarita Diet,” and her many guest appearances included episodes of “The Muppet Show,” “Touched by an Angel,” “The Sopranos,” “Bones,” and “Elsbeth.” She also appeared in such movies as “The Muppets Take Manhattan” and “Being the Ricardos.”
Notable quote
“I sang from the time I was a baby. The story about me is that I stood up in my crib before I spoke and sang ‘God Bless America.’ This may be apocryphal but my mother dined out on it plenty.” — from a 2017 essay for The New York Times
Tributes to Linda Lavin
Full obituary: The New York Times
