Linda Lavigne is an award-winning actress known for starring in films Beloved sitcom “Alice” He died. She was 87 years old.
Lavigne was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and died Sunday from complications of the disease, a representative told The Associated Press.
She was active in the weeks before her death, appearing earlier this month at the Los Angeles premiere of the Netflix series “No Good Deed,” in which she appeared.
Hollywood stars who died in 2024: photos
Linda Lavin is dead. The actress was 87. (CBS via Getty Images)
It seems that Lavigne knew from a young age that she was destined for a life as an actress, and moved on New York City After graduating from college. Her first big break came when she participated in a Broadway musical called It's a Bird… It's a Plane… It's Superman.
In 1969, she was nominated for her first Tony Award for her work in “Last of the Red Hot Lovers.”
Linda Lavigne and her husband, Steve Bakunas, at the Los Angeles premiere of No Good Deed at Tudum Theater on December 4, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
By the 1970s, she moved to Los Angeles, where she began getting jobs as a television actress. She appeared in an episode of “Rhoda” and then landed a small recurring role on “Barney Miller.”
In 1976, she was chosen to star in a new CBS comedy series, based on Ellen Burstyn's Oscar-winning comedy-drama Waitress, called Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.
The title was shortened to “Alice,” and Lavigne became a role model for working mothers like Alice Hyatt, a widowed mother with a 12-year-old son who worked at a roadside diner outside Phoenix. The show, on which Lavigne sang the theme song “There's a New Girl in Town,” ran from 1976 to 1985.
“Alice” cast from left to right: Polly Holiday as “Flo” Florence Jean Castleberry; Vic Tyback as diner owner Mel Sharples; Philip McKeown as Tommy, Alice's son; Linda Lavin as Alice Hyatt; and Beth Howland as Vera Louise Gorman. (Getty Images)
The show turned “Kiss my grits” into a catchphrase and co-starred Polly Holliday as waitress Flo and Vic Tayback as the rude 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 such a hit that “All in the Family” debuted on Sunday nights in October 1977. It was among the top 10 primetime series in four of the next five seasons. Variety magazine listed it as one of the best workplace comedies of all time.
“Alice” is based on the Academy Award-winning film “Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.” (CBS via Getty Images)
When “Alice” ended, Lavigne continued working in Hollywood, despite her departure Back to Broadway For some time. In 1987, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress 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 role in the 1990 musical “Gypsy.” Her last role there was in 2016 in “Our Mother’s Short Affair.”
Linda Lavigne attends the Los Angeles premiere of Amazon Studios' “Being The Ricardos” at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on December 6, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. (Axel/Power-Griffin/MovieMagic)
Lavigne continued to work until her death. In addition to her work on No Good Deed, she appeared in an episode of Elspath this year. Last year, she voiced herself in 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.
