Cloris Leachman dies at 94

Prolific actress Cloris Leachman, who won an Oscar for her turn in the 1971 drama The Last Picture Show, and played Phyllis Lindstrom on a classic sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show and in his own spinoff, he died at 94.

She died Wednesday of natural causes in Encinitas, California, her representatives said.

“I was privileged to work with Cloris Leachman, one of the most fearless actresses of our time,” said her agent, Juliet Green, in a statement to Yahoo Entertainment. “There was no one like Cloris. With a single glance she had the ability to break your heart or make you laugh until tears were streaming down your face. You never knew what Cloris was going to say or do and that unpredictable quality was part of his incomparable magic. She loved her children and grandchildren fiercely. A lifelong vegetarian, she was a passionate advocate for animal rights. The family asks that any donation on their behalf be made to PETA or Last Chance for Animals. “

In fact, Leachman excelled in both comic and dramatic performances, racking up nearly 300 credits as an actor over seven decades. Along the way, she won eight primetime Emmys individually for acting – more than anyone except Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who has the same number – as well as that Oscar.

Leachman seemed to have genuinely maintained his love of acting, even in his later years.

“[The work] find me and it’s the most amazing thing, ”she told her local newspaper, Des Moines Register in August 2019. “So many times I thought, ‘Oh God, what were they thinking? How did they connect me to this part? ‘If you asked me, I wouldn’t have thought of myself for this role or this production, but they do and it comes to me and it means more to me than anything. “

Leachman decided in third grade, after his teacher asked her to read to the class, that she wanted to be in front of a crowd. When she was 11, she won a role on a radio show and went on to study theater at Illinois State University and Northwestern University. During that time, she won the Miss Chicago title and competed in the 1946 Miss America contest. And although she did not win, she ended up moving to New York to study acting with Elia Kazan.

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She made her Broadway debut in 1948 and starred alongside Katharine Hepburn in As you like for several months.

Among his first TV credits is an episode of Phillip Morris Playhouse and the original Lassie.

She had more than 20 years of acting as an actress before getting her Oscar winning role from Ruth Popper in Peter Bogdanovich The Last Picture Show. She has also impressed onscreen in several Mel Brooks films, including the 1974 comedy classic Young frankenstein. On Wednesday, Brooks praised his frequent collaborator as “incredibly talented”.

In the meantime, Leachman joined the cast of Mary Tyler Moore’s innovative sitcom. Leachman’s character, Mary’s neurotic landlord and friend, was so popular that she had her own show, Phyllis, which lasted two seasons, starting in 1975.

“I listened [Phyllis is] neurotic. I didn’t find that word funny, ”Leachman told the Televison Academy. “I decided to be perfect. And there is nothing more boring than someone perfect. You know, you’re a whore in the room and a chauffeur in the cars, and you’re a chef in the kitchen … I think she was unbearable. “

Later, she appeared regularly in The facts of life and Malcom in the middle, raising hope and Crazy for You. In September 2008, she competed in Dancing with the stars and placed in seventh.

Throughout this time, she also worked on films Prancer, The Beverly Hillbillies, Spanish and dozens of others.

She left four children: Adam, Dinah, George Jr. and Morgan.

In the wake of his death, his friends, colleagues and fans paid tribute. Here are a few:

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