Rebecca Luker, the Broadway actress who won Tony nominations for “Mary Poppins”, “The Music Man” and “Show Boat”, died on Wednesday in Manhattan, her agent told the New York Times. She was 59 years old.
She had been diagnosed with ALS last year.
Luker graced both the stage and the screen, although she was best known for her memorable roles on Broadway.
She began her three-decade career on Broadway as a replacement for the role of Christine Daaé in “The Phantom of the Opera” from 1988 to 1991. Throughout the 1990s, she played roles in “The Secret Garden”, “Show Boat” “and” The Sound of Music “.
Luker won his first of three Tony nominations in 1995 for playing Magnolia on “Show Boat”. His later works in “The Music Man” (2000) and “Mary Poppins” (2007) would eventually lead to his second and third nods.
With the passing of the 2000s, Luker continued to perform on Broadway, but began to assume roles in film and television as well. Beginning with her performance in the 2000 TV movie “Cupid & Cate”, the actress went on to appear in “The Good Wife”, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “NCIS: New Orleans”. She played Michele Downey on “Bull” this year in her final role.
The star had his last performance on stage in the Kennedy Center’s 2019 production of “Footloose”, in which he played the narrow-minded wife of a small-town minister. At that time, she also appeared in three feature films, including “The Rewrite” from 2014.
In June, Luker offered a virtual benefit to ALS called “At home with Rebecca Luker”. She sang during the pre-recorded concert, raising funds and raising awareness about the disease.
Luker leaves her husband, actor Danny Burstein; brother Roger; sister Suzanne; mother Martha Hales; and stepfather Lamar Hales.