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 in a classic sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show and on her own fallout, died at the age of 94.

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

“It has been my privilege to work with Cloris Leachman, one of the most fearless actresses of our time,” her manager, Juliet Green, said in a statement to Yahoo Entertainment. “There was no one like Cloris. With just one look, she had the ability to break your heart or make you laugh until tears rolled down your face. You never knew what Cloris was going to say or do and that unpredictable quality was part of his unsurpassed magic. She fiercely loved her children and grandchildren. A long-time vegetarian, she was an ardent advocate for animal rights. The family requests that any donation in their name be made to PETA or Last Chance for Animals. “

Indeed, Leachman excelled at both comedic and dramatic performances, racking up nearly 300 acting credits in seven decades. Along the way, she’s won eight Primetime Emmys as an actor – more than anyone except Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who has the same number – as well as this Oscar.

Leachman seemed to have genuinely retained his love for the theater, even in his later years.

“[The work] finds me and that’s the most incredible thing, ”she told her city newspaper, the Des Moines Register in August 2019. “So many times I said, ‘Oh my God, what were they thinking? How did they connect me to this part? If you had 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 had decided in third grade, after her teacher asked her to read to the class, that she wanted to be in front of a crowd. At the age of 11, she won a role on a radio show and went on to study drama at Illinois State University and Northwestern University. During this time, she won the title of Miss Chicago and entered the 1946 Miss America pageant. 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 she starred alongside Katharine Hepburn in As you like it for several months.

Among his first TV credits, there is an episode of Phillip morris playhouse and the original Kid.

She had over 20 years of acting work behind her before landing her Oscar-winning role as Ruth Popper in Peter Bogdanovich’s The last picture show. She has also impressed onscreen in several Mel Brooks films, including the 1974 comedy classic. Young Frankenstein. Brooks on Wednesday praised his frequent collaborator as “incredibly talented.”

In between, Leachman joined the cast of Mary Tyler Moore’s groundbreaking sitcom. The owner and neurotic friend of Mary’s Leachman character was so popular that she got her own show, Phyllis, which lasted for two seasons from 1975.

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

She later appeared regularly on The facts of life and Malcom in the middle, arouse hope and Crazy of you. In September 2008, she competed on Dancing with the stars and placed seventh.

During this time she also worked on films Prance, The Beverly Hillbillies, Spanglish and dozens of others.

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

Following his death, his friends, colleagues and fans paid tribute to him. Here are just a few:

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