Linda Lavin, TV's 'Alice' & a Tony Winner, Dies at 87

Linda Lavin, a TV icon known for her work as the star of "Alice" — and whose latest work includes the new series "No Good Deed" and the forthcoming "Mid-Century Modern" — died Sunday at 87.

Remarkably active, she died "unexpectedly due to complications from recently discovered lung cancer," her rep confirmed to Deadline.

Hulu and 20th Television — the companies behind "Mid-Century Modern" — said in a joint statement, "Our deepest and heartfelt condolences go to Linda Lavin’s family and loved ones. She was a legend in our industry, bringing her tremendous talent to audiences for over seven decades. She will be forever missed by her 'Mid-Century Modern' family, as we mourn this incredible loss together.”

Emmy winner Dan Bucatinsky posted, "Heartbroken. Devastated. RIP my lovely Linda Lavin. You made everyone and everything better. You were a dear, dear friend. Your memory will be a blessing. I love you always. 💔"

Debra Messing replied to his post, "Oh nooooooooo!! What a heartwrenchinvg loss. I’m so sorry. 💔"

Lavin's sudden departure seemed destined to elicit more remembrances from her peers and fans in the coming days.

Lavin was born October 15, 1937, in Portland, Maine. On the stage from the age of 5, she studied acting in New York City and cut her teeth in many stage productions.

Personally discovered by Hal Prince, she made her Broadway debut in 1962's "A Family Affair," a show by the great John Kander prior to his legendary work with Fred Ebb. She also appeared in "It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman" (1966), in which she performed a love song about Superman, and famously sang the impossibly long-winded "The Boy from..." — a parody of "The Girl from Ipanema" — in "The Mad Show" (1966).

That song was written by future theater icon Stephen Sondheim.

She earned her first of an incredible six Tony nominations for Neil Simon's "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" in 1970, going on to win for Simon's "Broadway Bound" in 1987. Other nominations were for "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1998), "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife" (2001), "Collected Stories" (2010), and "The Lyons" (2012).

But before she became a Broadway institution, she made her most indelible impact on TV. She debuted on a 1963 episode of "The Doctors and the Nurses," and in 1967 was featured in a TV adaptation of the musical "Damn Yankees!" with Phil Silvers and Lee Remick.

She guested on "Rhoda" (1974) and "Phyllis" (1976) and made her first big impression in a series of appearances on "Barney Miller" (1975-1976) as Det. Janice Wentworth.

Shortly thereafter, she landed the starring role of Alice Hyatt on "Alice," based on the 1974 Martin Scorsese film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," for which Ellen Burstyn had won the Oscar.

Reimagined as a working-class sitcom, "Alice" featured Lavin as a waitress in a greasy spoon surrounded by a gruff cook (Vic Tayback), a "dingy chick" (fellow Broadway performer Beth Howland) and a spitfire named Flo (Polly Holliday). A single mom, Alice struggled to overcome a lagging economy while raising her young son (Philip McKeon) and attempting to find work as a singer.

Though nominated for the Emmy for the show in 1979, she never won. She did receive back-to-back Golden Globes for the series, in 1978 and 1979, and she sang its theme song, "There's a New Girl in Town."

"Alice" proved a ratings juggernaut, logging 200-plus episodes between 1976 and 1985. It also allowed her to use her character as a jumping-off point for speaking out on behalf of the controversial Equal Rights Amendment. She would make speeches in Alice's instantly recognizable pink uniform.

Other TV work included “Room for Two” (1992-1993), “Conrad Bloom” (1998), “Courage the Cowardly Dog” (voice; 2002), “Sean Saves the World” (2013-2014) with Sean Hayes, “The Good Wife” (2014-2015), “9JKL” (2017-2018), “Santa Clarita Diet” (2019), “Yvette Slosch, Agent” (2020) and “B Positive” (2020-2022).

After stealing scenes with a small but colorful role in the current Lisa Kudrow/Ray Romano hit "No Good Deed," Lavin was set to be one of the anchors of "Mid-Century Modern," often framed as a gay "Golden Girls," that also stars Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer and Nathan Lee Graham. Deadline reports seven of 10 episodes had been shot, the most recent just a couple of weeks ago.

The show's creatives, Max Mutchnick, David Kohan and James Murrows, said in a statement, "Working with Linda was one of the highlights of our careers,” Mutchnick, Kohan and Burrows said. “She was a magnificent actress, singer, musician, and a heat seeking missile with a joke. But more significantly, she was a beautiful soul. Deep, joyful, generous and loving. She made our days better. The entire staff and crew will miss her beyond measure. We are better for having known her.”

Rarely utilized on the big screen, she did appear in the 1984 hit "The Muppets Take Manhattan"; the broad comedy "How to Be a Latin Lover" (2017); and the 2021 Nicole Kidman-Javier Bardem biopic "Being the Ricardos," about the tumultuous relationship between Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, for Aaron Sorkin.

Lavin was married 1969-1981 to actor Ron Leibman, and from 1982-1992 to actor Kip Niven, both of whom died in 2019. She is survived by her husband of nearly 20 years, Steve Bakunas, with whom she made her final red-carpet appearance, in support of "No Good Deed," on December 4.