Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor Cloris Leachman, best known for playing Phyllis on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, died Wednesday of natural causes at her home in Encinitas, California, according to spokesperson Monique Moss. She was 94.
Leachman won eight Emmy Awards in her highly decorated television career. She insisted that she went into every awards night, assuming she was not going home with an award.
In a 2015 interview, she told the TV academy, “I never had a speech because I never thought I was going to win. But if you are good at what you do — and I always intend to be good at what I do — then the acclaim is just the follow-through. But it is a wonderful feeling.”
Leachman also won an Oscar for best-supporting actress in the 1971 film – The Last Picture Show, in which she played Ruth Popper, the lonely wife of the town’s high school football coach.
She played Frau Blücher in Mel Brooks’ comedy classic Young Frankenstein. Brooked tweeted Wednesday, “Such sad news—Cloris was insanely talented. She could make you laugh or cry at the drop of a hat. Always such a pleasure to have on set. Every time I hear a horse whinny I will forever think of Cloris’ unforgettable Frau Blücher. She is irreplaceable, and will be greatly missed.”
Cast member Ed Asner tweeted a photo of himself with Leachman, saying, “A picture from the last time I saw you. Always beautiful. Nothing I could say would top the enormity of my love for you. Until we meet again darling.”
In a 2015 interview with NBC, Leachman struggled to get out of a chair. She said at the time, “I’m going to get up. It’s very difficult. I can get this far.”
Born on April 30, 1926, in Des Moines, Iowa, Leachman was among the many famous actors who studied at Northwestern University. She later moved to Chicago and competed in the 1946 Miss America competition as Miss Illinois.
Juliet Green, longtime manager of Leachman, said in a statement after her death, “She loved her children and her grandchildren ferociously. A lifelong vegetarian, she was a passionate advocate for animal rights. The family requests that any donations in her name be made to PETA or Last Chance for Animals.” Leachman is survived by her sons Morgan Englund, Adam Englund, and George Howe Englund Jr., and her daughter, Dinah Englund, according to NBC News.
