Linda Lavin, a Tony Award-winning actress who transformed from Broadway star to television icon as the beloved lead character in the sitcom “Alice” before returning triumphantly to the stage, died Sunday, December 29, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. She was 87.
Her representative confirmed she “passed unexpectedly due to complications from recently discovered lung cancer.” The news came just weeks after Lavin attended the Los Angeles premiere of her Netflix series “No Good Deed” on December 4, where she starred alongside Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano.
Born in Portland, Maine in 1937 to Russian immigrant families active in the local Jewish community, Lavin was encouraged toward theater by her mother, a singer. “There’s a picture of me at 1 1/2 — I use it at the end of my show — where I’m in my rompers, looking out at the world with wonder and joy and hope,” Lavin told PEOPLE in 1992. “That’s still me. I am still her.”
After studying theater at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, Lavin moved to New York City where she spent a decade building her career, as she later revealed to a media outlet in 1978. Her breakthrough finally arrived in 1966 with the Broadway production “It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman,” where she performed the musical’s signature number, “You’ve Got Possibilities.”
Her early television career included appearances on “The Nurses,” “Rhoda,” “Harry O,” and “Kaz.” After earning her first Tony nomination in 1969 for “Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” Lavin moved to Los Angeles in 1973 with her first husband, actor Ron Leibman. She secured a recurring role as Detective Janice Wentworth on “Barney Miller” before landing her defining role as Alice Hyatt.
The show “Alice,” based on Ellen Burstyn’s Oscar-winning role in 1974’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” ran from 1976 to 1985. Initially worried about following Burstyn’s performance, Lavin sought advice from Gloria Steinem about portraying a single working mother. The role earned her two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy nomination.
In a 1978 statement to the media, Lavin explained that while Alice’s main concern was caring for her child, she believed Alice needed to prioritize herself first. She emphasized her desire for the show to depict women experiencing loneliness while maintaining courage and humor. Lavin described her character as someone experiencing intense fear and explained that her goal was to combine humor with a deeper connection to viewers by letting them know they weren’t facing their struggles alone.
Returning to Broadway in the late 1980s, Lavin won a Tony Award for “Broadway Bound” in 1987. She earned four more Tony nominations over her career, including for “The Diary of Anne Frank” (1998) and “The Lyons” (2012). Her extensive film credits included “Damn Yankees!” (1967), “The Muppets Take Manhattan” (1984), “The Intern” (2015), and “Being the Ricardos” (2021).
At the time of her death, Lavin had completed seven episodes of the upcoming Hulu series “Mid-Century Modern.” Series producers Max Mutchnick, David Kohan, and director James Burrows called her “a magnificent actress, singer, musician, and a heat-seeking missile ” with a joke. But more significantly, she was a beautiful soul.”
At the “No Good Deed” premiere, Lavin discussed how her career path naturally evolved towards this material. During the event, she expressed contentment with her life, acknowledging her fulfilling marriage and expressing gratitude for her continued ability to work and perform at this career stage.
Her personal life included three marriages. She was first married to actor Ron Leibman from 1969 to 1981, followed by a marriage to actor-director Clifford “Kip” Niven from 1982 to 1992. Legal proceedings marked the end of her marriage to Niven in 1991, where she filed allegations of mental and emotional abuse, infidelity, and misuse of her financial resources. Her third marriage in 2005 to artist and drummer Steve Bakunas proved more enduring.
In a 2020 interview, she admitted that finding love again had been unexpected, as she had completely dismissed the possibility of another relationship or marriage before meeting Bakunas.
