Cloris Leachman, best known for roles in film and television classics such as “Young Frankenstein” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” has died at age 94.
The famed actress — an Oscar winner and nine-time Emmy winner who could do it all — passed away at her home in Encinitas, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 27, Page Six has confirmed. She died of natural causes. TMZ first reported the news.
“It’s been my privilege to work with Cloris Leachman, one of the most fearless actresses of our time,” her longtime manager Juliet Green told Page Six in a statement. “There was no one like Cloris. With a single look she had the ability to break your heart or make you laugh ’till the tears ran down your face. You never knew what Cloris was going to say or do and that unpredictable quality was part of her unparalleled magic.”
Green added, “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.”
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 30, 1926, Leachman was the eldest of three sisters. Upon graduating high school, she attended Illinois State University to study drama, before enrolling in Northwestern University. After competing in the Miss America pageant in 1946, she began appearing on Broadway and the big and small screens.
Her break-through came in 1957 with a starring role as Timmy’s mom Ruth in the TV series “Lassie.” However, true stardom arrived in 1969 with her scene-stealing turn as Phyllis, the stylish and lovably narcissistic neighbor of Mary Richards in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
Equally adept at slapstick comedy and legitimate drama, Leachman was nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar for her turn in 1971’s haunting small town elegy, “The Last Picture Show.” She went on to win the Academy Award for her role as a neglected Texas wife having an affair with a much younger man in the film.
“I’m at a point where I’m free to go out and have a little fun with my career,” Leachman said the year after winning the film industry’s top honor. “Some Oscar winners have dropped out of sight, as if they were standing on a trapdoor. Others picked it up and ran with it. I’m going to run with it.”
The enduring icon received a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a motion picture — comedy or musical for her role in “Young Frankenstein” in 1975, but she took home the prize the following year for best actress in a television series — comedy or musical for “Phyllis,” a CBS spinoff based on her character from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
She received her star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in 1980.
Survived by four children, Leachman’s marriage to producer George Englund ended in 1979 after 26 years together.
“I think husbands and wives should live in separate houses. If there’s enough money, the children should live in a third,” she once said.
In recent years, Leachman earned acclaim opposite Adam Sandler in James L. Brooks’ “Spanglish,” and appeared on numerous television shows, including “Touched by an Angel,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” “Raising Hope” and Disney’s “Phineas and Ferb.”
In 2008, the notoriously outrageous Leachman set the record for being the oldest contestant to compete on “Dancing with the Stars,” at the age of 82. She later showed off her flamboyant ballroom skills at a party toasting the Starz series, “American Gods,” last spring.
“She was one of the last to leave and joked on the way out she was going to another bar,” a partygoer told Page Six at the time. “People were ditching their own VIP tables to go hang out with her. She was bumping and grinding with her guests.”
Leachman most recently appeared opposite Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser in the 2019 “Mad About You” reboot and added her vocal talents to 2020’s DreamWorks sequel “The Croods: A New Age.” She has two films, the Alzheimer’s drama “Not to Forget” and the comedy “High Holiday,” currently in the post-production stage.
In 2018, the veteran actress credited health awareness for her long-term stamina.
“I’ve always been sort of interested in health since I was a little girl,” Leachman told the Associated Press at the time. “It’s just what I reach for.”
