Multiple award-winning American actress and comedian, Cloris Leachman has died at the age of 94.
The actress is best remembered for playing the role of a lonely housewife in “The Last Picture Show” and a comedic delight as the fearsome Frau Blücher in “Young Frankenstein” and self-absorbed neighbor Phyllis on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
According to her publicist, Monique Moss, Leachman died in her sleep of natural causes at her home in Encinitas, California with her daughter by her side.
Moss in a statement said;
It’s been my privilege to work with Cloris Leachman, one of the most fearless actresses of our time. 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. We pray that God grants rest to her soul.
On the other hand, the actress’ longtime manager Juliet Green said there was no one like her.
Green in a statement said;
It’s been my privilege to work with Cloris Leachman, one of the most fearless actresses of our time.
The daffy, self-absorbed Phyllis, a character she claimed was close to her own persona, brought the actress two Emmys as a featured actress in a series during the mid-’70s and made Leachman a household name.
Prior to her death, Leachman won a supporting actress Oscar for the role she played in Peter Bogdanovich’s elegiac, “The Last Picture Show.”
Overnight success for the actress, however, came only after two decades of hard work in theater, television and some films. Leachman was in her 40s when stardom finally hit.
Although she started out as Miss Chicago in the Miss America Pageant, Leachman willingly accepted unglamorous screen roles.
May her soul Rest In Peace.
