Linda Lavin, a Broadway actress and Tony Award winner, has died. She was 87.
Lavin, who appeared on Barney Miller before launching her own television series, Alice, died on Sunday, December 29, according to PEOPLE. Her agent informed PEOPLE that she “passed unexpectedly due to complications from recently discovered lung cancer.” Deadline was the first to report the story.
The actress returned to Broadway in the 1980s, winning a Tony in 1987, and continued to star on television and in films. Just a few weeks before her death, Lavin was promoting her new Netflix series, No Good Deed, and filming her next Hulu series, Mid-Century Modern.
Lavin was born in Portland, Maine, in 1937. Both sets of grandparents immigrated from Russia, and her family was active in the local Jewish society. Her mother, a former singer, urged her to pursue a career in theater.
“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 the magazine PEOPLE in 1992. “It’s still me. “I’m still her.”
She performed throughout high school and while attending William & Mary College in Virginia. She ultimately arrived in New York City. “It took me 10 years to become established in New York,” she told PEOPLE in 1978. In 1966, she performed in the renowned Broadway failure. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, and it’s Superman.
Although the musical failed, Lavin sang the show’s most renowned song, “You’ve Got Possibilities.” She first heard the song during her audition for the musical, as she revealed to BroadwayWorld in 2018.
“If you’ve seen the concert and heard the song, you’ll know it’s difficult to learn.” It has 87 verses and changes keys a million times,” she explained. The producers preferred a blonde, so she wore a wig to the audition. “By that time, I knew the song backwards and forwards, and they gave me the part right there and then,” she shared.
Other early theatrical credits for Lavin were 1967’s Something Different, 1970’s Paul Sills’ Story Theatre, and 1969’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers, for which she received a Tony nomination. In 1969, she married actor Ron Leibman, and they relocated to Los Angeles in 1973.
Her early television appearances included episodes of The Nurses, Rhoda, Harry O, and Kaz. She received a recurring role as Detective Janice Wentworth on Barney Miller, appearing in the first two seasons.
Executives were delighted by her work on Barney Miller and put her in Alice, a sitcom based on Ellen Burstyn’s Oscar-winning performance in 1974’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. In 1978, Lavin expressed concern, posing the question, “How can you create something that has already achieved such success?”
However, she succeeded, and the program in which she portrayed a widow and single mother working as a server in Phoenix was a success. Philip McKeon portrayed her son. Lavin, who has no children, told PEOPLE that she took the position seriously enough to seek assistance from Gloria Steinem.
“Alice’s foremost responsibility is to her kid, but her first responsibility is to herself,” she told me. “Many programs feature women backbiting, clawing, and competing for men’s attention. I want this program to highlight women who are lonely, bold, and have a sense of humor. Alice is an extremely terrified lady. What I prefer is to make people laugh while also reaching out to millions and saying, “You’re not alone.”
Alice ran from 1976 until 1985. Lavin garnered one Emmy nomination and won two Golden Globes. In 2013, she told the Los Angeles Times that the program had politicized her and elevated her to the status of a feminist icon. She explained, “They asked me to speak at events.” “I had never received an invitation to speak publicly before.” I was a musical comedy actress. She needed to become “educated” on critical matters.
In 1981, she and Leibman divorced. In 1982, she married actor-director Clifford “Kip” Niven and became stepmother to his two children. They got divorced in 1992. During the 1991 divorce procedures, she accused him of mental and emotional maltreatment, infidelity, and “profligate spending” of her money. She told PEOPLE in 1992 that testifying was both “painful and empowering.”
Lavin returned to Broadway in the late 1980s, winning a Tony Award for the play Broadway Bound. She eventually garnered four additional nominations, including for 1998’s The Diary of Anne Frank and 2012’s The Lyons. Throughout her life, she performed in cabarets.
Lavin featured in the 1992 television series Room for Two and appeared in episodes of The Sopranos, The Good Wife, Bones, The O.C., and Elsbeth. She also played a major part in the 2013 comedy Sean Saves the World. She began appearing on the CBS comedy B Positive in 2020 and had a recurring role in the Netflix limited series No Good Deed in 2024. Her film credits include Damn Yankees! (1967), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), The Intern (2015), and Being the Ricardos (2021).
Lavin, who stars as Phyllis in No Good Deed opposite Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano, attended the show’s Los Angeles premiere on December 4. On the occasion, she told PEOPLE that she had recently done more work on the big screen. “That is pretty much where my career is going right now. I always go with the material,” she explained.
The diva also discussed how she draws inspiration for her performances from her daily life. “As an actor, I like to expose myself through the character,” she told PEOPLE. “I have a fantastic life, a lovely spouse [Steve Bakunas], who is standing over there, and I have a really rich and full life, so I’m pleased to be here. I’m excited to be here at this point in my life. I’m very appreciative.
Liz Feldman, the series’ creator, sent a lovely homage to the performer on Instagram, writing, “Working with you once was an honor and a delight. I enjoyed writing for you on 9JKL all those years ago. I just adored you. Being with you. Within your magnetic orbit. The opportunity to work together again on No Good Deed was just a blessing. You were, as always, extremely courteous, completely amusing, and pitch-perfect. You were always prepared and brimming with enthusiasm. Your warmth and kindness were unparalleled.”
Rolling Stone said that Lavin had recorded seven episodes of Mid-Century Modern prior to the holidays, with filming set to resume in January. Following Lavin’s death, producers Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, along with director and executive producer James Burrows, released a joint statement saying, “Working with Linda was one of the highlights of our careers.” She was not only an amazing actor, singer, and musician, but also a charismatic individual with a great sense of humor. But, most importantly, she was a wonderful soul. Deep, happy, giving, and kind. She made our days better. The entire team and crew will miss her tremendously. We’re better for having known her.”
Following Lavin’s passing, several of her co-stars posted memories of her on social media. Patricia Heaton, who co-starred with her in Room for Two, described her as “a true friend and a total force of nature” in a post on X, while Criminal Minds actor Joe Mantegna said, “One of the rarest gifts in life is to make a ‘new’ old friend.” Linda Lavin provided that for me and my family.”
“There used to be a saying in the industry that if you made it to 70, things would start picking up,” she said to The New York Times in 2014. They were right.
In 2005, Lavin married artist and percussionist Steve Bakunas, whom she had met in 1999. “I had no interest in another romance or marriage,” she said to CBS in 2020, adding that their closeness “surprised the hell outta me.”
“I didn’t think I was very adept at relationships.” I’ve come to realize that relationships require effort, a task I am willing to undertake alongside him. Someone told me, “Linda, wear life like a loose garment.” “Lighten up!” Bakunas also cooperated with her on her cabaret performance.
Bakunas succeeds Lavin.