On Sunday, December 29, 2024, Linda Lavin, the Tony Award-winning actress known for her transformation from Broadway star to television icon with her lead role in the sitcom “Alice,” passed away in Los Angeles, California. She was 87. This news follows her triumphant return to the stage.
Lavin’s representative confirmed her unexpected death, attributing it to complications from recently diagnosed lung cancer. Just weeks earlier, Lavin had attended the Los Angeles premiere of her Netflix series “No Good Deed” on December 4, where she starred alongside Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano.
Lavin was born in 1937 to Russian immigrant families in Portland, Maine, and was actively involved in the local Jewish community. Her passion for theater was cultivated by her mother, a singer. In a 1992 interview with PEOPLE, Lavin said, “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. That’s still me. I am still her.”
After studying theater at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, Lavin relocated to New York City where she spent ten years developing her career. Her big break came 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.”
In her early television career, Lavin appeared on shows such as “The Nurses,” “Rhoda,” “Harry O,” and “Kaz.” After 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 played Detective Janice Wentworth on “Barney Miller” before securing her iconic role as Alice Hyatt.
The sitcom “Alice,” inspired by Ellen Burstyn’s Oscar-winning role in 1974’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” aired from 1976 to 1985. Lavin, initially apprehensive about succeeding Burstyn, sought advice from Gloria Steinem on portraying a single working mother. Her performance garnered two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy nomination.
In 1978, Lavin stated that Alice’s primary focus was her child’s welfare, but it was important for Alice to prioritize herself. She expressed the importance of the show reflecting women dealing with loneliness while exhibiting courage and humor. Lavin characterized Alice as a person experiencing deep fear and aimed to blend humor with a deeper connection to her audience, assuring them they were not alone in their struggles.
Lavin returned to Broadway in the late 1980s and received a Tony Award for “Broadway Bound” in 1987. She was nominated four additional times for Tony Awards throughout her career, including for “The Diary of Anne Frank” (1998) and “The Lyons” (2012). She also had extensive film credits, including “Damn Yankees!” (1967), “The Muppets Take Manhattan” (1984), “The Intern” (2015), and “Being the Ricardos” (2021).
At the time of her death, Lavin had finished filming seven episodes of the upcoming Hulu series “Mid-Century Modern.” The series’ producers Max Mutchnick, and David Kohan, and director James Burrows referred to her as “a magnificent actress, singer, musician, and a heat-seeking missile with a joke”, and more importantly, “a beautiful soul.”
During the “No Good Deed” premiere, Lavin spoke about her career’s natural progression towards such roles. She expressed satisfaction with her life, acknowledging her fulfilling marriage and expressing gratitude for her continued ability to work and perform at this stage in her career.
Lavin’s personal life involved three marriages. Her first marriage was to actor Ron Leibman from 1969 to 1981, followed by a union with actor-director Clifford “Kip” Niven from 1982 to 1992. After contentious legal proceedings in 1991, involving allegations of mental and emotional abuse, infidelity, and misuse of her financial resources, her marriage to Niven ended. In 2005, she married artist and drummer Steve Bakunas, marking her third and longest-lasting marriage.
In a 2020 interview, Lavin admitted that finding love again had been a surprise, as she had previously dismissed the idea of another relationship or marriage before meeting Bakunas.
