Emmy and Oscar-winning actress Cloris Leachman famous for her act of a companionless housewife in “The Last Picture Show” and a delightful comic character as the fearsome Frau Blucher in “Young Frankenstein” has died. The actress who played a self-absorbed neighbor Phyllis on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” was 94 when she took her last breath.
She passed away in her sleep at her home in Encinitas, California. The publicist Monique Moss suggested on Wednesday that the cause of her death was natural. Her daughter Dinah Englund was by her side when she died, said Monique Moss.
She was the epitome of versatility when it comes to acting. She had done an extreme range of acting and challenged typecasting with her great skills. She started her career in television with the surprising role of Timmy’s mother in the “Lassie” series. She also played a stunning call girl in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” a crime spree family member in “Crazy Mama,” and Blucher in Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein,” and mentioning her name in the movies drew unbearable attention.
Brooks went to Twitter to call Leachman “insanely talented” and “irreplaceable.”
“Every time I hear a horse whinny I will forever think of Cloris’ unforgettable Frau Blucher,” she said.
After the press reported her death, many admiring colleagues showered consoles and solutes on social media. Steve Martin said Leachman “brought comedy’s mysteries to the big and small screen.” “Nothing I could say would top the enormity of my love for you,” posted Ed Asner of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” “Applause on every entrance and exit,” said Rosie O’Donnell.
“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,” Juliet Green, her longtime manager, said in a statement.
In 1989, she appeared in “Grandma Moses,” a play in which she changed from a 45-year-old lady to a 101 aged woman. She toured in major cities for three years in the 1990s because she appeared as the captain’s wife in the revival of “Show Boat.” she appeared in the movie version of “The Beverly Hillbillies,” playing the role of Granny Clampett.
She had an occasional role as Ida on “Malcolm in the Middle,” ad eventually won Emmys in 2002 and 2006 for that show. She has received eight Emmys, including a trophy for Moore’s sitcom, tying her with Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the top Emmy winners among performers.
In 2008, Leachman became one of the contestants in “Dancing With the Stars’. Though she could not become the finalists, she delighted the live audiences with her spangled dance costumes.
“I don’t think that’s what beauty is. On a single day, any of us is ugly or beautiful. I’m heartbroken I can’t be the witch in `The Wizard of Oz.’ But I’d also like to be the good witch. Phyllis combines them both,” she said.
