Linda Lavin, Celebrated Broadway and TV Star, Dies at 87

Tony Award-winning actress and singer Linda Lavin, renowned for her iconic role in the beloved TV sitcom Alice, has passed away at the age of 87, her representative confirmed. According to a statement from her representative, Michael Gagliardo, Lavin died on Sunday due to complications from recently diagnosed lung cancer. Gagliardo also shared that Lavin is survived by her partner, Steve Bakunas, whom she referred to as “the love of her life.”

Linda Lavin, the award-winning actress, is best known for her role in the hit sitcom Alice, which aired from 1976 to 1985. The show, set in a diner, centered around Alice Hyatt, a hardworking single mother and aspiring singer, as she navigated raising her son while working at the diner. Lavin’s career in the entertainment industry began at the age of 5, and her passion for performing took her on a journey that led her to pursue work in New Jersey during the early 1960s. By 1969, after appearing in numerous musicals and theater productions, Lavin earned a prestigious Tony Award nomination for her exceptional talent.

Linda Lavin’s most recent appearance was in three episodes of No Good Deed, a series that premiered on Netflix on December 12. The show features an ensemble cast, including Linda Cardellini, Lisa Kudrow, O-T Fagbenle, Abbi Jacobson, and others. In addition to this recent work, Lavin is set to appear posthumously in two upcoming projects. She will star in the film One Big Happy Family, which is scheduled for release in January. Later in 2025, she is also expected to appear in the Hulu series Mid-Century Modern.

After the conclusion of Alice, Linda Lavin returned to the stage, continuing to showcase her exceptional talent. In 1987, she earned a Tony Award for her remarkable performance in Broadway Bound. Her theatrical achievements didn’t stop there—Lavin was nominated for a Tony Award again in 1998 for her role in The Diary of Anne Frank. She received another nomination in 2000 for her portrayal in Tales of the Allergist Wife, and once more in 2010 for her role in the revival of Collected Stories. This latter nomination came eight years after she had starred in the PBS-TV adaptation of the same play, further cementing her status as a celebrated stage actress.

Linda Lavin’s extensive television career spans across decades, with a wide range of roles that showcased her versatility as an actress. In the 1970s and ’80s, she appeared in the popular ABC sitcom Barney Miller. She later starred in the 1998 NBC sitcom Conrad Bloom and lent her voice to characters in the animated Cartoon Network series Courage the Cowardly Dog. Lavin also made notable appearances in the 2013-2014 NBC sitcom Sean Saves the World and the 2017-2018 CBS sitcom 9JKL. More recently, she starred in B Positive, a CBS sitcom created by Conrad Bloom creator Marco Pennette, where she played a significant role over two seasons from 2020 to 2022.

In addition to her acting career, Linda Lavin also explored directing, notably directing 10 episodes of Alice. She was also an executive producer on several TV movies and docuseries episodes, further expanding her impact on the entertainment industry. In 1992, Lavin took on the dual role of executive producer and star of the short-lived series Room for Two, where she portrayed a television producer.

Lavin was married to Steve Bakunas, her third husband, since 2005. Prior to that, she was married to actor and theater director Kip Niven from 1982 to 1992, and to Angels in America actor Ron Leibman from 1969 to 1981. Although she did not have children of her own, Lavin embraced the role of a stepparent to the children of both her second and third husbands.