Soaps in Mourning: The Stars Honor an Especially Lively Daytime Emmy Winner On the Day of Her Death
Hollywood and we as well were left grief-stricken after the news broke that legendary funny lady Cloris Leachman had passed away at the age of 94.
On January 27, 2021, the world didn’t just lose a great performer, it lost a great person. Take it from those who knew Cloris Leachman, who died at age 94 as the most-awarded Emmy winner in history. (Along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the erstwhile Phyllis Lindstrom earned eight statuettes.)
“Awww, man,” Instagrammed Darin Brooks, Wyatt on The Bold and the Beautiful. “I honestly am saddened by the passing of the great Cloris Leachman. I had the absolute pleasure of working with her in [Episode No. 9] of Blue Mountain State back in the day [2010]… and when I heard it was gonna be her playing the professor’s mother, I literally screamed for joy!
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“She was one of the most talented comedic greats of our time!” he added. “And when I first met her, she was funny, sarcastic and unabashedly in character the whole time!”
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In a 2009 Family Dinner webisode, Leachman played the mother of The Young and the Restless’ Lauralee Bell (Christine), who shared that “[I] feel blessed to have worked with you! What a fun and incredible learning experience it was.” Kate Linder (Esther) added that she was “honored to have known you!”
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Days of Our Lives‘ Eric Martsolf (Brady), meanwhile, teed up an image that may have best encapsulated the personality of the Daytime Emmy winner (for 1983’s ABC Afterschool Special The Woman Who Willed a Miracle). “This was Cloris Leachman,” he captioned the shot. “Fun at carpets, fun at life.
“Rest in peace, you lovely lady.”
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General Hospital scene stealer Marc Anthony Samuel (Felix) simply posted a beautiful photo of the Oscar winner (for 1972’s The Last Picture Show). When a follower asked who she was — somebody doesn’t know Cloris Leachman?!? — he responded that the Mary Tyler Moore Show alum “was an amazing and funny actor. Look her up.”
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Good advice. What’s your favorite of Leachman’s roles? Though we loved Phyllis on Mary Tyler Moore and her own spinoff, we have a particular soft spot for her 2010-14 run as Maw Maw on Raising Hope. Hit the comments with your Leachman memories, and while you’re here, check out the below photo gallery of superstars you’ll be surprised, possibly even shocked, to be reminded once appeared on soaps.
