"Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" Actress Louise Lasser 1939-2026 Memorial Video

Louise Jane Lasser (April 11, 1939 – July 6, 2026) was an American actress, television writer, and performing arts teacher and director. She is known for her portrayal of the title character on the soap opera satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Lasser made her Broadway debut in the musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962). She was married to Woody Allen from 1966 until 1970 and acted in several of his early films, including Take the Money and Run (1969) and Bananas (1971). 

Lasser hosted Saturday Night Live in 1976 and had guest roles on The Bob Newhart Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Laverne and Shirley, and St. Elsewhere.

Lasser's later roles included black comedy films such as Todd Solondz's Happiness (1998) and Owen Kline's Funny Pages (2022). She portrayed Beadie in the Lena Dunham-created HBO coming-of-age series Girls from 2013 to 2014.

Lasser was also a life member of The Actors Studio and studied with both Sanford Meisner and Robert X. Modica.

Lasser died at her home in Manhattan on July 6, 2026, at the age of 87.

"Mildred Pierce" Actress Mildred Pierce 1927-2026 Memorial Video

Anne Marie Blythe (August 16, 1927 – June 24, 2026), known professionally as Ann Blyth, was an American actress and singer whose career spanned five decades. She began her career in radio as a child before transitioning to Broadway, where she appeared in Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine (1941–42). 

Blyth signed with Universal Studios in the 1940s and made her film debut in Chip Off the Old Block (1944), followed by a series of musical comedies. Her breakout role came in Mildred Pierce (1945), where she appeared opposite Joan Crawford, as the scheming Veda Pierce, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Blyth worked extensively in film throughout the 1940s and 1950s, appearing in notable films such as Brute Force (1947) and Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948). 

She later signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where she appeared in musicals and other studio productions, including The Great Caruso (1951), The Student's Prince (1954), and The King's Thief (1955). Her final film role was in The Helen Morgan Story (1957).

After transitioning to theater and television in the late 1950s, she starred in productions such as Show Boat and appeared on shows like The Twilight Zone and Murder, She Wrote. Blyth retired from acting in 1985. 

Blyth died at her home in Rancho Santa Fe, California on June 24, 2026, at the age of 98. At the time of her death, Blyth was the earliest surviving Academy Award nominee, and one of the last surviving stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

"Tender Mercies" Actor Robert Duvall 1931-2026 Career Memorial Video

Robert Selden Duvall (January 5, 1931 – February 15, 2026) was an American actor, filmmaker, and producer, best known for his roles in the later 20th century of Hollywood. Duvall began acting professionally on stage in 1952, performing in summer plays at the Gateway Playhouse in Bellport on Long Island until 1959, with a one-year break serving in the U.S. Army. He made contacts there that then led to a career on television in the 1960s on shows such as The Defenders, Playhouse 90, and Armstrong Circle Theatre. He made his Broadway debut in the play Wait Until Dark in 1966, and, in 1977, he returned from screen acting to the stage in David Mamet's play American Buffalo, earning a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play nomination.

He made his feature film debut portraying Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). His other early roles included Bullitt (1968), True Grit (1969), M*A*S*H (1970), THX 1138 (1971) and Tomorrow (1972), the last of which was developed at the Actors Studio and was his personal favorite. 

Duvall won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as an alcoholic former country music star in Tender Mercies (1983). His other Oscar-nominated roles included The Godfather (1972), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Great Santini (1979), The Apostle (1997), A Civil Action (1998), and The Judge (2014). 

Throughout his career, Duvall also starred in numerous television productions. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for the AMC limited series Broken Trail (2006). His other Emmy-nominated roles included the CBS miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989), the HBO film Stalin (1992), and the TNT film The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996).

With a career spanning seven decades, he received an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, four Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Volpi Cups for Best Actor, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He was critically acclaimed for his technical proficiency and chameleon-like ability to assume a convincing role. Vincent Canby dubbed him "the American Olivier" in 1980 and this label stuck.

Death

Duvall died at his farm in Middleburg, Virginia, on February 15, 2026, at the age of 95. His death was announced through a public statement by his wife Luciana Pedraza.

"Tender Mercies" Actor Robert Duvall 1931-2026 Portraits Memorial Video

Robert Selden Duvall (January 5, 1931 – February 15, 2026) was an American actor, filmmaker, and producer, best known for his roles in the later 20th century of Hollywood. Duvall began acting professionally on stage in 1952, performing in summer plays at the Gateway Playhouse in Bellport on Long Island until 1959, with a one-year break serving in the U.S. Army. He made contacts there that then led to a career on television in the 1960s on shows such as The Defenders, Playhouse 90, and Armstrong Circle Theatre. He made his Broadway debut in the play Wait Until Dark in 1966, and, in 1977, he returned from screen acting to the stage in David Mamet's play American Buffalo, earning a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play nomination.

He made his feature film debut portraying Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). His other early roles included Bullitt (1968), True Grit (1969), M*A*S*H (1970), THX 1138 (1971) and Tomorrow (1972), the last of which was developed at the Actors Studio and was his personal favorite. Duvall won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as an alcoholic former country music star in Tender Mercies (1983). His other Oscar-nominated roles included The Godfather (1972), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Great Santini (1979), The Apostle (1997), A Civil Action (1998), and The Judge (2014). Throughout his career, Duvall also starred in numerous television productions. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for the AMC limited series Broken Trail (2006). His other Emmy-nominated roles included the CBS miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989), the HBO film Stalin (1992), and the TNT film The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996).

With a career spanning seven decades, he received an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, four Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Volpi Cups for Best Actor, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He was critically acclaimed for his technical proficiency and chameleon-like ability to assume a convincing role. Vincent Canby dubbed him "the American Olivier" in 1980 and this label stuck.

Death

Duvall died at his farm in Middleburg, Virginia, on February 15, 2026, at the age of 95. His death was announced through a public statement by his wife Luciana Pedraza.