Bonnie Franklin Dead at 69

One of TV's most famous single moms is dead: Bonnie Franklin, who starred as Ann Romano in One Day at a Time, died today at age 69, reports Deadline. The actress said last year that she had pancreatic cancer. Franklin's show ran on CBS from 1975 to 1984, with her daughters played by Valerie Bertinelli and Mackenzie Phillips. Though Franklin had a career on stage and TV before One Day at a Time began, it quickly became her signature role.

The AP notes the show's groundbreaking role: It premiered "just five years after the network had balked at having Mary Tyler Moore play a divorcee on her own comedy series," and went on to tackle social issues such as teen pregnancy. By the time it ended, Franklin's Romano character had remarried and become a grandmother. It was a Top 20 show in the ratings for seven of its nine seasons. (More Bonnie Franklin stories.)