Actress From Who's the Boss, Soap Is Dead

Katherine Helmond was 89
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 1, 2019 2:47 PM CST
Katherine Helmond of Who's the Boss, Soap Is Dead
A 2006 photo of Katherine Helmond.   (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)

Actress Katherine Helmond, known to fans of the sitcoms Soap and Who's the Boss, has died at age 89, reports Deadline and the Hollywood Reporter. Talent agency APA said Helmond died from complications of Alzheimer's in her Los Angeles home, reports the AP. Helmond first gained national fame playing Jessica Tate on Soap in the 1970s. Later, she became a TV fixture playing Mona Robinson, the mother of Angela (Judith Light), on Who's the Boss.

One of the latter show's young stars paid tribute Friday: "My beautiful, kind, funny, gracious, compassionate, rock," tweeted Alyssa Milano. "You were an instrumental part of my life. You taught me to hold my head above the marsh! You taught me to do anything for a laugh! What an example you were!" Helmond also had roles on the TV shows Coach and Everybody Loves Raymond, as well as on the big screen. For example, she appeared in three Terry Gilliam movies, including Brazil. (More obituary stories.)

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