In Memoriam: Cloris Leachman
The legendary stage and screen actress Cloris Leachman passed away in the company of family on January 27, 2021 at the age of 94 due to natural causes. Leachman was legend in the entertainment industry with 22 Emmy nominations, holding the record for most Emmy nominations of all time. She is also tied with Seinfeld actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus with the most Emmy Wins with 8 under her belt.
Leachman competed in the 1946 Miss America pageant as Miss Chicago. Although she didn’t win, she used her pageant money to move to New York City where her acting career would soon take off. She attended the Actors Studio studying acting alongside future icons Marlon Brando, Julie Harris, and Eli Wallach.
Although her breakout came on the big screen, with her role in ‘The Last Picture Show’ which snatched her an Academy Award nomination, television was where she shot her career into legendary status. She played Phyllis Lindstrom in the iconic ‘Mary Tyler Moore Show’. Phyllis was the Snobbish landlord where Mary and Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) lived.
She received Emmy nominations for her for roles in ‘A Brand New Life’,’Cher’, ‘The Woman Who Willed a Miracle’,’Promised Land’ and most recently ‘Malcolm in the Middle. With an acting career spanning over 7 decades, the entertainment industry will never be the same.
