Frances Sternhagen, Tony-Winning Actor Who Appeared in ‘Cheers,’ ‘ER,’ Dies at 93
variety.comCarmel Dagan Staff WriterFrances Sternhagen, a Tony-winning actress with many decades on the stage and screen, died Monday of natural causes in New Rochelle, N.Y.
Her son Tony Carlin confirmed her death to the New York Times.She was known for her recurring role as the regal grandmother of Dr.
Carter (Noah Wyle) on “ER” and as Cliff’s mother on “Cheers,” for which she was twice nominated for Emmys.She made a distinct impression in her role as the doctor who helps Sean Connery’s cop in Peter Hyams’ 1981 sci-film “Outland” and in “Misery,” she played the sheriff’s wife Virginia, who was part of the search for James Caan’s novelist character.Other films in which she appeared include “Julie and Julia,” “Starting Over,” “Independence Day” and “Doc Hollywood.” In a role similar to that of Millicent Carter on “ER,” Sternhagen recurred on “Sex and the City” as Bunny MacDougal, the blue-blooded mother of Trey (Kyle MacLachlan) — earning a 2002 Emmy nomination for her performance in an episode in which she discovers her son having sex with his girlfriend and bolts from the room.
Sternhagen also appeared from 2006-2012 as Willie Rae Johnson, the Southern mother of Kyra Sedgwick’s character on “The Closer.” She had most recently appeared onscreen in Rob Reiner’s 2014 feature film “And So It Goes,” starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton.She was also known for her stint on NBC’s “Another World” as Jane Overstreet in the early 1970s.In a long career on Broadway, Sternhagen was seven times a Tony nominee, winning in 1974 for featured actress in a play for Neil Simon’s “The Doctor” and in 1995 for featured actress in a play for a revival of “The Heiress.” Her other Tony nominations were for Lorraine Hansberry’s “The Sign in Sidney.
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