Louise Lasser, Whose Satirical Soap Opera Role Made Her a 1970s Sensation, Dies at 87

Louise Lasser, the actress who shot to fame as the pig-tailed, baby-doll dressed Mary Hartman in Norman Lear's satirical soap opera, has died at age 87. Variety reported that she died of natural causes at her Manhattan home. Her death was first reported to The New York Times by friend Susan Charlotte, according to Deadline.

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DeadlineLouise Lasser, Star of 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,' Dies at 87VarietyLouise Lasser, Star of 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,' Dies at 87

Lasser's portrayal of the frazzled Midwestern homemaker in "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" became a cultural touchstone. Deadline noted that her character "took the nation by storm in the 1970s." The New York Times described the role as the Ohio housewife "in the pigtails and puffed sleeves" that defined her career.

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Before that iconic turn, Lasser began her screen career in Woody Allen movies, to whom she was also married as his second wife, The Hollywood Reporter noted. She appeared in Allen's films including "Take the Money and Run," "Bananas" and "Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex," as reported by THR.

The Hollywood ReporterLouise Lasser, Star of ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,’ Dies at 87

Variety highlighted the sharp contrast between her reserved real-life persona and her on-screen character, noting that her performance in the short-lived but influential series "flipped her reserved real-life persona, portraying a materialistic housewife in absurdist comedic scenarios that satirized consumerism and American domestic life."