Louise Lasser, the actress best known for playing an overwhelmed suburban housewife on the cult 1970s television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, has died at the age of 87.
Lasser died of natural causes at her New York City home on Monday, according to reports.
The actress also became well known for her marriage to controversial filmmaker Woody Allen and for a turbulent career that included an Emmy nomination, a drug arrest and one of the most infamous episodes in Saturday Night Live history.
Lasser was married to Allen from 1966 until 1970. She was his second wife and worked with him on several early projects, including his rewrite of What’s Up, Tiger Lily?, the 1969 comedy-crime movie Take the Money and Run and the 1972 film Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask.
Allen had previously been married to Harlene Rosen. The two wed when Rosen was 17 and Allen was 20, but their marriage ended in 1962 after six years.
Lasser’s biggest breakthrough came when she landed the starring role in producer Norman Lear’s satirical soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.
The show followed a struggling Ohio housewife attempting to survive the bizarre pressures of everyday suburban life. It also took sharp aim at American consumer culture and the traditional image of the perfect housewife.
Lasser’s character, famous for her pigtails and puffy-sleeved outfits, became a television sensation. The program aired five nights a week and ran for two seasons.
Her performance earned her an Emmy nomination in 1976.
But that same year, Lasser’s personal life began making headlines.
She was charged with cocaine possession after police reportedly found 80 milligrams of the drug on her while she was shopping inside an antiques store. She was later sentenced to six months of probation.
Just two months after the arrest, Lasser hosted Saturday Night Live in an episode that became one of the most controversial broadcasts in the show’s history.
The episode included sketches involving drugs and apparent emotional breakdowns, leaving many viewers unsure whether Lasser was acting or suffering a real-life collapse on live television.
The broadcast was later frequently excluded from SNL reruns.
Following Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Lasser continued working steadily in television and movies.
She appeared in Taxi and It’s a Living and wrote and starred in the television movie Just Me and You.
Her other film credits included Simon, Rude Awakening, Modern Love, The Night We Never Met, Wolves of Wall Street and National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers.
Decades later, she appeared in three episodes of the HBO comedy Girls.
In its obituary, The New York Times described Lasser as appearing “somehow simultaneously neurotic and girlish,” a quality that helped define many of her most memorable performances.
Lasser was born in Manhattan in 1939 and raised in the Bronx. She was the only child of Sol Jay Lasser, a tax accountant and author, and Paula Eisenreich Lasser, a designer.
She attended Brandeis University but dropped out during her senior year to pursue acting lessons.
After leaving school, she returned to her parents’ Manhattan home and began appearing in television commercials for major brands, including NyQuil and Excedrin.
In 1967, Lasser became the first woman to win a Clio Award for her performance in a Florida orange juice commercial. The Clio is considered one of the advertising industry’s most prestigious honors.
Her acting career had already begun gaining momentum on Broadway several years earlier.
In 1962, Lasser served as an understudy for a then-20-year-old Barbra Streisand in the musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale. She briefly took over the role after Streisand left the production.
Lasser is survived by her longtime partner, Michael Citriniti.
