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Georgia Engel death: Mary Tyler Moore Show and Everybody Loves Raymond actor dies, aged 70

Her prolific career included guest appearances on a variety of series, including The Love Boat, Fantasy Island and Two and a Half Men

Jacob Stolworthy
Tuesday 16 April 2019 03:07 EDT
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Georgia Engel played Georgette in 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'
Georgia Engel played Georgette in 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'

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Georgia Engel, best known for playing Georgette on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, has died aged 70.

The actor died in Princeton, New Jersey on Friday. Her agent, Jacqueline Stander, said: “I know the world will be sad and sorry. She touched so many people."

According to her friend and executor John Quilty, Engel's cause of death was unknown as she was a Christian Scientists and didn't see doctors.

Engel also had recurring roles on Everybody Loves Raymond and Hot in Cleveland. She was a five-time Emmy nominee, receiving three nods for the former and two for The Mary Tyler Moore show.

She was “the sweetest, kindest, dearest woman. And crazy talented. I will miss her,” Valerie Bertinelli, who starred in Hot in Cleveland, said in a Twitter post.

Georgia Bright Engel was born in July 1948 in Washington, DC, to parents Benjamin, a Coast Guard officer, and Ruth Engel. She studied theatre at the University of Hawaii.

Her prolific career included guest appearances on a variety of series, including The Love Boat, Fantasy Island and Two and a Half Men.

Engel appeared on Broadway in plays and musicals including Hello, Dolly!, The Boys from Syracuse and, most recently, The Drowsey Chaperone in 2006-07. She starred in an off-Broadway production of Uncle Vanya in 2012.

A possible Everybody Loves Raymond spin-off set to include her and Fred Willard never came to fruition, something which Englert called a great disappointment.

Her real-life voice was as sweet as the one familiar from her screen roles. “What you see is what you get. That’s not a character voice — that’s our girl,” a smiling White said in a 2012 interview with Engel, calling her a “pure gold” friend and colleague.

Engel’s final credited television appearance came last year in the Netflix series One Day at a Time.

Funeral services for Engel, whose survivors include her sisters Robin Engel and Penny Lusk, will be private, Quilty said.

Additional reported by Agencies

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