Mid-Century Modern actress Linda Lavin has died aged 87 – this is what she meant to her gay fans
Actress Linda Lavin lays in the grass with a golden retriever dog in Los Angeles in 1983 for the cover of “Parade.” (Photo by Bonnie Schiffman/ Getty Images)
Beloved stage and TV actress Linda Lavin has sadly died aged 87, according to Deadline. Her death was sudden and came as a significant shock to her legion of fans.
The Tony-award winning star was famous for her Emmy-nominated role in trailblazing 1976 sitcom Alice, as well as for her many Broadway performances.
Linda Lavin was a long-standing and proud LGBTQ+ ally, who was in the middle of filming brand-new queer comedy series Mid-Century Modern, on which she is one of the leads, before her death.
The programme, helmed by Ryan Murphy and due for release in 2025 according to IMDB, follows three best friends – all gay men of a “certain age” – who decide to retire together to Palm Springs after an accidental death. It stars Matt Bomer, Nathan Lane and Nathan Lee Graham.
Linda Lavin’s death was unexpected, and due to complications from recently discovered lung cancer, her representative told Deadline.
However, her recent involvement with Mid-Century Modern, which has been described as an LGBTQ+ take on The Golden Girls, isn’t Lavin’s first time helping to boost on-screen queer representation.
One of Lavin’s biggest breaks came in 1976, when she landed the the title role in a comedy series called Alice, which ended up running on CBS for nine seasons and 202 episodes.
A widely-praised episode of Alice, which aired during the show’s very first season, featured a significant example of early LGBTQ+ representation on American television.
In the episode, titled “Alice Gets A Pass”, Lavin’s character is set up on a blind date with a famous ex-quarterback, Jack. It doesn’t end up working out because Jack, played by Denny Miller, tells her he’s gay.
Alice is then forced to confront and overcome her prejudices against gay men when her starstruck son, Tommy, asks to go fishing with Jack – alone.
In June 2024, Lavin shared a clip of the moment Jack comes out to her on her Instagram page, captioning it: “Proud of this ground breaking episode on network tv during Alice’s first season in 1976! Happy pride from happy proud!”
Several members of the queer community took to the comment section to thank Lavin for sharing the clip, and explaining what her years-long allyship – as well as seeing that all-important LGBTQ+ representation at a young age – meant to them.
One man wrote: “OMG! Linda, I had always hoped to meet you some day to tell you how important this episode of Alice was to me. This aired when I was about 13 and I had realised long before that I had no interest in girls but an attraction to men, though I didn’t know the specifics or that anyone else felt this way, nor that my feelings had a name. I watched this with my 17 year old brother, and I had to ask him what ‘gay’ meant.
“He told me, ‘It’s when a guy likes guys instead of girls.’ I didn’t even think much about it in that moment but as those feelings for men surfaced throughout the week, I realised I was this ‘gay’ thing you were talking about. That prevented me from spending a lot of years in the wilderness.”
Another added: “I was just a kid, but I remember this and how powerful it was for me then. A sensitive topic at the time, handled flawlessly with humour, respect and great care.”
A third said: “Thank You – for all you did and for all you are still doing – we owe you much.”
Many LGBTQ+ celebrities also paid tribute to Linda Lavin, including Sarah Paulson, who shared a montage of various times she had acted opposite Lavin over the years, captioning it: “RIP to the great Linda Lavin.”
Sarah Paulson is in a relationship with fellow actress Holland Taylor, and Linda Lavin recently attended a 50th birthday party that Taylor threw for Paulson just two weeks ago before Lavin’s death.
In photos shared online, Lavin was seen deep in conversation with Sarah’s partner, Holland Taylor, as well as posing for selfies with the birthday girl, according to the US Sun.
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