Oscar and Emmy-winning actor Cloris Leachman dies at 94

January 27, 2021 at 4:49 p.m.

by LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer

FILE - Cloris Leachman attends the premiere of "The Comedian" during the 2016 AFI Fest on Nov. 11, 2016, in Los Angeles. Leachman stars in the faith-based film "I Can Only Imagine" which has made over $22 million in just six days of release on a $7 million budget. Leachman, a character actor whose depth of talent brought her an Oscar for the "The Last Picture Show" and Emmys for her comedic work in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and other TV series, has died. She was 94. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Cloris Leachman attends the premiere of "The Comedian" during the 2016 AFI Fest on Nov. 11, 2016, in Los Angeles. Leachman stars in the faith-based film "I Can Only Imagine" which has made over $22 million in just six days of release on a $7 million budget. Leachman, a character actor whose depth of talent brought her an Oscar for the "The Last Picture Show" and Emmys for her comedic work in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and other TV series, has died. She was 94. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

LOS ANGELES — Cloris Leachman, a character actor whose depth of talent brought her an Oscar for the "The Last Picture Show" and Emmys for her comedic work in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and other TV series, has died. She was 94.

Leachman died of natural causes at her home in Encinitas, California, publicist Monique Moss said Wednesday. Her daughter was at her side, Moss said.

Millions of viewers knew the actor as the self-absorbed neighbor Phyllis in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." She also appeared as the mother of Timmy on the "Lassie" series. She played a frontier prostitute in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," a crime spree family member in "Crazy Mama," and the infamous Frau Bucher in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein."

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