Ann Morgan Guilbert, an actress whose impressive television career spanned The Dick Van Dyke Show all the way up through Life in Pieces, died on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer.
She was 87 years old.
The veteran star’s daughter has confirmed this sad news.
Guilbert rose to fame as Millie Helper on The Dick Van Dyke Show, portraying the wife of the Petries’ dentist neighbor, Jerry, on this beloved sitcom.
It ran from 1961 through 1966.
Following her run on that series, Guilbert made memorable appearances on The New Andy Griffith Show, The Fanelli Boys, Pickett Fences and The Nanny (as the titular Fran’s Grandma Yetta).
More recently, she stopped by HBO’s Getting On and ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, along with sitcoms Modern Family and the aforementioned Life in Pieces.
Guilbert also enjoyed an extensive theater career, including roles in the 2005 Broadway play, A Naked Girl on the Appian Way, and productions of The Matchmaker, Arsenic and Old Lace, ‘Waiting for Godot, To Kill a Mockingbird and Harvey.
The actress was a native of Minnesota who graduated from Stanford University’s Department of Speech and Drama.
She was married twice and is survived by two daughters.
We send our condolences to her friends, family members and loved ones.
