Looking Back at Linda Lavin’s Life of Love and Laughter: ‘Most Proud’ of Her Wonderful Family

In one of Linda Lavin’s favorite episodes of the television sitcom Alice, her title character, an aspiring singer working as a waitress, agrees to star in a commercial for Mel’s Diner.

“She thought she’d just be all glamorous and sing a fabulous sexy song, but instead Mel put her in a hamburger suit,” remembered Linda to Closer. “Alice thought she was on the glamour train, but she turned out to be the caboose!”

From 1976 to 1985, Linda, who died on December 29, 2024, of complications from recently discovered lung cancer at age 87, played one of television’s first blue collar, single working moms on TV.

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“Alice represented 80 percent of all the women who work in this country,” said Linda, who earned two Golden Globe Awards for the role, “women who were inspired to go after a better life for themselves.”

Born in Portland, Maine, Linda began performing as a child and made her off-Broadway debut in 1960. Television would make her a household name, but she remained devoted to the theater and returned to the stage frequently.

“I love performing, and I love performing good material,” said the actress, who won a Tony in 1987 for Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound, as well as five other nominations during her six-decade career.

Films were not a big part of her résumé, but Linda returned to TV many times in the years after Alice.

“What I’m most proud of is that I have a wonderful life and that I’ve been able to make a living doing what I love,” she said.

In addition to her role in the Netflix limited series No Good Deed, Linda will appear in two upcoming projects, the Hulu comedy Mid-Century Modern and a film called One Big Happy Family.

She worked so much it’s hard to believe Linda ever considered a different path, but she admitted that during a dry spell she briefly considered interior design.

“I like working with design and colors,” said Linda, who once had a house painted three times until she got the exact color she envisioned. “It’s something that I have a real passion for.”

Linda was married and divorced twice before she met Steve Bakunas, an actor, artist and musician, whom she wed in 2005. Together they established a theater in North Carolina and an entertainment venue in upstate New York, where they made their full-time home.

“The satisfaction of a marriage comes from communication and hard work,” she confided. “Learning how to communicate and how to listen. How to understand. How to have compassion for yourself and for the other person. It’s how to find ways to laugh. It isn’t just one thing, it’s a lot.”

Linda, who was a stepmom to Steve’s two children, felt grateful for every blessing in her life.

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“I’ve been on a very strong spiritual path for many years that helps me,” Linda said. “It teaches me to accept the things I cannot change and remember that I am powerless over other people, places and things. It teaches me to forgive myself for my mistakes and to make amends to other people for my mistakes. Those aren’t secrets. Those are truths that I’m willing to share with you and everybody as I talk about why my life is so good.”