Katherine Marie Helmond (July 5, 1929 – February 23, 2019) was an American actress. She portrayed the character, Jessica Tate on the ABC sitcom, Benson, and more prominently on the parent series Soap. She also directed episodes of the series from Seasons 5-6.
Career[]
Helmond gained prominence as Jessica Tate, the ditzy matriarch of the Tate family in Soap (1977–1981) on ABC. In 1983, she studied at the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop. From 1984 to 1992, she played the role of Mona Robinson on the ABC sitcom Who's the Boss?.
From 1995 to 1997, she starred in the ABC sitcom Coach as Doris Sherman, eccentric owner of the fictional Orlando Breakers professional football team. From 1996 to 2004, she had a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond as Lois Whelan (Ray Barone's mother-in-law). On July 25, 2010, she guest-starred on A&E Network's The Glades and as Caroline Bellefleur on HBO's True Blood.
Death[]
Helmond died on February 23, 2019, from complications of Alzheimer's disease at her home in Los Angeles, aged 89. Her death was announced a week later.
Legacy[]
Over her five decades of television acting, she was known for her starring role as ditzy matriarch Jessica Tate on the sitcom Soap (1977–1981) and her co-starring role as feisty mother Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss? (1984–1992). Helmond also appeared in a 1993 episode of The Upper Hand, the British version of Who's the Boss?. She also played Doris Sherman on Coach and Lois Whelan (the mother of Debra Barone) on Everybody Loves Raymond. She also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety shows.
Helmond had supporting roles in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976), Terry Gilliam's Brazil (1985) and Garry Marshall's Overboard (1987). She also voiced Lizzie in the Cars film franchise by Disney/Pixar between 2006 and 2017.
Helmond was nominated for Broadway's 1973 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic) for Eugene O'Neill's The Great God Brown. She was nominated for an Emmy for her role on Soap four times in a row (1978–1981) as Best Actress in a Comedy Series. In 1988 and 1989, she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Who's the Boss?. In 2002, she was nominated as Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in Everybody Loves Raymond. She won two Golden Globe awards for Who's the Boss? and Soap.