Tributes are being paid to character actor Mary Pat Gleason, who has died at the age of 70.
Mary Pat’s manager confirmed to Variety that she died on Tuesday after being diagnosed with
cancer, noting that “she was a fighter to the end”.
After landing her first acting role in 1982, Mary Pat would go on to rack up more than 100 on-screen credits on both the big and small screen.
This included small roles in shows like
Friends – in which she played medical receptionist Nurse Sizemore in the first season – as well as Will And Grace, Sex In The City and Desperate Housewives.
Her film career saw her starring opposite Hilary Duff in A Cinderella Story, as well as appearing in Basic Instinct and the
Netflix original Sierra Burgiss Is A Loser.
More recently, she had a recurring role as Mary in the sitcom Mom, with her co-star Allison Janney paying tribute on
Instagram.“We said goodbye to Mary Pat Gleason yesterday,” Allison wrote. “She was part of our [Mom] family and we loved her so much. She was one of our favourite guest stars.
“Her kind heart and warm smile will be missed. RIP dear Mary Pat.” View this post on InstagramA post shared by Allison Janney (@allisonbjanney) on Jun 3, 2020 at 9:11pm PDTFellow
Actor Leslie Jordan then paid his own tribute, writing: “Oh how sad. I worked with Mary Pat many times over the years. She was a real trooper and loved by ALL.”
In addition to acting, Mary Pat was an Emmy-winning writer, who worked on the radio and TV soap opera The Guiding Light.
Her nephew told Entertainment Tonight that Mary Pat had requested not to have a service, but instead her family will pay their respects with a personal memorial. She also asked that her memory be honoured with donations to charities which help those who have bipolar disorder.