Louise Lasser, star of the television satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, died yesterday July 6th at age 87.

Born April 11, 1939, Lasser starred as the title character in the Norman Lear produced series, an overwhelmed Ohio housewife navigating a string of absurd domestic and social crises.

The syndicated show aired five nights a week and became a major cultural phenomenon, premiering January 5, 1976 and ending July 1, 1977.

The cast included Greg Mullavey, Mary Kay Place, Graham Jarvis, Dody Goodman, Debralee Scott, Victor Kilian, Philip Bruns and Claudia Lamb, with writing by Gail Parent and Ann Marcus. Lasser earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for the role.

Lasser was married to Woody Allen from 1966 to 1970 and served as his early leading lady, appearing in Take the Money and Run, Bananas and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask).

She began her career on Broadway before moving into television, with later appearances on Taxi, St. Elsewhere and HBO’s Girls. She stepped back from mainstream acting in later years to teach at her own studio in Manhattan.

She never remarried after her divorce from Allen and is survived by her partner, Michael Citriniti. Her friend Susan Charlotte confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times that Lasser died of natural causes at her home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

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