The Bob Newhart Show‘s Suzanne Pleshette has died at age of 70. Pleshette died of respiratory failure at her Los Angeles home on Saturday, according to friends and associates. Pleshette battled lung cancer with in 2006. The deadly disease was caught early, but sadly it spread and she underwent grueling chemo treatments and surgery to contain it.
“Suzanne’s last days were tough. She was so sick. She knew that time was running out,” a source close to her told The ENQUIRER. “She was on oxygen, as well as an intravenous drip for pain management and nutrition. She was on a catheter and could no longer leave her bed.”
One of the last friends to visit her described the once vivacious beauty as melancholy and resigned. “It was obvious she’d never get out of bed again,” said the friend. “She was very thin and very weak. But she held my hand and managed to smile and crack jokes. “At one point she got serious and told me: ‘I just can’t go on like this. I’m tired. This isn’t living.'”
Bob Newhart issued a statement calling his co-star “a pro’s pro” and “an indomitable spirit.”
