On Friday, March 1, APA confirmed the death of Who’s The Boss? star Katherine Helmond. The actress died at age 89 at her LA home after complications with Alzheimer’s disease.
In addition to playing the wise Mona Robinson on the ABC sitcom from 1984 until 1992, Katherine also starred as the ditzy Jessica Tate on ABC’s 1977-81 ABC soap opera Soap alongside Billy Crystal and Robert Guillaume. Her Who’s The Boss? role earned her two Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actress while Soap earned her four.
Katherine also appeared on Coach, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Glades, and True Blood. She also voiced Lizzie in all three of the Cars movies. She also had stints on Broadway, The Great God Brown (which earned her a Best Supporting or Featured Actress Tony nomination), Private Lives, Don Juan, and Mixed Emotions.
In an interview with Deadline, her Who’s The Boss? co-star Tony Danza remembered the late starlet. “I was in love with her,” he told Deadline today. “She was such an influence on me. From being a single guy with a hit show in Hollywood, though my marriage and having kids — she was with me. No matter what problem I had, I could go to her. Very few people could match her.”
“We luckily got Jessica from Soap. Oh my God, we hit the lottery. She was a consummate professional — never made a mistake and always got the laugh. She was the sexy older lady who could keep up with the young people. She just had a way about her.”
Our thoughts are with her family and friends during this difficult time.
