Katherine Helmond 1929-2019

Katherine Marie Helmond (July 5, 1929 – February 23, 2019) was an American film, theater and television actress and director.
Born in Galveston, Texas, Helmond had over five decades of television acting and was known her starring role as ditzy matriarch Jessica Tate on the ABC prime time soap opera sitcom Soap (1977–1981) and her co-starring role as feisty mother Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss? (1984–1992). She also played Doris Sherman on Coach and Lois Whelan, the mother of Debra Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond. She has also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety shows. After her stage debut in As You Like It, she began working in New York in 1955. She later ran a summer theatre in the Catskills for three seasons and taught acting in university theatre programs. She also acted on stage, earning a Tony nomination for her performance on Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's The Great God Brown (1973). Helmond appeared in such feature films as Family Plot (1976) and Brazil (1985), in which she played the mother of Jonathan Pryce's character.  She also voiced Lizzie in the three Cars films by Disney/Pixar. 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's The Glades. She also guest starred as Caroline Bellefleur on HBO's True Blood.
Helmond passed away from complications due to  Alzheimer’s disase at her home in Los Angeles, California on February 23, 2019 at the age of 89.

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