Sheila MacRae, 92, a versatile actress and singer who appeared opposite Jackie Gleason in his late '60s revival of "The Honeymooners," died Thursday night, the Associated Press reported.
Even though McRae starred on the Broadway stage and in films, it was her small-screen role as the tolerant and brassy wife of a Brooklyn bus driver for which she is most remembered.
The actress died at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, N.J., MacRae's granddaughter Allison Mullavey told the Associated Press on Friday.
"In the 1950s version of The Honeymooners, Audrey Meadows starred with Gleason as the lovebirds and sparring partners Ralph and Alice," the AP reported. "Sheila MacRae replaced Meadows as Alice in a later version from 1966-70 on The Jackie Gleason Show. MacRae was the last survivor from the '60s edition of the Gleason show. Jane Kean, who played Trixie Norton, died last fall."
"My mother referred to herself as the last Mrs. Kramden," said her daughter, actress Heather MacRae.
"She had a great life, my mom, she really did. She was quite a broad," Heather said. "Fascinating, almost like an Autie Mame character."
According to the AP, MacRae, who suffered from dementia but was otherwise in good health, had been hospitalized for a minor surgical procedure. Her death came suddenly Thursday night, apparently the result of old age, said Heather.
Married to Oklahoma! and Carousel star Gordon MacRae for 26 years, the singer, dancer and actress appeared with her husband in 1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show when the Beatles were featured.
"She had put her career on hold while she devoted herself to MacRae and their four children, Heather said," the AP reported. "After helping her husband with his nightclub act, she decided to join him and her career took off, her daughter said. The couple appeared together in musicals including Guys and Dolls, with Sheila taking her performance as Miss Adelaide to Broadway in 1965."
The couple divorced in 1967.
Actress Shirley Jones, in a statement released by MacRae's family, called the star "a great lady" with extraordinary talent who "helped me to be a better mother."
After her divorce from Gordon MacRae, she was married to Ronald Wayne, who produced Gleason's show, her daughter said. They later divorced.
MacRae played the role of Madelyn Richmond on the soap opera General Hospital and was host of The Sheila MacRae Show, the AP reported.
"She lived a good life and a long life," Mullavey said. "We'll miss her."
