Mary Pat Gleason, Prolific Character Actress With 100+ TV Roles, Dead at 70
Mary Pat Gleason, a character actress with a huge list of credits and who most recently played Mom‘s Mary, has died. She was 70.
Per a post on Gleason’s official Facebook page, she passed away after a long illness from cancer.
Though you may not have known Gleason’s name, it’s likely that her face is familiar: Her acting resume contains more than 100 television credits, usually for one-off-but-memorable roles on popular broadcast series in the past 40 years. She was Madame Oeuf, Saved By the Bell‘s French teacher. She was Lucille, the stern yet kindly dressing-room attendant who hugged a grieving Miranda in Sex and the City. She was Mrs. Butters, the no-nonsense elementary school teacher who dealt with Lynette and Susan’s kids in Desperate Housewives. She was Sally, the homeless woman who may or may not have known the president on NBC on Will & Grace.
Her list of TV appearances also includes roles on Quantum Leap, Highway to Heaven, Night Court, Blossom, ER, NCIS, Bones, Grey’s Anatomy, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, How to Get Away With Murder, NCIS and The Blacklist.
In 2014, she started the recurring role of Mary, an Alcoholics Anonymous member, on CBS’ Mom. Gleason appeared on the comedy a number of times over the years, and her character was killed off in Season 7 when Mary died of a brain aneurysm during an AA meeting.
That’s a big loss for television. She’s a very familiar face on many shows that I watched over the years. May she rest in peace.
My favorite role of her’s was Ida on The Middleman – she was a huge part of that much-missed show.
my first thought as well!
Absolutely, she was fantastic in this under appreciated gem of a show
YES! While I’ve remember her from so many shows such as Will and Grace and Desperate Housewives my mind immediately went to The Middleman. Another show way ahead of it’s time and sorely, sorely missed. As will MPG 😓
Absolutely! I thought she was hilarious on that show. I wish the show lasted longer.
I was coming here to talk about The Middleman. She will definitely be missed.
The clerk at the pharmacy in Blended. I loved her character.
I loved her as Mary on “Mom.” May she rest in peace.
I immediately thought of her as the receptionist/nurse on the first season of Friends (after Ross gets hit with the hockey puck)
So sorry to hear this. I met in in 2004 when she was in the cast of The Odd Couple: Female Version when she was leaving the theater. She and Allyce Beasley, stopped and talked with me for a while, encouraging me to follow a career in entertainment. I have never forgotten that meeting and I wished I could have met her again. May she rest in peace.
I just rewatched The Middleman, where she was great.
Aww… Loved her on The Middleman.
RIP.
Television has lost its everywoman. 💔
Yes exactly. Loved her in everything I saw her in.💜😟
Will and Grace. She played the crazy lady who got an appointment ahead of Jack at NBC. She was always a memorable character.
She was also in the episode where Jack donated Karen’s one of kind designer shoes. She finds the one shoe in a bin as Karen finds the other. It’s a funny but touching scene. Her characters name was Sally. Then in the revival she played Bridgette, Karen’s new maid for 2 episodes.
I had no idea she won a Daytime Emmy for Guiding Light as a writer. So much talent.
I’ll never forget her popping up on ‘Married with Children’ saying ‘I need shoes’!
Thoughts and prayers for her family and friends for loos of wonderful talent who just melded into each character she portrayed… Rest for you thanks for the entertainment you gave to all of us. Blessings to family
May SHe Rest in Peace. A tallent who was seen but rarely sought the fame.
A classic character actor. It use to be common in the past for certain actors to rotate among shows playing bit parts but never starring in a show of their own. One would recognize the face but not know the name. Many of them did start developing a name for themselves if they stuck around long enough.
Oh, wow. This one hurts. It seems like every time I watched something on TV since the ‘80’s or early ‘90’s, I saw this sweet-faced lady. She popped up everywhere, and I really enjoyed her performances, big or small. She had a unique persona, which I’m sure made her so busy as a character actor. Most recently I spotted her on re-runs of “The Middle” and often on “Mom”. After all these years, I will miss her like I knew her, and I never say that about actors.