Actor, singer and author Alicia Witt’s parents were both ailing in recent years and their house was in disrepair, but both remained private people before they were found dead Monday in their Worcester home, a neighbor told the Herald.
“They were totally in the house. They wouldn’t open the door to anyone,” said the woman, who said she knew the couple for nearly 40 years.
Robert and Diane Witt were found dead shortly before 8:30 p.m. Monday inside their Sussex Lane home after Alicia Witt asked a cousin to check on them after not hearing from them for several days.
“There were no signs of foul play,” said Kathleen Daly-Shea, a Worcester police spokeswoman. “It is under investigation. The medical examiner’s office will determine cause of death.”
In a statement Tuesday, Alicia Witt said: “Sadly, the outcome was unimaginable. I ask for some privacy at this time to grieve and to wrap my head around this turn of events and this surreal loss.”
The neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous out of respect for her neighbors, described Robert Witt, 87, and Diane Witt, 75 — both retired high school teachers — as unique. The couple homeschooled Alicia and her brother Ian, she said.
After she left home, Alicia started a career as a young actress on the original “Dune” movie, which has since been remade. Today, she is also an accomplished singer/songwriter and classically trained pianist and has opened for Ben Folds Five, Jimmy Webb and John Fullbright, according to her IMDb bio.
She’s also appeared on TV, on Broadway and in many films where her skills as a pianist have been incorporated into her roles.
She appeared in “The Walking Dead,” “The Sopranos,” “Two and a Half Men” and “Orange Is The New Black,” and was in the movies “Urban Legend,” “Vanilla Sky” and “Two Weeks Notice.”
“When Alicia’s movies were on, her parents would come to my house to watch them because they didn’t have a color TV,” their neighbor said. “Alicia also bought them a station wagon years ago, but it mainly sat in the driveway.”
Robert Witt had been fighting cancer for years and used to go to Boston for treatment, the woman said. About one year ago, Diane Witt told her that she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a brain disorder that leads to shaking, stiffness and difficulty with walking, balance and coordination.
“She was very frail,” the woman said. “A strong wind could have blown her over. She couldn’t have been more than 90 pounds, and she was getting even thinner.”
The neighbor took them shopping and helped them when she could, she said. But when she asked if they had thought of moving into an assisted living facility, or at least contacting the local senior center for help, she said, Diane Witt refused.
Their house was also in “terrible condition,” the woman said. “If people put pieces of furniture out on the curb, she would take it. She just seemed to think that everything had value.”
Less than a year ago, someone asked police to do a wellness check on them, the neighbor said, adding she helped convince them to let the police inside.
“It’s so sad,” she said. “But it’s a blessing both went together because neither one of them could survive alone.”
