The Emmy-winning actress, who played Jack Donaghy's unforgiving mother on '30 Rock', passed away in Michigan on Thursday.
- Jul 18, 2014
AceShowbiz - Elaine Stritch, the actress who played in numerous Broadway plays and starred as the mother of Jack Donaghy on "30 Rock", died in her house in Birmingham, Michigan on July 17. She was 89. Elaine's attorney, Joseph Rosenthal, revealed that the actress died of natural causes.
Broadway performers paid tribute to Elaine on Twitter. Jane Lynch, tweeted, "God Bless and God Speed ELAINE STRITCH." Meanwhile, Louis Virtel posted, "The best part of mourning Elaine Stritch is picturing her cackling and yelling, 'Shut up' at us."
Tributes also came from other entertainment industries. Liza Minnelli said Elaine was "a true trail blazer. Her talent and spunk will be greatly missed by so many of us." Meanwhile, Lena Dunham said, "May your heaven be a booze-soaked, no-pants solo show at the Carlyle." Alec Baldwin, who played Jack Donaghy on "30 Rock", tweeted, "I'm sure that even God is a bit nervous right now. I love you, Elaine."
Elaine, who was born on February 2, 1925 in Detroit, debuted in Broadway in 1946. Her stage debut in "Loco" was directed by Jed Harris. Some of her roles, including in the original production of William Inge's 1955 play "Bus Stop", Noel Coward's 1961 musical "Sail Away", and Stephen Sondheim's 1970 "Company", were nominated for Tony Awards. Elaine then won Tony Award for her one-woman show "Elaine Stritch: At Liberty" in 2001.
Modern comedy fans probably knew Elaine on NBC's sitcom, "30 Rock". Her role as the unforgiving mother of Alec's character on the series gained four Emmy nominations and one win.
Back in January, Elaine told New York Times that entertaining was hard, saying, "I'm a funny age - funny ha-ha, funny peculiar, funny, funny. I could hardly open my mouth on the stage without getting a laugh. That's a pretty sensational thing to brag about, but it's also dangerous. I had a great time, and I'm very glad it's over. Oh, my God, it's hard. Entertaining is hard."
