Liz Sheridan, the veteran actress best known for playing Jerry Seinfeld’s mother on Seinfeld who also recurred on ALF and appeared in several Broadway shows, died today in New York City. She was 93.
Her longtime friend and rep Amanda Hendon told Deadline that Sheridan died overnight in her sleep of natural causes.
Sheridan already was a veteran TV and film actress when she was cast as the grumpy neighbor Raquel Ochmonek on NBC’s ALF, appearing in about three dozen episodes from 1986-90. Soon after that, she landed the role of Helen Seinfeld, the adoring, protective and occasionally bemused mother of Jerry Seinfeld’s Jerry. She appeared in more than 20 episodes ranging from Episode 2 — “The Stakeout” at the beginning of Season 2 — to the 1998 finale.
During Seinfeld‘s run, Sheridan provided the voice of Mrs. Stillman in the 1994-98 animated sitcom Life with Louie, starring Louie Anderson.
A longtime dancer, she also appeared on Broadway, including opposite Christopher Lloyd and a young Meryl Streep in the 1977 musical Happy End.
Sheridan later wrote a book about her 1950s romantic relationship with James Dean. Published in 2000, Dizzy and Jimmy: My Life with James Dean – A Love Story chronicled their love affair from when the NYC dancer met the 21-year-old Indiana farm boy who had come to New York via Hollywood.
She also was longtime close friends with Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery.
Born on April 10, 1929 in Rye, NY, Sheridan began her screen career with guest shots on such series as Kojak, The White Shadow and Gimme a Break! and had small roles in the Madonna film Who’s That Girl and features Star 80 and Jekyll & Hyde: Together Again. She continued to guest on TV through the mid-1980s on popular shows including One Day at a Time, Three’s a Crowd, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Three’s a Crowd, The A-Team, Newhart, Remington Steele, Moonlighting and Murder, She Wrote before landing her recurring gig as the eccentric and spy-happy Raquel on ALF.
All that would lead to her signature role on Seinfeld, which became the most popular sitcom of the 1990s and remains a quotable pop-culture favorite in reruns. Her Helen Seinfeld character was the prototype doting mom, and when she heard that “Crazy” Joe Devola was “after” her beloved son in the 1992 episode “The Wallet,” she was incredulous that there was anyone who didn’t like Jerry.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Deadline