Markie Post, who became a star in the 1980s playing a plucky public defender on “Night Court” and had a long run of TV roles, died Saturday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 70.
Post waged a nearly four-year fight with cancer. She kept working until very recently despite her illness.
Post co-starred in the 2019 Lifetime movie “Christmas Reservations” and logged a guest shot that year on the first season of Netflix drama “Soundtrack.” In recent years, Post had recurring roles on NBC’s “Chicago, P.D.,” ABC’s “The Kids are Alright” and Netflix’s “The Santa Clarita Diet.”
Post grew up in Northern California and got her start working behind the scenes on game shows such as “Double Dare” and “Card Sharks” in the 1970s. She moved into working in front of the camera with game show appearances and guest shots on such series as “CHiPs,” “Barnaby Jones,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Hart to Hart,” “B.J. and the Bear” and “Eight is Enough.”
Post was known for her versatility in drama and comedy, and she racked up more than two dozen TV movie credits from the 1970s through 2019.
In 1980, Post co-starred opposite Bruce McGill and David Hasselhoff in the short-lived ABC comedy “Semi-Tough,” based on the comedic sports novel by Dan Jenkins. She continued to rack up guest shots — “Simon & Simon,” “The Love Boat,” “Cheers,” “Fantasy Island” and “The A-Team” — and in 1982 landed a co-starring roll opposite Lee Majors for three seasons on the ABC action-drama “The Fall Guy.”
In 1985, Post switched gears to the NBC sitcom “Night Court,” an ensembler led by Harry Anderson as the quirky judge presiding over a late-shift court in Manhattan. She joined the show in its third season and quickly became a fan favorite who stayed through the end of the series run in 1992.
Post’s Christine Sullivan was resourceful and naive, sexy and wholesome all at once. She helped bring a sense of heart to “Night Court” and she was a love interest at times for both Anderson and John Larroquette, who played the sleazy assistant District Attorney Dan Fielding.
After “Night Court,” Post starred with John Ritter for three seasons from 1992 to 1995 in the CBS political romcom “Hearts Afire,” in which she played an out of work liberal journalist who becomes press secretary to an aging Southern senator. Ritter played a legislative aide and Post’s love interest. The show was well received by critics but never caught fire with viewers.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Variety