‘Friends’, ‘Will & Grace’ actress Mary Pat Gleason dies aged 70

The prolific actress has over 100 film and TV credits

Mary Pat Gleason, who was best known for roles in Friends, Sex and the City and Will & Grace, has died at the age of 70.

The actress’ nephew John Brostrom revealed the news to ET, sharing that Gleason died from uterine cancer. Brostrom said that Gleason beat the cancer in 2015, but suffered a recent recurrence.

Brostrom revealed that, due to the coronavirus pandemic, family and friends were unable to visit Gleason while she was in hospital, and later at a rehab facility. He revealed that Gleason was moved to a friend’s house, where she spent the last five weeks of her life before passing away this week (June 25).

“They took wonderful care of her,” Brostrom told ET. “It was really bittersweet but her family could not have asked for better care.” He went on to give his thanks for “how loved and respected she was in the Hollywood community.”

Tributes to Gleason have been pouring in online. Alison Janney, Gleason’s co-star in CBS’ Mom, wrote: “We said goodbye to Mary Pat Gleason yesterday. She was part of our Mom family and we loved her so much. She was one of our favorite guest stars. Her kind heart and warm smile will be missed.”

Actor Ron Fassler called Gleason “one of the dearest and sweetest people I have ever had the pleasure to know,” going on to reveal that she has 174 credits on her IMDB page. “She was so much more than a wonderful actress,” he continued. “She was one of a kind. So caring, so funny, and so delicious to be around, that I find it hard to imagine a world without her shining presence and smiling face.”

Mary Pat Gleason, one of the dearest and sweetest people I have ever had the pleasure to know, passed away last night at…

Posted by Ron Fassler on Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Gleason began her career in the late 1980s with a role in NBC soap opera Texas. Since then, she’s appeared on a huge list of TV shows, including Saved by the Bell, Murder, She Wrote, Friends, Will & Grace, Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, Family Matters, NCIS: Los Angeles, Grey’s Anatomy, Partners, Mama’s Family, and more.

Her final appearance came late last year in Mom, in an episode where her character died of a brain aneurysm during an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

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