‘Three’s Company’ Actress Ann Wedgeworth Dies at 83: Reports

Michael Gil via Wikimedia Commons

Ann Wedgeworth, who is best known for her role on “Three’s Company,” died at the age of 83 on Thursday, Nov. 16, according to reports.

Diánna Martin, Wedgeworth’s daughter, confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that she died in a nursing home near New York City after battling an illness.

According to Variety, she died peacefully and surrounded by her family members.

She’s best known for her role as Lana Shields in “Three’s Company,” which aired from 1977 until 1984—among the most popular sitcoms of all time.

She played Merleen Elldridge in “Evening Shade” that lasted four years, another sitcom from the early 1990s.

She also performed on Broadway, winning a Tony Award for best performance by a featured actress in a play for her role in “Chapter Two” in 1978.

The actress is survived by her husband, Ernest Martin, daughters Danae Torn and Diánna Martin, and stepsons Greg Martin and Michael Martin, according to USA Today.

In “Three’s Company,” she was written out after nine episodes.

“It was horrifying,” she told People magazine in 1980. “I had no warning or explanation. Suddenly everyone was very cold to me. I went to tell John [Ritter] goodbye, and he was shocked—no one had told him. Joyce DeWitt, at least, called to say something to me about it.”

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