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Pleshette Dies

Suzanne Pleshette, the husky-voiced star best known for her role as Bob Newhart's sardonic wife on television's long-running "The Bob Newhart Show," has died at age 70. Pleshette, whose career included roles in such films as Hitchcock's "The Birds" and in Broadway plays including "The Miracle Worker," died of respiratory failure at her Los Angeles home, said her attorney Robert Finkelstein. Pleshette underwent chemotherapy for lung cancer in 2006. "The Bob Newhart Show," a hit throughout its six-year run, starred comedian Newhart as a Chicago psychiatrist surrounded by eccentric patients. Pleshette provided the voice of reason. Born Jan. 31, 1937, in New York City, Pleshette began her career as a stage actress after attending the city's High School of the Performing Arts and studying at its Neighborhood Playhouse. She was often picked for roles because of her beauty and her throaty voice. She met her future husband, Tom Poston, when they appeared together in the 1959 Broadway comedy "The Golden Fleecing," but didn't marry him until more than 40 years later. Although the two had a brief romance, they went on to marry others. By 2000 both were widowed and they got back together, marrying the following year. Among her other Broadway roles was replacing Anne Bancroft in "The Miracle Worker," the 1959 drama about Helen Keller, in New York and on the road. She had launched her film career with Jerry Lewis in 1958 in "The Geisha Boy." She went on to appear in numerous television shows, including "Have Gun, Will Travel," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Playhouse 90" and "Naked City." By the early 1960s, Pleshette attracted a teenage following with her youthful roles. She married fellow teen favorite Troy Donahue, her co-star in "Rome Adventure," in 1964 but the marriage lasted less than a year. She was married to Texas oilman Tim Gallagher from 1968 until his death in 2000. Pleshette appeared in such films as Hitchcock's "The Birds" and comedies "The Ugly Dachshund," ''Blackbeard's Ghost." Over the years, she also had a busy career in TV movies, including playing the title role in 1990's "Leona Helmsley, the Queen of Mean." She also appeared in several episodes of the TV sitcoms "Will & Grace." In a 1999 interview, Pleshette observed that being an actress was more important than being a star. "I'm an actress, and that's why I'm still here," she said. "Anybody who has the illusion that you can have a career as long as I have and be a star is kidding themselves."