Louise Lasser, ’70s sitcom star and Woody Allen’s ex-wife, dead at 87 — inside her career and short-lived marriage

Lasser grew up in a troubled family in New York City, with her parents divorcing when she was in her 20s and both of them committing suicide due to issues with mental health at different points.

By 1962, she began her acting career, with her first notable role being as an understudy to then-newcomer Barbra Streisand in the Broadway production of I Can Get It For You Wholesale.

After appearing in several TV shows in bit parts, she made her film debut in 1966’s What’s Up, Tiger Lily?, Woody Allen’s feature directorial debut. She acted in a few of his other early films through the late ’60s and early ’70s, including Take the Money and Run (1969), Bananas (1971), and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972).

She also appeared in multiple episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from 1963 to 1971, plus had other TV credits like The Doctors, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, McCloud and Medical Center.

1976 marked a turning point in Lasser’s career, when she was cast as the title character Mary Hartman in Norman Lear’s satirical soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. The show provides an absurdist take on sitcoms and dramas, featuring an unhappy Ohio housewife (Lasser) who deals with some of the most bizarre daily life situations possible.

The show was renowned for its dark humor and its take on American consumerism, the rise of the liberal movement, absurd scenarios, and its generally bleak outlook on American society, anchored by Lasser’s sympathetic and grounded portrayal of Mary Hartman.

Lasser became a household name thanks to the show, which only ran for two seasons but aired 325 episodes until its 1977 conclusion. She earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance and was invited to host an episode of Saturday Night Live, which infamously saw her recreate one of her character’s nervous breakdowns, reportedly angering the sketch show’s regular players and leading to rumors of her being banned from SNL.

From 1966 to 1970, Lasser was married to Woody, a relationship that began as a professional one through running in New York City circles. Despite their divorce, she continued appearing in his films, the last being 1980’s Stardust Memories.

The pair remained friends for several years, with Lasser telling Interview Magazine in 2013: “I love his work. That relationship was a very influential relationship, on every level. It’s interesting to see that. I’ll forever be influenced by his work. A lot of my best work comes from his work.”

In 1976, Lasser was apprehended by authorities when she refused to leave a boutique without purchasing a $150 dollhouse after her credit card had been rejected. Cops later found her with $6 worth of cocaine in her purse.

She was sentenced to six months of counseling, and the incident was later parodied on an episode of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

In her later years, Lasser lived a quiet life in Manhattan and ran the Louise Lasser Acting Studio. Her final film appearance was in 2022, the Owen Kline dark comedy Funny Pages.