Georgia Engel

Very sad news today...

Georgia Engel, who earned two Emmy noms for playing Ted Baxter’s significant other Georgette Franklin on The Mary Tyler Moore and three consecutive for Everybody Loves Raymond, has died. She was 70.

Engel joined The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1972 when it was a top 10 primetime series and would appear in nearly 60 episodes over its final five seasons. Her dim but well-meaning Georgette was the love interest of self-important anchorman Baxter (Ted Knight), who courted and eventually married her during the November 1975 sweep — though he didn’t seem all that prepared for it. They went on to adopt a child and later had one of their own.

She joined CBS’ mega-hit Everybody Loves Raymond during Season 7 in 2003 and would score back-to-back-to-back Guest Actress Emmy nominations for playing the mother-in-law of Brad Garrett’s Robert Barone. Engel continued to work in TV post-Raymond, appearing in episodes of such series as The Office, Two and a Half Men, Passions and Neighbours. She also recurred as Mamie in 20 episodes of Hot in Cleveland, TV Land’s first scripted series, and her final credit was a 2018 appearance in Netflix’s Grace and Frankie.

Along with her work on the big and small screens, Engle appeared in four Broadway shows, including a star turn in the musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone (2006-07). Earlier she trod the Main Stem boards in The Boys from Syracuse (2002), My One and Only (1983) and as a late-run replacement in the original production of Hello, Dolly! in 1969.

She was always entertaining on every show and certainly had a very long and successful career. You couldn't help but love her.



She will be missed, but very fondly remembered by many.