Elizabeth Franz, Tony-winning 'Death of a Salesman' actor, dies at 84

Theater seasoned Elizabeth Franz, who won a Tony Award for her bold reinvention arsenic the woman of the everyman rubric quality successful the 1999 Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” has died. She was 84.

The histrion died Nov. 4 astatine her location successful Woodbury, Conn., aft a conflict with cancer, her husband, screenwriter Christopher Pelham, told the New York Times. Pelham besides told the outlet that Franz’s origin of decease was crab and a terrible absorption to the medicine being utilized to dainty her.

The Ohio-born actor’s instrumentality connected Linda Loman, the woman of Brian Dennehy’s Willy Loman, successful the 50th day accumulation of “Death of a Salesman,” was a departure from the character’s accustomed defeated vigor that took adjacent playwright Miller by surprise: “She discovered successful the relation the basal underlying almighty protectiveness, which comes retired arsenic fury, and that successful the past, successful each show I cognize of, was simply washed out,” Miller said successful a 1999 interview. The production, which originated astatine Chicago’s Goodman Theatre earlier Broadway, yet made its mode to L.A.’s Ahmanson Theatre.

Alongside Dennehy, Franz aboriginal reprised the relation of Linda successful Showtime’s TV adaptation of the play successful 2000, which earned her an Emmy Award nomination.

She antecedently received a Tony nom successful 1983 for her crook arsenic Matthew Broderick’s onstage parent successful Neil Simon’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs.” And aboriginal earned different motion successful 2002 for “Morning’s astatine Seven,” successful which she played the youngest of 4 Midwest sisters. Her different signifier credits see “The Cherry Orchard,” “The Cemetery Club” and — successful her last relation connected Broadway successful 2010 — “The Miracle Worker.”

Franz’s TV credits included “Judging Amy,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Roseanne” and “Homeland.” A generation, though, came to cognize her arsenic Mia Bass, the proprietor of the Independence Inn successful Stars Hallow, successful a Season 2 occurrence of “Gilmore Girls.” The minor, but essential-to-the-lore quality was aboriginal recast successful Season 7. She besides appeared successful the films “Sabrina,” “School Ties,” “A Fish successful the Bathtub” and “Christmas With the Kranks.”

In summation to Pelham, Franz is survived by a brother, Joe.