Elaine Stritch appears in a scene from ‘Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me.’ (Sundance Selects)
LOS ANGELES —
Elaine Stritch, the brash theater performer whose gravelly, gin-laced voice and impeccable comic timing made her a Broadway legend, has died. She was 89.
Joseph Rosenthal, Stritch’s longtime attorney, said the actress died Thursday of natural causes at her home in Birmingham, Michigan.
Although Stritch appeared in movies and on television, garnering three Emmys and finding new fans as Alec Baldwin’s unforgiving mother on "30 Rock," she was best known for her stage work, particularly in her candid one-woman memoir, "Elaine Stritch: At Liberty," and in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Company."
A tart-tongued monument to New York show business endurance, Stritch worked well into her late 80s, most recently as Madame Armfeldt in a revival of Sondheim’s musical "A Little Night Music." She replaced Angela Lansbury in 2010 to critical acclaim.
VIEW PHOTOS OF FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO DIED IN 2014:
AP Photo/ Shakh Aivazov” src=”http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/wabc/images/cms/AP399403664436.jpg”>Former Georgian president and ex-Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze died Monday, June 7, 2014 at the age of 86. <span class=meta>AP Photo/ Shakh Aivazov</span>” src=”http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/wabc/images/cms/139817_200x113.jpg”>Eli Wallach, the raspy-voiced character actor who starred in dozens of movies and Broadway plays over a remarkable and enduring career has died. <span class=meta></span>” src=”http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/wabc/images/cms/kasemdeaths.jpg”>Casey Kasem, the internationally famous radio broadcaster who became the king of the top 40 countdown with a syndicated show that ran for decades, died June 15, 2014. He was 82. <span class=meta></span>Ann B. Davis, who became America’s favorite housekeeper as Alice Nelson of
(AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)"/>
” src=”http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/wabc/images/cms/051914-wabc-jerryvale-obit-img.jpg”>Popular 1950s crooner Jerry Vale died at his California home Sunday, May 18, 2014. <span class=meta></span>British actor Bob Hoskins, whose varied career ranged from
"/>
” src=”http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/wabc/images/cms/050214-wabc-GabrielGarciaMarquez-img.jpg”>Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Nobel laureate whose work exposed readers to Latin America’s passion, superstition, violence and inequality, died on Apr. 17, 2014. He was 87. <span class=meta></span>Photo by Jon Furniss Photography/Invision/AP” src=”http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/wabc/images/cms/050214-wabc-PeachesGeldof-img.jpg”>Peaches Geldof, the 25-year-old daughter of entertainer Bob Geldof, died suddenly on April 7, 2014 <span class=meta>Photo by Jon Furniss Photography/Invision/AP</span>British actress Kate O’Mara, best known for her role in the 1980s soap opera
AP Photo"/>
Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP, File” src=”http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/wabc/images/cms/050214-wabc-LWrenScott-img.jpg”>Fashion Designer L’Wren Scott, pictured here with partner Mick Jagger, died Mar. 17, 2014. She was 49. <span class=meta>Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP, File</span>Sheila MacRae, best known for playing Alice Kramden to Jackie Gleason’s Ralph in the 1960s re-creation of
"/>
” src=”http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/wabc/images/cms/050214-wabc-JohnHenson-img.jpg”>Puppeteer John Henson, son of the late Muppets creator Jim Henson, died on Feb. 14, 2014 from a heart attack after building an igloo with his daughter, his sister said. He was 48. <span class=meta></span>Actor Richard Bull, who played Nels Oleson on the TV show,
AP Photo/Courtesy Alison Arngrim"/>
Joan Mondale, who burnished a reputation as
"/>
Austrian actor Maximilian Schell, who won the best actor Oscar in the early 1960s for his portrayal of a defense attorney in the drama
"/>
Actor Dave Madden, who played the child-hating agent on the hit 1970s sitcom
AP Photo/Copyright CPT Holdings Inc, Courtesy Sony Pictures Television"/>
AP Photo / John Dunn” src=”http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/wabc/images/cms/050214-wabc-JerryColeman-img.jpg”>Hall of Fame broadcaster Jerry Coleman, a former second baseman who interrupted his career to fly as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and Korea, died Jan. 5, 2014. He was 89. <span class=meta>AP Photo / John Dunn</span>James Avery, who laid down the law as the Honorable Philip Banks in
"/>
Rubin
"/>
” src=”http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/wabc/images/cms/050214-wabc-LaceyHolsworth-img.jpg”>Michigan State fan Lacey Holsworth who had her story told during the recent NCAA basketball tournament died of cancer on Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at the age of 8. <span class=meta></span>Ralph Waite, who played the father, John Walton, Sr., in TV’s hit series
AP Photo / AP"/>
Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won the 2006 Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance as writer Truman Capote in
