Theater veteran Elizabeth Franz, who won a Tony Award for her role in ‘Death of a Salesman’ and appeared in a memorable episode of ‘Gilmore Girls,’ has died. She was 84.<\/b>
\nTheater veteran Elizabeth Franz, who won a Tony Award for her bold reinvention as the wife of the everyman title character in the 1999 Broadway revival of Arthur Miller\u2019s \u201cDeath of a Salesman,\u201d has died. She was 84.
The actor died Nov. 4 at her home in Woodbury, Conn., after a battle with cancer, her husband, screenwriter Christopher Pelham, told the New York Times. Pelham also said Franz\u2019s cause of death was cancer and a severe reaction to the medication being used to treat her.
The Ohio-born actor\u2019s take on Linda Loman, the wife of Brian Dennehy\u2019s Willy Loman, in the 50th anniversary production of \u201cDeath of a Salesman,\u201d was a departure from the character\u2019s usual defeated energy that took even playwright Miller by surprise: \u201cShe has discovered in the role the basic underlying powerful protectiveness, which comes out as fury, and that in the past, in every performance I know of, was simply washed out,\u201d Miller said in a 1999 interview with the New York Times. The production, which originated at Chicago\u2019s Goodman Theatre before Broadway, eventually made its way to L.A.\u2019s Ahmanson Theatre.
Alongside Dennehy, Franz later reprised the role of Linda in Showtime\u2019s TV adaptation of the play in 2000, which earned her an Emmy Award nomination.
She previously received a Tony nom in 1983 for her turn as Matthew Broderick\u2019s onstage mother in Neil Simon\u2019s \u201cBrighton Beach Memoirs.\u201d And later earned another nod in 2002 for \u201cMorning\u2019s at Seven,\u201d in which she played the youngest of four Midwest sisters. Her other stage credits include \u201cThe Cherry Orchard,\u201d \u201cThe Cemetery Club\u201d and \u2014 in her final role on Broadway in 2010 \u2014 \u201cThe Miracle Worker.\u201d
Franz\u2019s TV credits included \u201cJudging Amy,\u201d \u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy,\u201d \u201cRoseanne\u201d and \u201cHomeland.\u201d A generation, though, came to know her as Mia Bass, the owner of the Independence Inn in Stars Hallow, in a Season 2 episode of \u201cGilmore Girls.\u201d The minor, but essential-to-the-lore character was later recast in Season 7. She also appeared in the films \u201cSabrina,\u201d \u201cSchool Ties,\u201d \u201cA Fish in the Bathtub\u201d and \u201cChristmas With the Kranks.\u201d
In addition to Pelham, Franz is survived by a brother, Joe.<\/p>\n