Lynne Marie Stewart Dead at 78

An actor who played a major role in many people's childhoods has sadly passed away.

Lynne Marie Stewart, who made a name for herself in both the stage and TV versions of "Pee-Wee's Playhouse," is dead at 78. 

Rising Star

Stewart got her career started as a member of The Groundlings, a sketch-comedy improv group based in California.

During her time there, she met Paul Reubens, who played Pee-Wee Herman.

As most actors do, she made her bones in the business with small bit parts in the early days of her career.

She was on "M*A*S*H" playing various different nurses as well as a small role in "American Graffiti." She was also in another very popular sitcom, "Laverne & Shirley."

Making It Big

Her first real break came when she landed the role of Miss Yvonne in "The Pee-Wee Herman Show" in 1981. From there, she made several appearances on "Laverne & Shirley," as well as landing larger roles in movies, such as "Summer School" and "The Running Man."

She then appeared in "Big Top Pee-Wee" as Zelda that Bearded Lady. This led to a recurring role in "Pee-Wee's Playhouse," appearing in 30 episodes during the show's run.

More recently, she played Bonnie Kelly in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," having appeared in 18 episodes of the hit show.

In all, she has 149 acting credits on her resume, quite impressive for someone that was never considered an A-list star. She did what many cannot do to make it in Hollywood... she grinded out a career over decades.

She's Gone

On Friday night, a post was made on social media to confirm that Stewart had passed away at the age of 78.

Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson, whose TV show Stewart had also appeared in, wrote, "My heart is breaking upon hearing the news of my dear friend Lynne Stewart's passing. One of the kindest, sweetest, funniest women who ever lived."

SNL alum Laraine Newman also paid tribute, stating, "The most beautiful girl in Puppetland has left us. Lynne Stewart was truly an angel and brilliantly funny and an important part of our Groundlings family. As my sister said, ‘If you don't love Lynne, you're just wrong.'"

As I noted above, Stewart appeared in numerous shows many of us watched as children. For me, it was "M*A*S*H" and "Laverne & Shirley." Rest in peace, Lynne, and thank you for the wonderful memories and decades of entertainment.