Markie Post, an actress known for The Fall Guyand Night Court, died Saturday following a battle with cancer. She was 70.
Post’s manager, Ellen Lubin Sanitsky, confirmed her death to The Hollywood Reporter.
Post was born in 1950 in Palo Alto, California, and began her career in television by serving as an associate producer on the game series Double Dare, which was hosted by the late Alex Trebek.
She first appeared as an actor on television in the TV movie Frankie and Annette: The Second Time Around. Post appeared in numerous series after that, from comedy show Semi-Tough to crime drama The Gangster Chronicles, Fantasy Island and The Love Boat.
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From 1982-85, Post took on the role of Terri Michaels in action adventure series The Fall Guy, opposite Lee Majors, Heather Thomas and Douglas Barr. She went on to play Christine Sullivan in the comedy series Night Court, and later had recurring roles in Hearts Afire and Odd Man Out.
In 1998, Post played Cameron Diaz’s mother in Peter and Bobby Farrelly’s There’s Something About Mary. Her more recent credits include Chicago P.D., The Kids Are Alright TV series and Transformers Prime,in which she voiced the character of June Darby.
Post continued pursuing acting roles after her cancer diagnosis, with appearances in shows such as Santa Clarita Diet.
Post’s family shared in a statement, “But for us, our pride is in who she was in addition to acting; a person who made elaborate cakes for friends, sewed curtains for first apartments and showed us how to be kind, loving and forgiving in an often harsh world.”
Sophia Bush, who played Post’s daughter on NBC’s Chicago P.D., paid tribute to the actress on Twitter on Sunday. “I’m just heartbroken at the news of Markie’s passing … she was a rock. A light. A great friend and a phenomenal scene partner. She brought sunshine everywhere she went. Prayers,” Bush tweeted.
Bush’s One Tree Hill co-star Hilarie Burton, who also played Post’s daughter in the 2013 film Christmas on the Bayou, expressed grief over her passing on Instagram. “Devastated just isn’t a strong enough word. To know Markie Post was to fall head over heels in love with her,” Burton wrote, sharing memories of working on the holiday film together in Louisiana with costar Tyler Hilton.
“Our little gang went everywhere together. Markie bought us all harmonica necklaces and we’d break out into Old Susanna at a moments notice. Markie came to my apartment and read books to my son and nurtured me as a young mother. She was just so good at loving people. It came so easy to her. The way she talked about her husband and daughters….I wanted to be loved like that. I wanted to LOVE like that,” Burton wrote. “I’m not being eloquent because I am deeply sad. But I have scores of letters from this magical woman where she calls me things like ‘my darling girl’. She was gentle with me, and made me feel safe and seen. Especially in an industry where being a girl was sometimes a danger. I could put my guard down with her. She was the perfect mix of lady and dame, a master of domestic arts…but also quick to call someone on their shit. She played @sophiabush’s mom not long after, making us tv sisters of a sort. She was the kind of person whom everyone considered their dear friend, cause I don’t think she knew how to be anything less than that. But to her husband Michael and daughters Kate and Daisy….thank you for sharing her with us. Loving her has been a joy.”
Hilton also paid tribute on Instagram.
He wrote: “Cried like I haven’t in a long time when I heard you left us yesterday Markie… When I saw you a few weeks ago I thought I squeezed you tight enough, told you I loved you as many times as I thought might keep what was looking inevitable from actually happening. I wouldn’t let myself for a second think the worst. You were going to be in my life forever, Winnie would consider you family, we had so many more laughs and hugs and dinners and christmases left… But yesterday it became real for the first time. Insta posts can never do justice to something this important… And I’m crying again writing this… fuck. This one hurts so so much. I don’t want to say it… I don’t want to say goodbye. So… I love you. And always will.”
Ed Asner also paid a tribute on Twitter to his former Hearts Afire co-star, writing “I am devastated to hear of the passing of my friend Markie Post. She was a true talent. We did Hearts Afire together and to work with her and John was a gift. F&@k Cancer! #MarkiePost.”
Marsha Warfield reflected on her time working with Post on Night Court in a Facebook post, saying she was shocked and devastated to learn of her death.
“She has been, and will be, described as perky, bubbly, sweet, etc. And she was. But, she was also real, caring and kind. I never heard a cross word from, to, or about her. Because of our shared love of game shows, we were on set playmates,” Warfield wrote. “You hear actors saying their casts were a family, but on Night Court, the whole crew was family. I was adopted late, but I never doubted that I was family too. Markie was a big reason for that. She was our welcome lady, or whatever you call that person who shows up at your door with a pie and a smile the first day you move in the neighborhood. I never got the pie, but the smile was bright enough to make you forget pie was a thing. Harry, Charlie and Markie were a big part of my life. They were cast mates, co-workers, friends and family. I will miss them, and cherish the memories we made and shared. Three of the nicest people I’ve had the pleasure to know, may they rest together in peace, forever calling out Passwords, cracking jokes and sharing laughs and smiles. My deepest heartfelt condolences to all whose lives they touched, and may their families and friends be comforted with the knowledge that there are millions of us.”
Post’s The Kids Are Alright co-star Mary McCormack also tweeted her condolences.
“This breaks my heart,” she tweeted. “Markie was just the best. An incredible scene partner and friend. I feel so lucky to have had our time together. I will miss her very much.”
Post is survived by her husband, producer and writer Michael A. Ross; and daughters Kate Armstrong Ross and Daisy Schoenborn.
Details of a planned memorial have not yet been shared.
