Actress Anne Schedeen, who starred as matriarch Kate Tanner on the television series “ALF” from 1986 to 1990, has died at the age of 77, her family announced.
Schedeen’s agent, Metropolitan Talent Agency CEO and president Tom Markley, also confirmed the news, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Anne was a true artist and friend. One of a kind. I’ll miss her,” he said.
No cause of death was provided, Deadline reported.
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share Annie has passed peacefully,”the actress’ family wrote on her official Facebook page. “She leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of creative energy, whip-smart humor, delight in her family, adoration for little dogs, burning hatred for Trump, passion for second-hand thrifting, and love for a good story.
“We are bereft without her. We loved her so, so much, as did all who met her.”
In her signature role, Schedeen played Kate Tanner on “ALF,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. The sitcom centered around a wisecracking alien who lands in the garage of a family who lives in suburban California and winds up living with them.
The show would spawn several spinoffs, including an animated show, the entertainment news outlet reported.
“When ‘ALF’ came along it was another pilot season,” she once said. “I kept reading scripts. I almost got involved with one, then withdrew at the last minute. Then I read ‘ALF.’ I said, ‘This is funny. It makes me laugh.’ I met the people involved, I met ‘ALF,’ and became more convinced I wanted to do it.
“That little alien made me laugh.”
Schedeen was born Luanne Ruth Schedeen on Jan. 8, 1949, and grew up on a farm outside of Portland, Oregon, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
She told The Washington Post in a 1988 interview that she first began acting when she was 6 years old “with teapots and flowers.”
Schedeen studied at Portland State University and Fort Wayne College in Spokane, Washington, before moving to New York City, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
According to “Deadline,” Schedeen made her onscreen debut in a 1974 episode of “The Six Million Dollar Man.” She appeared in numerous roles, including on “McCloud,” “The Bionic Woman,” “Emergency!,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Three’s Company,” “Cheers,” “Magnum PI,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “Judging Amy.”
The entertainment news outlet said Schedeen also appeared in several movies, including “Embryo” (1976), “Flight to Holocaust” (1977), “Exo-Man” (1977), “Champions: A Love Story” (1979), “Second Thoughts” (1983), “Slow Burn” (1986) and “Cast the First Stone” (1989).
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