The Emmy award winning actress leaves behind a rich legacy.
Actress, beauty product entrepreneur and singer Polly Bergen passed away this week at the age of 84. Hollywood was saddened by the loss of such an icon.
Her career spanned six decades so there is not a person alive that likely has not seen something Bergen did in her lifetime. Older fans may remember her in one of her first roles in 1951’s That’s My Boy. Baby boomers got to know her in the late 1970’s and into the early 1980’s on the classic show The Love Boat.
She made quite the impression as a mistress on The Sopranos in 2004 and then went on to play Felicity Huffman’s mother in Desperate Housewives for four years starting in 2007. Bergen’s last role was as Chris Colfer of Glee’s 2012 movie, Struck by Lightning, where she played his senile grandma.
Bergen took home one Emmy for her work in The Helen Morgan Story in 1958, and was later nominated for a few more in her career.
On top of being an accomplished actress, Bergen was a celebrated singer as well. She released 11 albums from 1955 through 1996. That’s not all, entertainment aside – she started a beauty products line and sold the company in 1973 to Faberge.
Of course with a celebrity death, there are many reactions. Desperate Housewives co-star Dana Delany tweeted, “I adored Polly Bergen. She was a broad ahead of her time who lived a fascinating & varied life. She will be missed.” Colfer also sent out his sentiments but on Instagram saying, “Farewell to my dear friend, Polly. I’m so blessed to have had you in my life. No one could make me smile or laugh like you. I will miss you with all my heart. ‘Grandma’ for a movie, but family for life.”
Bergen passed away in her Connecticut home of natural causes on September 20, 2014.
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