Not too long afterSeinfeldlost one of its alumni, now they have lost another. Liz Sheridan, who was best known for playing Jerry Seinfeld’s fictional mother on the legendary NBC sitcom from the 1990s, as well as the nosy neighbor Mrs. Ochmonek onALF, died of natural causes at 93 years old.
Sheridan shared her life with musician and writer Dean Wales, to whom she was married from 1985 until 2003, when Wales passed away. Sheridan is currently survived by her daughter and her son-in-law.
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Her rep told the Hollywood Reporter that Sheridan had just turned 93 years old five days prior to her death and died peacefully in her sleep. While Sheridan may be best known for performances as an actor and as a Broadway dancer, she also wrote a tell-all autobiography detailing the romance she hadwith Hollywood iconJames Dean in her younger days before Dean’s tragically young death. Sheridan noted that it was the first time both she and James had their true first love. According to Sheridan, Dean had proposed marriage, but they ultimately split when Dean went to Hollywood to pursue his acting career while Sheridan moved to the Virgin Islands to pursue her music career.
Sheridan then went on to havea successful career on Broadwaybefore she got her first acting gig in Hollywood in 1977 when she went on an episode ofKojak, later taking small roles before getting her most notable breaks on the showALFand, later on,Seinfeld. Sheridan’s role as Helen Seinfeld served as the only recurring character on the show to make an appearance in every single season of the show from 1990 to 1998. Along with Estelle Harris (Mrs. Costanza), Sheridan joins Jerry Stiller (Frank Costanza), Barney Martin (Morty Seinfeld), and Len Lesser (Uncle Leo) among theSeinfeldactors who have died since the show went into syndication.
Even though everyone will remember Sheridan primarily for playing Helen Seinfeld, her acting career in Hollywood was hitby the dreaded “Seinfeld curse"as she struggled to find work after the show was taken off the air. She managed to find work in a Denny’s commercial alongside her onscreen husband Martin, and she later told Entertainment Weekly in 1998 that it was difficult for her and Martin to find work because of their association with the Seinfelds.
AfterSeinfeld, Sheridan went on to have minor film roles in movies such asNow You Know,Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes,Play The Game,Trim, andThe Last Laugh. Sheridan also had guest roles on popular shows in the 2000s likeNumbersandAmerican Dad!The last time Sheridan made an appearance on television was when clips of Helen Seinfeld were used in an episode of CNN’sHistory of the Sitcomminiseries titled, “Just Friends.” Rest in peace, Mrs. Sheridan.
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