In December 2024, the theater and television communities lost a legend when it was announced that Linda Lavin had died unexpectedly at 87 years old. Unfortunately, Linda had been in the midst of filming the Golden Girls-inspired Hulu comedy Mid-Century Modern with Nathan Lane, Nathan Lee Graham and Matt Bomer, with only a few episodes left to film at the time of her passing. The series, which premiered on the streaming service on March 28, 2025, paid tribute to the Alice actress in its penultimate episode. How did Linda die in real life, and what happened to her character on Mid-Century Modern?
What Was Linda Lavin’s Cause of Death?
Linda’s PR rep confirmed her death to Deadline on December 29, 2024, revealing that she “passed unexpectedly due to complications from recently discovered lung cancer.”
Her death certificate, obtained by TMZ in January 2025, later revealed that Linda died from cardiopulmonary arrest, a.k.a. cardiac arrest, which stops blood from pumping into the heart. Lung cancer was also listed as the underlying cause, according to the outlet.
Linda was reportedly given a bronchoscopy, a procedure where a physician looks inside the airways to treat or diagnose a lung condition, just days before her death.
How Did Linda Lavin’s Character Die in ‘Mid-Century Modern’?
Linda’s final role before her death was Sybil Schneiderman in Mid-Century Modern, the mother of Nathan’s Bunny Schneiderman and a beloved mother figure to his two best friends, Arthur Broussurd (Nathan Lee) and Jerry Frank (Matt). She appeared in eight out of 10 episodes.
Episode 9, titled “Here’s to You, Mrs. Schneiderman,” took an emotional turn from the show’s lighthearted humor, as it began with Bunny telling his pals through tears that his mother had passed away unexpectedly while they were on a drive together.
Though Bunny said he drove as fast as he could to the hospital, she had already passed away by the time they arrived, and doctors told him it was a heart attack. The rest of the episode saw Bunny write a eulogy for Sybil and cohost a funeral for his mom with Arthur and Jerry.
Mid-Century Modern creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, who also created Will & Grace together, told TV Line that it was Linda’s idea to give her character that kind of ending.
“When she was diagnosed with [lung cancer], she was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to respond to this, but whatever it is, write it into the character,’” David said.
“Only David, Nathan [Lane], and I knew kind of what was going on, and she was very clear to the three of us that she wanted us to tell the truth,” Max added. “And certainly she had no idea that it was going to go to the place that it went to.”
He continued, “But she had talked about it with us and her husband, Steve Bakunas, so when it happened, that gave us the go-ahead and the comfort and the freedom as writers to sit down with Steve and say, ‘Hey, we’d like to actually write the last day the way that it happened and make that our story.’ And without skipping a beat, Steve said, ‘Of course that’s what you have to do, because that’s what Linda would want you to do.’”