Actress Frances Bay died on Thursday of pneumonia complications. She was 92 years old, The New York Times announces. The cousin of the actress, Marly Zaslow, confirms her death and its cause.
Actress Frances Bay, Jerry Seinfeld’s “nana” in the sitcom, has died due to complications from pneumonia. She spent her final hours in Tarzana, Los Angeles, her cousin, Marly Zaslow, confirms.
Frances bay was born Frances Goffman, on January 23, 1919, in Alberta, Canada. She began acting before World War II and the most noticeable role in her debut period was the one in “Winnipeg”. She was also a radio show host at the time.
She changed residence when she got married. She and husband Charles Bay moved to Cape Town in South Africa. Overall, her personal life was far from being perfect. She had an only son, who died very young, at the age of 23. Her husband died in 2002. Just months after his death, she was involved in a car accident that left her without a part of her right leg.
At a professional level, she was one of the most loved actresses, by both her co-workers and a huge number of fans. In the fall of 2008 she received a star on Canada’s Walk Of Fame, partly due to the enormous number of letter from fans requesting it ( about 10,000 letters). Among the people who sent letters to the Selection Committee, there were also some of the most popular actors in the world: Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, David Lynch, Monty Hall, and more.
Frances Bay’s most notable roles were Mrs. Pickman in “In the Mouth of Madness”, Adam Sandler’s grannie in “Happy Gilmore” and Seinfeld’s nana in the Jerry Seinfeld sitcom. In 1986, Bay appeared as the doddery aunt of Kyle MacLachlan's character in David Lynch's Blue Velvet. This role seems to have endeared the actress to Lynch, who recast her in several subsequent works, including as a foul-mouthed madam in Wild at Heart, and as Mrs. Tremond on Twin Peaks and its movie spin-off, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.
Fans of "Seinfeld" know her as the tough lady who fought with the show's star over the last loaf of bread.
She has no immediate survivors.
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