Saturday, July 19, 2025

RIP Ann Morgan Guilbert of “Dick Van Dyke,” “The Nanny,” “Seinfeld” Fame

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The great comic actress Ann Morgan Guilbert has died at age 87. She played Millie Helper, wife of Jerry, on “The Dick van Dyke Show” from 1961 to 1966– most of the 61 episodes. The Helpers were next door neighbors in New Rochelle to Rob and Laura Petrie (Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore). Millie was to Laura as Ethel once was to Lucy.

Guilbert never stopped working after that, appearing in countless TV shows.  But her big second run came in 1999, when she played Fran Drescher’s grandmother Yetta in “The Nanny” for many episodes. She also appeared memorably in two episodes of “Seinfeld” as Evelyn, the elder Seinfelds’ friend in Boca Vista, Florida, alongside Sandy Baron.

In 2010, Guilbert finally got her movie gold when she played the grandmother in Nicole Holofcener’s excellent comedy, “Please Give,” opposite Catherine Keener and Oliver Platt. Guilbert was one of those great veteran actors whose career spanned a lifetime in Hollywood. The only award she ever received was a cast member of “Please Give” when the film won the Robert Altman Award at the Independent Spirit Awards. But her  work lives on forever.

 

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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