Tanya Roberts, 'That '70s Show' star, dies at 65 a day after her death was prematurely announced
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • 3 years ago • 25 commentsBy: David K. Li and Diana Dasrath (NBC News)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Actor Tanya Roberts, best known for the James Bond film "A View to a Kill" and television's "That '70s Show," died on Monday night a day after her passing was incorrectly reported, her publicist and partner said.
Roberts, 65, passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the actress' long-time partner, Lance O'Brien, and her spokesman Mike Pingel both told NBC News on Tuesday.
Roberts was suffering from a urinary tract infection which spread to her kidney and gall bladder, according to both men. They said she was not suffering from Covid-19.
Pingel had alerted several news outlets Sunday that Roberts had died. But it turned out she was still alive and Pingel was unintentionally relaying incorrect information from O'Brien, according to the publicist.
O'Brien was speaking to the syndicated television show "Inside Edition" on Monday morning when Cedars-Sinai called and interrupted the interview to inform him Roberts was still alive.
"Now you're telling me that she's alive?" O'Brien can be heard saying on the show. "Thank the Lord. Thank God."
1984: Tanya Roberts on her role in 'Sheena: Queen of the Jungle'
O'Brien said Roberts went to the bathroom and collapsed at about 4 a.m. on Christmas Eve, prompting him to call 911. They took her to the hospital, but the long-time boyfriend said he believed Roberts was going to be OK.
"I didn't think this would be the last time I was going to be seeing her," he said Tuesday. "I didn't think it was that serious."
Then on Sunday, O'Brien said doctors called him to come to the hospital for an "end of life situation."
At one point of the visit, O'Brien said Roberts' eyes rolled into the the back of her head and she passed out, leading him to believe she had died.
"I felt totally lost. I was crying and crying," O'Brien said of the Sunday visit. "Mike (Pingel) asked what happened. I told him I said goodbye."
Roberts was in a makeshift ward of Cedars-Sinai and staff was overwhelmed with Covid-19 patients, according to O'Brien. He claimed he was unable to find a nurse or doctor to confirm Roberts had passed.
"Trying to get info out of these people is impossible," he said, while insisting hospital staff was not in any way at fault for Sunday's false report.
Born Victoria Leigh Blum on Oct. 15, 1955, Roberts enjoyed a successful modeling career and appeared in off-Broadway roles before hitting it big on the silver and small screens.
She made her film debut in 1975 with "The Last Victim" and thereafter had credits in a series of cult films such as "The Beastmaster" (1982), "Sheena: Queen of the Jungle" (1984), "Body Slam" (1987) and "Night Eyes" (1990).
Many TV fans will best remember her for one season (1980-81) of "Charlie's Angels" when she played private detective Julie Rogers. She was the sixth actress to play one of the female crime fighters, following in the footsteps of Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd and Shelley Hack.
Tanya Roberts, Don Stark, Brooke Shields and Laura Prepon star in an episode of That 70s Show in 2004.Everett Collection
In the 1985 Bond movie, "A View to a Kill," she played the role of geologist Stacey Sutton, who teams up with the British spy to stop a madman played by Christopher Walken.
On "That '70s Show," Roberts was the laidback hippie mother of Donna Pinciotti, played by Laura Prepon. She left the show in 2001 but returned in 2004.
Roberts' most recent onscreen appearance was in the television series "Barbershop" in 2005.
Variety contributed.
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Sounds like a soap opera plot. I suspect foul play.
Reports of her demise were exaggerated but not by very much. What an unfortunate passage. RIP...
she died before her time
possibly, one day, before
Has always been one of my favorite movies. Hell, I was only 3 when it came out, but quickly fell in love with it.
Bummer that she passed away so young.
That was a good movie. Tanya was quite the hottie.
Yes, she was.
I always wanted a pair of ferrets and call them Koto and Poto.
I've had ferrets. Squeaky and Suzy
They're so cute!
I loved them so much. They were fun and playful when they weren't sleeping (which they did a lot). But they don't live very long 6-8 years.
I would love to have another pair
My husband had a pair when he was in his 20s; he said they're a handful.
But I still think they're awesome.
I thought they were rather easy to take care of. Since they're small you have to keep an eye on them when they're running around outside their cage, but if you keep them busy with toys and tubes it's not hard.
My stupid dog would probably try and eat them. I could never have any with him around.
You'd be surprised. I got a puppy after I got the ferrets. They all got along great. They even got along with the cat when I got one
Ferrets look too much like some of his toys that he rips to shreds. I wouldn't chance it.
awww...
Maybe some day
I would still love to get a pair of sugar gliders... I don't know if you've ever seen them, but they're adorable and love to sit in a pocket with their person.
I almost had one once. The person bringing it to me had a cat and the two got into a fight. Both had to be put down.
UTIs can kill you????
Good to know
Yes, especially if the infection spreads. A severe enough infection can cause septic shock.
Wouldn't you have some kind of a warning like pain in the lower abdomen and a fever?
Generally speaking, yes; normally a fever accompanies a UTI or kidney infection. Pain in the lower abdomen may or may not occur, sometimes it's the lower back once in the kidneys and that may be attributed to older age aches and pains. The infection in the gall bladder would generally cause upper abdomen pain.
thanks for the info. It's good to be informed at my age
Yes, but not always. Usually the sign of a UTI is burning on urination. If the infection spreads to the kidneys, one might develop lower back or flank pain, possibly blood in the urine, which may not always be readily visible. But if an infection spreads in the bloodstream and proliferates rapidly, the immune response may be overwhelmed and sepsis can occur. A fever is likely. Other factors to consider, but are not mentioned is what her overall health status was and whether she was dehydrated or not (which can exacerbate a septic shock). If her gallbladder became involved, then it probably became inflamed, which would cause pain and fever too. Based on what were told, I suspect she started with a UTI which quickly spread to the kidney and gallbladder and probably into the bloodstream.
She was also a Charlie's Angel for a short time.