Monday, April 04, 2022
Remembering Estelle Harris of Seinfeld and Barrie Youngfellow of It's a Living; Impractical Jokers Returns in June with Celebrity Guests

Actress Estelle Harris, who was best known for her role as Estelle Costanza on Seinfeld, has died. She died of natural causes on April 2 at her home in Palm Desert, California. Ms. Harris was 93.
Harris had a supporting role as Estelle Costanza on the 1989-1998 NBC sitcom Seinfeld. She was credited on 27 episodes from 1992 to 1998. Estelle Costanza is George's (Jason Alexander) highly obnoxious and melodramatic mother. She constantly squabbles with Frank (Jerry Stiller) and George about their actions but is the closest thing to reason in the Costanza household. The cast included Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards.
She played Ronnie Cohen on five episodes of the first season of the 1993-1994 CBS sitcom Good Advice. Ronnie Cohen is a receptionist at an office. She is the mother of Artie Cohen (George Wyner). The cast included Shelley Long, Treat Williams, Ross Malinger, Lightfield Lewis, Teri Garr (1994) and Henriette Mantel (1994).
Harris had a recurring role as Muriel on 14 episodes of the 2005-2008 Disney Channel sitcom The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Muriel is the saucy hotel maid who conceals her goodly nature beneath a veneer of acidic sarcasm, and spends more time sneaking in naps and robbing guests of loose change than doing any actual cleaning. The cast included Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse, Brenda Song, Ashley Tisdale, Phill Lewis and Kim Rhodes.
She played Nana on 12 episodes of the 2012 web comedy series Greetings from Home. The cast included Dash Mihok, Missi Pyle, Evie Thompson, Hudson Thames, Nicole Randall Johnson, Kristina Sexton, Cherilyn Wilson and Skyler Stone.
Some of her sitcom guest appearances included Night Court (3 episodes as Easy Mary), Married with Children, Brooklyn Bridge, Mad About You, In the House, Moesha, Living Single, Cybill, The Parkers, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (2001), Half & Half, Regular Joe, Phil of the Future (voice), iCarly, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sonny with a Chance, Retired at 35, Are You There, Chelsea? (2 episodes) and The Exes.
Some of her other television guest appearances included Law & Order, Chicago Hope, Fallen Angels, Star Trek: Voyager, Sunset Beach (3 episodes), Providence and ER.
Harris was known for her exaggerated shrill, grating voice. She was the voice of Mrs. Potato Head in the Toy Story franchise in Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story 3 (2010) and Toy Story 4 (2019). In 2005, she lent her voice to Mama Gunda in Tarzan II. She was the voice of Lula on the 2004-2005 Disney Channel animated series Dave the Barbarian. Some of her other voice credits included Aladdin (1995), The Tick (1996), Hercules, The Wild Thornberrys, The Brothers Flub, Family Guy, House of Mouse, The Proud Family, Kim Possible, American Dad!, Futurama and Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates.
She is survived by her three children, as well as three grandsons and a great-grandson. Her husband Sy died on January 11, 2021.
Ms. Harris was hilarious as Estelle Costanza. She was perfectly cast in the role. It's surprising that she appeared on only 27 Seinfeld episodes. Her appearances were always so funny and memorable. We thank her for the laughs and entertainment she brought us during her career. She will be deeply missed.
Share your memories on our Seinfeld message board. View photos in our galleries.
Actress Barrie Youngfellow, who starred as Jan Hoffmeyer Gray on It's a Living, has died. She died on March 28. She called Woodstock, New York, her home since 1989. Ms. Youngfellow was 75.
Youngfellow starred as Dr. Gloria Manners on the short-lived 1978 ABC sitcom A.E.S. Hudson Street. The series, which ran for five episodes, follows the antics of the staff of a run-down Ambulance Emergency Service hospital on Hudson Street, on the lower west side of Manhattan. The cast included Gregory Sierra, Rosana DeSoto, Stefan Gierasch, Susan Peretz, Ralph Manza, Ray Stewart, Bill Cort and Allan Miller.
She starred as sharp-tongued and sarcastic waitress Jan Hoffmeyer Gray on the 1980-1982 ABC and 1985-1989 first-run syndicated sitcom It's a Living. The show follows the lives of the waitresses at the posh restaurant Above the Top, located at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Jan is a single mom who later marries Richie Gray (Richard Kline). The cast included Marian Mercer, Susan Sullivan (1980-1981), Gail Edwards, Wendy Schaal (1980-1981), Ann Jillian (1980-1986), Paul Kreppel, Bert Remsen (1980-1981), Louise Lasser (1981-1982), Earl Boen (1981-1982), Crystal Bernard (1985-1989), Richard Stahl (1985-1989) and Sheryl Lee Ralph (1986-1989).
She played Barbara Russo, Blossom Russo's (Mayim Bialik) mother, on the 1990 pilot episode of Blossom. She did not continue with the project when NBC picked it up as a regular series.
Some of her sitcom guest appearances included The New Temperatures Rising Show, Carter Country, Barney Miller (2 episodes), WKRP in Cincinnati, The Jeffersons, Three's Company, Good Time Harry and It Takes Two. She was a frequent guest on Fernwood 2 Night as Linda Barry.
Some of her other television guest appearances included The Streets of San Francisco, Police Woman, Emergency!, Trapper John, M.D. (2 episodes), Murder, She Wrote (1989) and Law & Order.
She was married to her husband of 39 years, stage and screen actor Sam Freed, who was almost as important to her as her dogs and cats. She is also survived by her sister Heide Rivchun of Cleveland and her sister Kim Rivchun of Providence, Rhode Island.
Ms. Youngfellow had a unique appeal among actresses of the late 1970s and 1980s. She was one of only four cast members who appeared on all six seasons of It's a Living. We thank her for her work on It's a Living and her other television roles. She will be greatly missed.
Share your memories on our It's a Living message board. View photos in our galleres.
The boys are back, along with a few new friends! truTV announced the long-running franchise Impractical Jokers will return with new episodes Thursday, June 16 at 10:00PM ET/PT, featuring a different celebrity guest in each episode joining Brian "Q" Quinn, James "Murr" Murray & Sal Vulcano for more laughs and mischief in the series' ninth season. Joining the spectacle and upping the antics will be a variety of heavy weight star-power including Staten Islanders Method Man (Wu-Tang Clan) and Colin Jost (Saturday Night Live), Chris Jericho (All Elite Wrestling), film star Brooke Shields (The Blue Lagoon), as well as hilarious comedians Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street), Adam Pally (Sonic, Happy Endings), Jon Gabrus (Game Over, Man!) and David Cross (Arrested Development), along with Rob Riggle (Holey Moley) and others.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Friday, September 29
The Villains of Valley View - "The Haunted Jukebox" (Disney Channel, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When a haunted jukebox sends Amy and Hartley to an alternate dimension of Valley View, they must figure out how to get home before they are trapped in Monster Town forever.
Bunk'd: Learning the Ropes - "The Glitching Hour" (Disney Channel, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Noah and Megan watch a strange VHS tape that leads them to believe Jake isn't really who he seems; Lou thinks her life is a television show, and Bill and Winnie are just actors.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 25)
Friday, September 29
- Amy Poehler (Duncanville/Parks and Recreation) - Watch Amy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Nathan Lane (Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) and Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite) - Margaret and Maria are guests on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton will be on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-October)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
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