'Small-Voiced' Mary Tyler Moore Veteran Dead at 70

Georgia Engel, who played the charmingly innocent, small-voiced Georgette on the Mary Tyler Moore Show and amassed a string of other TV and stage credits, has died. She was 70, reports the AP. Engel died Friday in Princeton, NJ, said her friend and executor, John Quilty. The cause of death was unknown because she was a Christian Scientist and didn't see doctors, Quilty said. "I know the world will be sad and sorry. She touched so many people," said her agent, Jacqueline Stander. Engel was best known for her role on the Mary Tyler Moore Show as the character who was improbably destined to marry pompous anchorman Ted Baxter. Engel also had recurring roles on Everybody Loves Raymond and Hot in Cleveland. She was a five-time Emmy nominee, receiving two nods for Moore's show and three for Everybody Loves Raymond.

She was "the sweetest, kindest, dearest woman. And crazy talented. I will miss her," tweeted Valerie Bertinelli, who starred in Hot in Cleveland. Engel's prolific career also included guest appearances on a variety of series, including The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Coach, and Two and a Half Men. Hot in Cleveland reunited her with Betty White, her co-star in the Mary Tyler Moore Show and the Betty White Show. Her real-life voice was as sweet as the one familiar from her screen roles. "What you see is what you get. That's not a character voice—that's our girl," a smiling White said in a 2012 interview with Engel, calling her a "pure gold" friend and colleague. Engel's final credited appearance came last year in the Netflix series One Day at a Time.

(More obituary stories.)