'Dick Van Dyke Show' Star Barbara Perry Dies at 97

Photo: Alison Buck/Getty Images

Actress Barbara Perry — who had memorable roles onThe Dick Van Dyke Show,The Hathaways,The Andy Griffith Show,Perry Mason,Bewitched,andMurphy Brown— died on Sunday morning in Los Angeles of natural causes. She was 97.

Family spokesman David Van Deusen confirmed news of Perry’s death to PEOPLE. His newsletter,The Walnut Times, is dedicated to fans ofThe Dick Van Dyke Show.

On the beloved sitcom, Perry played Pickles Sorrell, the wife of Morey Amsterdam’s joke-writer character Buddy Sorrell. She appeared alongside Amsterdam in two, first-seasonDick Van Dyke Showepisodes, that aired in 1961 and 1962.

The actress was born on June 22, 1921, in Norfolk, Virginia. The arts ran through Perry’s blood.Her father was a keyboardist and conductor and her mother was a choral singer at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, theHollywood Reporterreported. By age 4, Perry was on stage, making her debut as Trouble in the Met’s production ofMadame Butterfly.

Eventually, Perry’s family moved to Hollywood where she jumped into a career in dance. She found success in tap, and headlined at popular clubs like the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles, the Chez Paris in Chicago, and the Café de Paris in London, according toTheHollywood Reporter.

The star also appeared on Broadway — first in 1946’sSwan Songand later inIf the Shoe Fits(1946),Happy as Larry(1950),Rumple(1957) and even a solo show she wrote and performed calledPassionate Ladies(1981).

The Dick Van Dyke Showin 1962.CBS via Getty Images

She was one of Murphy Brown’s secretaries in 1990 (secretary No. 39, to be exact); a neighbor who dolls out love advice to Ted for two episodes ofHow I Met Your Mother;and, most recently, a gift shop employee on a 2017 installment of FX’sBaskets.

In October, Perry was honored with the Founders Award from SAG-AFTRA.

source: people.com