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We have sad news to report today from Hollywood:
Diane Ladd, the Oscar-nominated actress and mother of Laura Dern, has died at the age of 89.
News of Ladd’s passing comes courtesy of a statement from his daughter:
The Hollywood Reportr.
Ladd, second cousin of legendary playwright Tennessee Williams, married fellow actor Bruce Dern in 1960.
He landed a steady stream of television jobs throughout the ’60s, but it wasn’t until 1973 that he landed his breakout role.
That was the year a young Martin Scorsese cast Ladd as Flo, the sassy Southern waitress of Alice doesn’t live here anymore.
The film received rave reviews and earned Ladd his first Oscar nomination.
“The film is full of brilliantly executed individual scenes,” wrote Roger Ebert in his review (according to The Hollywood Reporter).
“Alice, for example, has a run-in with a waitress with an inspired vocabulary. [Ladd]. They strike up a friendship and one day they have a frank and honest conversation while sunbathing. The scene works perfectly.”
Alice It went on to spawn a long-running television comedy, but Ladd was on to bigger and better things.
He then earned two more Oscar nominations, for his work in wild at heart and rambling rose.
