To Kill a Mockingbird's Phyllis Somerville Dies at 76

Phyllis Somerville, who was known for The Big C and most recently took the Broadway stage in To Kill a Mockingbird, died on July 16 at the age of 76. The actress died of natural causes at her home in New York City, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Born on December 12, 1943 in Iowa City, Iowa, Somerville began her acting career in 1952. She was featured in an episode of the TV series Guiding Light and then went on to appear in Law & Order, NYPD Blue, Sex and the City and The Sopranos. In 2010, she took on the character of Marlene, Laura Linney's character's neighbor, in Showtime's The Big C. Her screen credits also included Little Children, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Surviving Family, Stuff, Madam Secretary, House of Cards, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and many more.

Somerville played Mrs. Henry DuBose in Aaron Sorkin's lauded stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, which was playing at the Shubert Theatre at the time of the Broadway shutdown announcement. She made her debut in 1974 in Over Here! and also appeared on Broadway in 'night, Mother (as the standby for Kathy Bates) and Once in a Lifetime. She appeared off-Broadway in The Sandbox, Drowning, Funnyhouse of a Negro, I Remember Mama, Happiness, The Night Hank Williams Died, Moe’s Lucky Seven, Little Egypt, The Sum of Us, Marisol and  The Spitfire Grill.