Shelley Morrison, who was widely known for her role as Rosario on 'Will & Grace', was 83-years-old
Shelley Morrison, the actor who played Rosario on 'Will & Grace', has died aged 83.
Morrison died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from heart failure after a brief illness, per publicist told the Associated Press.
A character beloved by fans of the show, Morrison's Rosario Salazar was the maid/minder to Megan Mullaly's Karen Walker, with a highly entertaining and loving relationship built on a lot of friction that led to a lot of comedy.
Morrison stared in 68 episodes of the show's original run before opting not to return for the revival, having retired from acting.
"Shelley’s greatest pride as an actress was in playing the indomitable Rosario, in a comedy series that furthered the cause of social equity and fairness for LGBTQ people," her publicist, Lori DeWaal, told EW.
"She also took pride in portraying a strong, loving yet feisty Latina character. She believed that the best way to change hearts and minds was through comedy."
"Rosario is one of my all-time favourite characters," Morrison said recently, according to the AP. "She reminds me a lot of my own mother, who loved animals and children, but she would not suffer fools. It is very significant to me that we were able to show an older, Hispanic woman who is bright and smart and can hold her own."
Her former co-stars have been paying tribute, calling her "a kind soul with a huge heart", "absolutely hilarious" and "a wonderful actor".
Before her run on 'Will & Grace', Morrison was best known for playing Sister Sixto on 'The Flying Nun', and had a long career as a guest actress, including roles on 'The Partridge Family', 'Three’s A Crowd', 'My Favorite Martian', 'Laredo', 'Gunsmoke' and 'General Hospital'.
She also appeared in 'Fools Rush In' with Salma Hayek and Matthew Perry, and had a long career in voice work.