Phyllis Somerville of ‘The Big C’ Dead at 76

Phyllis Somerville, the actress best known for her work on the series “The Big C” and as part of the original Broadway cast of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” has died at 76. Her manager, Paul Hilepo, confirmed her passing to Deadline.

Born December 12, 1943, in Iowa City, Iowa, Somerville acted in college and was a resident actor with Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

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Already accomplished on the stage, she debuted on Broadway in 1974’s Tony-nominated musical “Over Here!” and appeared in many productions since, notably touring with Mercedes McCambridge in “‘night Mother,” for which she had been Kathy Bates’ understudy in 1983.

Until the end of 2019, she was a part of the cast of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of the classic story, which starred Ed Harris.

Somerville also appeared regular in films, including “Little Children” (2006), “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008), “Diane” (2018), and “Poms” (2019). In 2017, she shared the screen with legends Robert Redford and Jane Fonda in “Our Souls at Night” (2017).

On TV, along with many guest spots, she made impressions on “The Big C” (2010), “House of Cards” (2013), and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (2017).