Louise Lasser, the zesty, ebullient actor who played a harried Ohio housewife dealing with extreme events in the satirical sitcom Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, has died aged 87. The show, a spoof of daytime soap operas, aired five times a week in the US, producing 325 episodes over two seasons from 1976 to 1977. UK audiences saw only nine episodes in 1980; a 38-disc DVD box set was released in 2013.
Breakthrough Role and Woody Allen Collaborations
Lasser became a household name in the US for her role as Mary Hartman. She was also known for her work with Woody Allen, to whom she was married for four years. Allen called her “charming, smart as a whip, quick, very funny and witty.” She appeared briefly in Allen's mockumentary Take the Money and Run (1969) and played Nancy, a social activist, in Bananas (1971). A sex scene between them was staged like a sporting event with commentary from broadcaster Howard Cosell.
In Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Lasser appeared as a woman who can only climax in public, a parody of Italian arthouse cinema. Allen had considered dropping the sequence, but Lasser argued for keeping it, suggesting it be played “with rich modern Italians.” They delivered dialogue in phonetic Italian with English subtitles.
Early Life and Career
Born in New York City on 11 April 1939 to Paula (an interior decorator) and Sol Lasser (an accountant and author of income tax guides), Lasser grew up in wealth. She attended Fieldston private school and Brandeis University, where she studied political science until depression forced her to drop out. She took acting classes with Sanford Meisner and worked in commercials and on stage.
She met Allen in 1958; they began a relationship in 1960 and married in 1966. Allen credited her “instinct and faith” with encouraging him to submit pieces to the New Yorker. Lasser understudied Barbra Streisand in the 1962 Broadway production of I Can Get It for You Wholesale. “Streisand was electric,” she said. “She stopped the show, and then when I did it no one knew when a song was over.” In 1967, she starred with Don Ameche in Henry, Sweet Henry.
Later Career and Personal Struggles
After Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Lasser wrote and starred in the TV movie Just Me and You (1978) with Charles Grodin. She had guest roles on Taxi (1980-82), St Elsewhere (1984), and films including Crimewave (1985) and Frankenhooker (1990). She appeared in Todd Solondz's Happiness (1998) and Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream (2000). She played a suicidal artist in three episodes of Lena Dunham's Girls (2014-15); Dunham tracked her down via Twitter.
Lasser's career was affected by personal traumas. Her mother died by suicide in 1964; her father also died by suicide. Lasser suffered nervous breakdowns and extended periods of poor health. In his memoir Apropos of Nothing (2020), Allen wondered “just how huge a star she could have been if she’d never had to fight an uphill battle all the way.” She was arrested for cocaine possession.
Her final screen appearance was in Funny Pages (2022), where she played a volatile customer demanding Percocet. Despite being unwell, her comic force and timing remained undimmed. She is survived by her partner, Michael Citriniti. Louise Lasser died on 6 July 2026.
