ACTRESS NELL CARTER DEAD AT 54
Actress-Singer Collapses, Found By Son

POSTED: 1:02 p.m. EST January 23, 2003
UPDATED: 3:46 p.m. EST January 23, 2003

Actress Nell Carter, who starred in the television comedy "Gimme A Break!," died at her Beverly Hills home Thursday of natural causes, her publicist Roger Lane announced Thursday. She was 54.

Lane said the actress-singer collapsed and was found this morning by one of her 13-year-old adopted sons.

The Birmingham, Ala., native starred as the sassy housekeeper, Miss Nellie Ruth Harper, in "Gimme a Break!" from 1981 to 1987 -- a role that earned her Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy nominations in 1982 and 1983.

While she lost out both years for her television series, Carter was awarded with an Outstanding Individual Achievement Emmy in 1982 for performing on the television special "Ain't Misbehavin'." She also won a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway version of the musical.

Carter also starred in the TV soap opera "Ryan's Hope" from 1978-79. She frequently appeared as a guest star on television, including the series "Touched by an Angel," "Reba" and most recently, "Ally McBeal."

According to Lane, Carter had suffered from diabetes for years, and underwent brain surgery in 1992 to remove an aneurysm.

She recovered, and continued to perform -- and had been in rehearsals for the stage musical "Raisin."