Last night’s episode of Modern Family, titled Spuds (Season 11, Episode 14), featured a tribute to actress Marsha Kramer who died last month (January 23) at the age of 74.
The tribute to Kramer was a memorial that featured at the end of the episode, immediately after the closing scene.
“In Memory of Marsha Kramer,” it read.
Kramer played Margaret, Jay Pritchett’s (Ed O’Neill) assistant, on the ABC sitcom.
Her last appearance on Modern Family was in Season 11, Episode 12, titled Dead on a Rival, which aired on January 22, 2020.
In the episode, Kramer’s character, Margaret, comes out of retirement to work for Alex (Ariel Winter), Jay’s granddaughter.
So sad to hear that my long time friend, Marsha Kramer passed away yesterday at the age of 74. She was so delightful in the 14 eps she shot as Margaret on Modern Family over the last 7 yrs, but I’ll always remember her soaring aloft as Wendy to Sandy Duncan’s Peter Pan. #RIP pic.twitter.com/H3vfdzPfiP
— Jeff Greenberg (@JeffGreenbergCD) January 24, 2020
Everyone at @ModernFam is so sad about the passing of Marsha Kramer, who so brilliantly played Jay’s assistant Margaret. She was hilarious and sweet beyond words. https://t.co/gQmi88K0Uh
— Steve Levitan (@SteveLevitan) January 26, 2020
Marsha Kramer bio
Marsha Kramer was born in Chicago, Illinois, in June 1945, but she grew up in Los Angeles, according to Deadline.
She attended UCLA and graduated with a degree in theater arts. She also attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Kramer was a theater, TV, and film actress. She appeared in 14 episodes (2013-2020) of Modern Family as Margaret, according to her IMDb page.
During her career, spanning five decades, she appeared in many theater, TV shows, and movies.
Kramer’s theater credits included The Night of the Iguana and All My Sons. She played Wendy in the Broadway production of Peter Pan in 1975.
Her other theater credits included The Prisoner of Second Avenue, I’m Not Rappaport, And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little, Broadway Bound, and Third.
She appeared as Donna in one episode of The Bill Cosby Show in 1970. She also appeared on TV shows such as The Waltons, The Bob Newhart Show, Cheers, Fraiser, Eagleheart, Dr. Ken, Touched by an Angel, Malcolm in the Middle, and NCIS.
She played Nurse Emily in one episode (2007) of the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives, according to her IMDb page.
She also played roles in movies such as White Palace and On Edge.
She was a founding and board member of The Musical Theater Guild. She was also a founding member of Classic & Contemporary American Plays (CCAP). The group focuses on “bringing theater into the lives of children of diverse backgrounds.”
She was married to Jim Keller. They met while she performed at the Mayfair Music Hall in Santa Monica, where Jim was the theater manager at the time.
Together, Marsha and Jim managed Marsha’s family business, Kramers Pipe & Tobacco Shop, started by her parents in 1949 in Beverly Hills.