Today we need to report some very sad news, as the talented and hilarious actress Katherine Helmond has passed away. Known to many for her memorable roles on various sitcoms, Helmond's talent agency, APA, confirms the TV star died on Saturday due to complications from Alzheimer's disease at her Los Angeles home. Passing away at the age of 89, Helmond is survived by her husband of 57 years, David Christian, who called her the love of his life. "We spent 57 beautiful, wonderful, loving years together, which I will treasure forever," Christian says. "I've been with Katherine since I was 19 years old. The night she died, I saw that the moon was exactly half-full, just as I am now ... half of what I've been my entire adult life."

Helmond began acting on stage in the '50s, and it wasn't until the '70s when she got her first big break in the business. The actress appeared in movies like Family Plot, Brazil, and The Legend of Lizzie Borden. Because her agent grew weary of seeing her getting beaten up in the more dramatic roles she'd been portraying, Helmond switched gears and began pursuing TV comedies. This led to her starring role on the late '70s sitcom Soap, which saw her playing the mother of the Tate family. A few years later, Helmond nabbed another prominent role on the popular sitcom Who's the Boss?, which ran on ABC from 1984 to 1992. This role had given the actress multiple Emmy nominations, further establishing her status as a comedy star.

In addition to these starring roles, Helmond had memorable parts on other major sitcoms over the years as well. This includes a stint on Coach as Doris Sherman, the leader of the fictional Orlando Breakers football team. She later was cast in a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond, playing the mother of Patricia Heaton's character with Fred Willard portraying her husband. This role would earn the TV star yet another Emmy nomination. While Helmond was always fantastic in her stage and drama roles earlier in her career, she really shined with these comedy performances.

One of Helmond's final memorable roles came on another drama series. On the HBO vampire series True Blood, she appeared as Caroline Bellefleur, the oldest living member of the Bellefleur family. Although the show is much more mature compared to the sitcoms Helmond had previously starred in, she still managed to entertain with an amusing performance, which saw her character badmouthing almost everyone at a funeral. Following this role, Helmond would turn in just a couple more acting performances, with her final credit as a voice role for the animated short film series Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales.

The world is just a little less funny now that Helmond is no longer with us. Her legacy will live on through her many memorable on-screen roles, and even after death, Helmond will be making viewers laugh for many years to come. This information comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter.