Georgia Engel: Patricia Heaton in 'Shock' Over 'Everybody Loves Raymond' Co-Star's Death

Patricia Heaton is “in shock” after her Everybody Loves Raymond co-star Georgia Engel passed [...]

By Allison Schonter

Patricia Heaton is "in shock" after her Everybody Loves Raymond co-star Georgia Engel passed away at the age of 70.

Heaton and Engel starred alongside one another as Debra Barone and Pat MacDougall on the popular series, which earned Engel three Emmy nominations for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series.

"I am in shock — Georgia was an absolute angel — so dear, so sweet, so talented. God bless you Georgia!" Heaton wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, adding in a second tweet that "one of my favorite episodes was where Robert catches Pat smoking — she was just brilliant!"

Engel, best known for her role as Georgette Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and whose other credits include recurring roles on Hot in Cleveland, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Coach, and Two and a Half Men, passed away on Friday, April 12 in Princeton, New Jersey, according to her friend and executor, John Quilty. She was 70.

"I know the world will be sad and sorry. She touched so many people," her agent, Jacqueline Stander, told ABC News.

Following her death, a number of the late actress' former co-stars took to social media to mourn Engel's loss and recall the fond memories they had made with her.

"To our dear sweet friend, we'll love and miss you and your brilliant talent always," Phil Rosenthal, Everybody Loves Raymond's creator, writer, and executive producer, tweeted.

"Such sad news. I worked with Georgia on Hot In Cleveland," Dave Foley wrote. "She was as warm and lovely as I always imagined she would be. Georgia Engel, comic actress memorable on Mary Tyler Moore Show, dies at 70."

"When we performed The Drowsy Chaperone at the NAMT Festival in 2004, Georgia Engel played the dotty dowager Mrs. Tottendale, a role she would go on to play on Broadway and beyond," Bob Martin penned. "Her innocent, childlike delivery of the most absurd lines had the audience howling, but it was her wide-eyed, warbling rendition of I Remember Love that stopped the show. I fell in love with her on the spot, as did everyone in the auditorium. Georgia was an expert comedienne, schooled by the best in the business."

Engel's cause of death is not known. She is survived by two sisters, Robin Engel and Penny Lusk.

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