‘Phyllis’ and ‘The Facts of Life’ Actor Dies: John Lawlor Was 83

Actor John Lawlor has died. Best known for the sitcoms Phyllis and The Facts of Life, Lawlor died on Feb. 13 at a veterans’ hospice facility in Albuquerque, according to an obituary posted by his family. His daughter Riel was by his side at the time of his death, but a cause of death was not revealed. Lawlor was 83.

Per TVLine, Lawlor was born in Troy, New York in 1941. He made his acting debut on a 1975 episode of The Rockford Files. That same year, he also appeared in Ellery Queen and Joe Forrester. In 1976, Lawlor landed the role of Leonard Marsh/Officer Hale in the sitcom Phyllis for the second season. Then, in 1979, he played Steven Bradley, the headmaster of an all-girls school in The Facts of Life’s first season, appearing in 13 episodes.

The Facts of Life was a spinoff of Diff’rent Strokes, airing for nine seasons from 1979 to 1988. Lawlor was only on the first season due to the cast being downsized and refocused on Charlotte Rae’s Edna Garrett. Roger Perry later joined the series as the school’s new headmaster, Charles Parker.

Other credits throughout Lawlor’s career include Jackson County Jail, Relentless, The Oregon Trail, Newhart, T.J. Hooker, Simon & Simon, The Bold and the Beautiful, L.A. Law, Wyatt Earp, Cold Case, In Plain Sight, Breaking Bad, Longmire, and Gold. Lawlor’s final role was the 2017 Netflix mini-series Godless alongside Jack O’Connell, Michelle Dockery, Scoot McNairy, Merritt Weaver, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster.

According to his IMDb, acting wasn’t all that John Lawlor did throughout his career. He also worked as an assistant director on numerous projects, such as Excalibur, Angel, The Country Girls, Highlander, and Northern Lights. Most if it was during the ‘80s, but he serves as second assistant director in 1997 on Driftwood and as first assistant director on Northern Lights in 2000. He was also a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam.

Lawlor was the eldest of six children and is predeceased by two brothers and one sister. He is survived by five children, three grandchildren, a nephew, and two nieces. “John will be remembered for his great love and affection for his family, his work and enjoyment of theater, television, movies, literature, and of course, his beloved horses,” per his obituary.