Conchata Ferrell, the beloved character actress who played housekeeper Berta on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, has died at age 77. According to Deadline, Ferrell’s death was the result of complications she experienced following a cardiac arrest. She died at 12:30 am PT on Monday, at Sherman Oaks Hospital in Sherman Oaks, California.
She is said to have passed away peacefully while surrounded by her family and friends. Ferrell faced several health issues in recent months, including a kidney infection in December 2019 and a heart attack earlier this year. Ferrell earned three Emmy nominations during her career, which began in the 1970s.
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Ferrell first opened up about her health issues in February, when she told TMZ she was hospitalized in December while vacationing in Charleston, West Virginia. The actress said she came down with a kidney infection and was in an intensive care unit at a Charleston hospital for several weeks before she returned to Los Angeles in January. By the time she returned to California, she was able to walk again.
Ferrell’s health took a bad turn in May. She was back in the hospital and suffered a cardiac arrest, which lasted 10 minutes, her husband Arnie Anderson told TMZ. After four weeks in the ICU, Ferrell was transferred to a long-term care facility and put on a respiratory unit and dialysis. Anderson said he could not visit her due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ferrell was born in Loudendale, West Virginia, and began her career on the stage, appearing in off-Broadway productions. In 1974, she made her television debut in an episode of Maude. The following year, she starred in Norman Lear’s Hot I Baltimore, a short-lived ABC series based on the off-Broadway play of the same name. Throughout the rest of the 1970s, the actress appeared in episodes of The Rockford Files, Blansky’s Beauties, Good Times, One Day at a Time and The Love Boat. She also had a small role in Sidney Lumet’s 1976 film Network.
Ferrell continued regularly appearing in films and television throughout the 1980s before she was cast as Susan Bloom in L.A. Law. She appeared in 20 episodes of the show and picked up her first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1992. Ferrell’s other ’90s credits include True Romance, Hearts Afire, Walker, Texas Ranger, Teen Angel and JAG. She starred in the Friends episode “The One With Joey’s Porsche” in 1999.
Ferrell will be remembered by most for playing Berta on Two and a Half Men during the show’s entire 12-season run, even staying on after Charlie Sheen left. She was nominated for Emmys in 2005 and 2007. The character became a fan favorite thanks to Ferrell’s habit of stealing scenes from Sheen, Jon Cryer, and later Ashton Kutcher. “She’s that person I wish I could be, and someone I think all of us kind of wish we could be: someone who can just say what’s on her mind and not worry about it,” Ferrell told AV Club about Berta.
Ferrell’s final role was Shirley on Netflix’s The Ranch, which reunited her with Kutcher. She is survived by her husband Anderson, daughter Samanta and two stepdaughters.
