Actress Marcia Wallace Dies At Age 70

Actress Marcia Wallace has died at the age of 70. Wallace gained fame as the secretary Carol on The Bob Newhart Show and voiced the Simpsons character Edna Krabappel.

"I was tremendously saddened to learn this morning of the passing of the brilliant and gracious Marcia Wallace," said Simpsons executive producer Al Jean in a statement. "She was beloved by all at The Simpsons and we intend to retire her irreplaceable character." The actress' popularity spanned generations. She appeared on The Merv Griffin Show over 75 times, and earned fame playing Carol Kester, the clever, sarcastic secretary on The Bob Newhart Show. She later nabbed an Emmy nomination for a turn on Murphy Brown as 'Secretary 66' in 1994. Wallace won an Emmy for voicing Bart Simpson's dry teacher on the Fox animated series. As THR notes, the 1992 Simpsons episode for which she won found Ms. Krabappel giving Bart a month of detention. He exacted revenge by responding to her newspaper singles ad. Wallace would go on to star in 177 episodes of The Simpsons, her character's iconic "Ha!" a familiar echo.