Liz Sheridan, Jerry's doting mom on 'Seinfeld,' dies at 93

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Liz Sheridan, who played doting mom to Jerry Seinfeld on his hit sitcom, died early Friday. She was 93.

Sheridan died in her sleep from natural causes, five days after her April 10 birthday, said Amanda Hendon, her longtime representative and friend. She did not provide further details, including where Sheridan was living.

Her 'œSeinfeld'ť role as Helen was her best known but followed decades of work on stage and screen. In the 1970s, Sheridan appeared on Broadway in plays and musicals, the latter including 'œHappy End'ť with Meryl Streep and 'œBallroom."

'œShe was always very grateful to her fans and felt blessed to have enjoyed decades of work in the entertainment business,'ť including performing in her one-woman show, 'œMrs. Seinfeld Sings,'ť Hendon said in a statement.

Another 'œSeinfeld'ť mom, Estelle Harris, died two weeks ago on April 2. Harris, who played hot-tempered parent to Jason Alexander's George Costanza, also was 93.

Sheridan had guest roles on TV series including 'œKojak,'ť 'œCagney & Lacey'ť and 'œFamily Ties,'ť and played the pesky neighbor Raquel Ochmonek on 'œALF'ť from 1986 to 1990. She was on 'œSeinfeld'ť for the show's 1990 to 1998 run, playing opposite Barney Martin as her husband, Morty.

'œHow could anyone not like him?'ť Helen said of her beloved Jerry.

'œLiz was always the sweetest, nicest TV mom a son could wish for,'ť Seinfeld said Friday on Twitter. 'œEvery time she came on our show it was the coziest feeling for me. So lucky to have known her.'ť

In a 1998 interview with The Associated Press, Sheridan discussed how fond she had become of the comedian.

'œI'll hug him to say goodbye, and I'll hug him to say hello," she said. "I told him I love him like he was my son. He said, '~I know. I love you and Barney like you were my father and mother.' 'ť

The actor appeared in films including 'œLegal Eagles,'ť 'œForget Paris'ť and 'œWedding Bell Blues.'ť The 2010 TV movie 'œThe Rooneys'ť was among her final credits.

In her book 'œDizzy & Jimmy,'ť Sheridan recounted a romance in the early 1950s with a then-unknown James Dean. Sheridan, nicknamed Dizzy, was a young nightclub dancer in New York City when she met Dean. After they split, he became a star with films including 'œRebel Without a Cause.'ť He died in a car crash in 1955, at age 24.

Born Elizabeth Ann Sheridan, the New York native was married to jazz musician William Dale Wales, who died in 2003. Sheridan is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, according to Hendon.

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AP Writers Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles and Ed Donahue in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.