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Actress Linda Lavin passed away on Sunday, December 29, 2024, at the age of 87. A representative of the late actress told The Hollywood Reporter that Linda succumbed to complications from her recently diagnosed lung cancer. For the unaware, Linda has left behind her husband, musician Steve Bakunas.
The late actress, born in October 1937 in Maine, married her third husband, Bakunas, in 2005. In a conversation with Closer Weekly in 2014, Linda Lavin spoke about Bakunas and remarked:
"We have so much fun together. I feel very fortunate to have found him!"
She then expressed relief and happiness for being able to make a good first impression on Steve Bakunas. Linda further jokingly added:
"Thank God I had my hair done that day. We always wake up with a real gratitude of being in each other’s lives."
The outlet then revealed that the couple first met at a theater in Wilmington, North Carolina, in November 1999 and that it wasn't love at first sight. While Linda didn't have any biological children, she was a stepmother to Bakunas' kids from his previous relationship.
For those unaware, Steve Bakunas is best known for being part of movies like My Own Love Song, One Tree Hill, and Psychic Detective. In 2002, he also made an appearance on the Broadway play Hollywood Arms.
Bakunas has played Bert Jefferson in The Man Who Came to Dinner at the Opera House Theatre Company in Wilmington, as per reports by Goodman Theatre published in April 2002. He was also the narrator in A Christmas Carol at the Theater Exchange.
Linda Lavin and her husband, Steve Bakunas, had previously opened Red Barn Studio Theatre in Wilmington
Linda Lavin and her husband, Steve Bakunas, who had been married since 2005, owned several properties over the years. They converted an automobile garage into a theater in Wilmington, as reported by the Associated Press on December 30, 2024.
According to a 2013 article by the New York Post, Bakunas and Lavin owned two properties in Manhattan, just next to each other. As per the outlet, the actress moved to New York City from Wilmington primarily due to work. She told the NY Post:
"Billy Stritch, my musical director, lives three floors down. That’s kind of how I got into this building. The fact that he lived here made this a very attractive location for me."
In the aforementioned conversation with Closer, Linda Lavin gave more insights into her marriage with Steve. She described their relationship as filled with "adventure and growth." The late actress then mentioned that they had been together for quite a long time, and the key reasons behind it would be "communication and hard work."
Before Bakunas, Linda was married twice, but both relationships ended in a divorce. In 1969, she tied the knot with actor Ron Leibman, and they divorced in 1981. She married her second husband, Kip Niven, a year later in 1982, and they separated in 1992.
As for the current news about Linda, several people have paid tributes and expressed condolences after the actress' death.
