Alice Hirson has died. The actress, who was 95, was best known for her roles on Full House and Ellen, in which she played the mother of Ellen DeGeneres.
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Hirson’s d .eath after her son, David Hirson, said she died today of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, where she had been staying for a year.
Some of Hirson’s most notable roles include her time on soaps like General Hospital, in which she played Mrs. Van Gelder; and One Life to Live, in which she played Eileen Siegel. She was also well known for her work on films like The Glass House, Being There and Revenge of the Nerds.
Chris McKenna, a fellow General Hospital star, paid tribute to the late actress on Instagram today, where he wrote, “We lost a radiant soul and a daytime legend yesterday. Alice Hirson shone her light on this world for 95 glorious years. My family and I were so blessed to have her in our lives however briefly. Unforgettable woman. Her final words were ‘It’s nice to have an audience.’ Thank you, Alice. Good night. Legend.”
Hirson was born in Brooklyn in 1929 as Alice Corinne Thorsell, and was raised on Long Island, per THR. In 1948, she graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and booked her first major role in a production of On the Town as Lucy Shmeeler.
Her first TV credit came in 1951 with the Starlight Theatre series, after which she appeared in shows like The Edge of Night, N.Y.P.D., Somerset and Another World.
In the ’70s, she starred in major shows like Maude, The Waltons and One Life to Live. She later appeared in cultural sensations like Dallas (as Mavis Anderson), Murphy Brown, Full House (as the mother of Bob Saget’s character) and Ellen, in which she and Steven Gilborn played DeGeneres’s parents, both of whom were unaware their daughter was gay on the show.
Hirson also had a successful film career, with parts in Mass Appeal, Blind Date, The Big Picture, The Lost and Private Benjamin.
While she had a prolific film and television career, Hirson’s son David told THR his mom “considered herself a stage actress first and foremost.” She appeared in the Broadway production of 1964’s Traveller Without Luggage, and later starred in The Investigation in 1966. In 1971, she appeared in the Broadway play Solitaire/Double Solitaire.
Hirson is survived by her son David, son Christopher and grandson Daniel.
