Kaye Ballard Dies

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (CelebrityAccess) Kaye Ballard, 93, Broadway singer and star of TV sitcom “The Mothers-In-Law,” died at her home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., after a fight with kidney cancer Jan. 21.

Ballard, who performed live across the country, recently attended a documentary on her life and career at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, according to the Associated Press.

“She was so excited to be able to tell her story,” Dan Wingate, the film’s director, told the AP. “She was really anxious for young people, especially, who are going into the arts to understand the full breadth of a life in the arts, the ups and downs.”

“The Mothers-In-Law” was created by Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Pugh Davis, the same team that built “I Love Lucy.”

Ballard was a big deal throughout show business except for the movies, appearing in stints in films like “The Girl Most Likely” and “A House Is Not A Home.” Ballard’s big dream was to be a movie star, according to Wingate. She instead became a regular on shows like “The Mel Torme Show,” “The Doris Day Show,” Ed Sullivan and Perry Como and had a recurring role on 1990s TV series “Due South.”

“I’m not going to retire. I don’t believe in retiring,” she told the AP in 2001. “I do take more time off now to enjoy life and my three dogs and house. But if something wonderful comes up, I’m ready.”

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