Laurie died early Saturday, October 14, 2023, in Los Angeles. No cause of death was provided. Laurie had not been well for some time, her representative reported.
An Emmy® winner who was nominated nine times during her career, Laurie spent three years as a child in a sanatorium, broke free from her original contract at Universal Pictures, once went 15 years without making a movie and starred in the original production — for live television — of Days of Wine and Roses.
She won her only Emmy for 1986’s “Promises,” in which she starred with James Wood and James Garner. She appeared in the 2018 film White Boy Rick.
She was born Rosetta Jacobs in Detroit. At age 9, she won a talent contest, and with it a screen test at Warner Bros. That didn’t result in a job, but she got another one at Universal Studios in 1949 and earned a contract while still a senior at Los Angeles High School. Her manager renamed her as Piper Laurie, and she made her movie debut in Louisa (1950), playing Ronald Reagan’s daughter.
“She was plucked out of Los Angeles High School at age 17 and signed to a Universal contract for $250 a week, which would run up to $1,750 a week after seven years,” reported Variety.
