Tributes flow for Will and Grace star Shelley Morrison, dead at 83

From left: Shelley Morrison with Will and Grace co-stars Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes at the 2000 Emmy Awards. Photo / AP

Shelley Morrison, an actress with a 50-year career who was best known for playing a memorable maid on Will and Grace, died Sunday, her publicist said.

Morrison died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles from heart failure after a brief illness, publicist Lori DeWaal told The Associated Press. She was 83.

Morrison played Rosario Salazar, a maid from El Salvador, in the original run of Will and Grace from 1999 to 2006, becoming part of a cast that won a Screen Actors Guild award for best ensemble in a comedy series.

The character, originally written for a single episode, proved so popular in her interactions with co-star Megan Mullaly that she would appear in 68 episodes during the NBC series' eight seasons.

"Rosario is one of my all-time favourite characters," Morrison said recently, according to a statement and biography announcing her death. "She reminds me a lot of my own mother, who loved animals and children, but she would not suffer fools. It is very significant to me that we were able to show an older, Hispanic woman who is bright and smart and can hold her own," Before Will and Grace, Morrison was best known for playing Sister Sixto on The Flying Nun alongside Sally Field from 1967 to 1970.

She guest-starred on dozens of television series starting in the early 1960s, including The Fugitive, L.A. Law and Murder, She Wrote. Most recently, she voiced a character, Mrs. Portillo, on the Disney animated series Handy Manny. Born Rachel Mitrani to Jewish parents from Spain in the Bronx, New York, in 1936, Morrison spoke primarily Spanish as a child. She was cast primarily as Latina characters, but she played a range of ethnicities in theatre, television and film.

Her movie roles put her in casts with Hollywood's biggest stars of several eras. She appeared with Dean Martin in 1968's How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life, with Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl the same year, with Gregory Peck in 1969's Mackenna's Gold, with Shelley Long in Troop Beverly Hills in 1989, and with Salma Hayek in Fools Rush In in 1997.

Morrison is survived by her husband of more than 40 years, Walter Dominguez.

Fans and those in the industry are today paying tribute to Morrison, with co-star Sean Hayes leading the way:

View this post on Instagram

Such sad news. Our beloved Shelley Morrison passed away today. She was absolutely hilarious and had the biggest heart. She was a part of our Will and Grace family and will be greatly missed. My heart goes out to her husband, Walter and her entire family. ❤️ P.S. On behalf of everyone at W&G, thank you for all the kind words. You guys are the best. xo

A post shared by Sean Hayes (@seanhayes) on Dec 1, 2019 at 6:37pm PST

So sad to hear about the passing of Shelley Morrison. She took a 1 episode cameo as Rosario and turned it into a 68 episode run, stealing the show every time. pic.twitter.com/DUlTQ6F9h1

— Mike Tague (@rhymeswithbeg) December 2, 2019

Aw. RIP to a lady who put in 52 years (!) of TV work and always did the job and then some. https://t.co/1pYAbGpoW6

— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) December 2, 2019

Thank you for the laughs. https://t.co/TL4wa8TxUE

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) December 2, 2019

R.I.P. Shelley Morrison 😢💔
I’m so sad right now. pic.twitter.com/PwGb8A49rM

— Seth (@TheFlemishSeth) December 2, 2019

- AP