Marcia Wallace Peams

Marcia Karen Wallace (November 1, 1942 – October 25, 2013) was an American actress and comedian, primarily known for her roles on sitcoms. She is best known for her role as receptionist Carol Kester on The Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978) and as the voice of elementary school teacher Edna Krabappel on the animated series The Simpsons, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992. The character was retired after her death but sporadically appears through archive recording.

Wallace was known for her tall frame, red hair, and distinctive laugh. She had a career spanning five decades on TV, film, and stage. She was a frequent guest on The Merv Griffin Show, which led to her receiving a personal request to appear on The Bob Newhart Show in a role created especially for her. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1985, she became a cancer activist, and remained so until her death in 2013. Her father owned and operated Wallace Sundries, a general merchandise store, where Marcia, her sister Sharon, and brother Jim would often help. While Wallace attended Creston High School, a teacher encouraged her to consider a career in acting after she did well in a school play. Following her 1960 graduation from high school, Wallace attended Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, which had offered her a full scholarship. She was a member of the Delta Nu chapter of Delta Zeta sorority. Wallace was named the "Delta Zeta 2010 Woman of the Year" at their 2010 Biennial National Convention. At Parsons, she majored in English and Theater, graduating in 1964, and performing in several campus productions, including Brigadoon and The Music Man.

Wallace was a semiregular on The Merv Griffin Show, appearing over 75 times. When the show moved its production from New York to Los Angeles, Wallace moved with it at Merv Griffin's request. She returned the following season in the musical Promises, Promises. Other stage productions included Born Yesterday; You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Steel Magnolias; and Last of the Red Hot Lovers, in which she played all three female roles at various times. In 2013, shortly before her death, she voiced the character of the librarian in Monsters University, and in 2014 (posthumously) she portrayed herself in the movie Muffin Top: A Love Story.

Personal life Wallace married hotelier Dennis Hawley on May 18, 1986, in a Buddhist ceremony. The couple adopted an infant son, Michael Wallace "Mikey" Hawley.

Wallace was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1985, after which she became an activist and lecturer on the subject. In 2007, Wallace was awarded the Gilda Radner Courage Award by the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York for helping educate Americans about the importance of early cancer detection and inspiring others through her 20 years as a breast cancer survivor.

Wallace's autobiography, titled Don't Look Back, We're Not Going That Way, was published in 2004. Besides describing her film and TV career, the book importantly recounts the early detection of her breast cancer, the early loss of her husband Dennis, her nervous breakdown, her single motherhood, and other personal experiences such as a private history of bulimia. She credited the title of the book to her father, who used the phrase often during her childhood.

She was noted on a list of "Famous Iowans" by her important state capital daily newspaper, the Des Moines Register, in November 2013. Wallace was cremated following a private funeral service.

Staff on The Simpsons had reportedly been aware of her ill health. Jean said that producers planned to retire her "irreplaceable" character Edna Krabappel. Bob Newhart commented on his Facebook fan page, "Marcia's death came as quite a shock, she left us too early. She was a talented actress and dear friend".

The Simpsons episode "Four Regrettings and a Funeral" was shown on November 3, 2013, and dedicated to her, with the chalkboard gag showing Bart having written a single line "We'll really miss you Mrs. K", while looking sad. Wallace had recorded lines for several upcoming episodes, and her final episode, "The Man Who Grew Too Much", aired on March 9, 2014.

Filmography Film

Television

Video games

Music videos