Marcia Wallace

Marcia Karen Wallace (November 1, 1942 – October 25, 2013) was an -winning American character actress, comedienne, and game show panelist. Wallace, who voiced Edna Krabappel and Ms. Melon, died of a combination of breast cancer, pneumonia, and sepsis after 25 seasons on the show.

She also performed for the special live show The Simpsons Take the Bowl.

Biography
Wallace was best known for her roles as Carol Kester Bondurant, the receptionist for Bob Newhart (and dentist Jerry) on the 1972 television series The Bob Newhart Show, and as the voice of Edna Krabappel on The Simpsons, for which she won an Emmy for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992.

She was an occasional celebrity panelist on Match Game and played "Mrs. Carruthers" in a few episodes of the ABC sitcom Full House. She also played the maid on the short-lived TV series That's My Bush!, and appeared in episode #227 of Bewitched("Laugh, Clown, Laugh"), as Darrin's secretary, in 1971.

Wallace was a breast cancer survivor and activist who lectures on the subject. On January 27, 2007, Marcia won the Gilda Radner Courage Award from Roswell Park Cancer Institute for helping educate Americans about the importance of early cancer detection and inspiring others through her 20 years as a breast cancer survivor.

Her book, Don't Look Back We're Not Going That Way, is a biography that recounts the early detection of her breast cancer, the loss of her husband Denny to cancer, her nervous breakdown, her single motherhood and other experiences.

Death
Marcia Wallace died from complications of a combination of breast cancer, pneumonia, and sepsis on October 25, 2013, aged 70. She died at 9 p.m. at her house in Los Angeles. Executive producer and showrunner Al Jean has stated that he plans to retire Edna Krabappel as Wallace is "irreplaceable".

Following her death on the 25th, tweeted "Our dear sweet friend Marcia Wallace has died. A walking lesson in comedy. Long live Carol Kester & Edna Krabappel!". This was later backed up with a tweet from Yeardley Smith and Ricky Gervais, along with many more tweets from people showing their condolences. "Four Regrettings and a Funeral", the first episode to air following her death, was dedicated to her memory. In addition, the episode's chalkboard gag was "We'll really miss you Mrs. K."

Marcia Wallace was posthumously credited for the season 29 episode "Left Behind", where archive audio of her from "Bart Gets a "Z"" was used, and for the season 31 episode Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?, where an archive audio of her "Ha!" was used.