"Nanny" fans, do you remember Grandma Yetta? How about Dr. Joe Razzo, or Pauly the Pawnbroker? The
actors who played these unforgettable characters have passed away, but their memory lives on.
Grandma Yetta, Fran Fine's forgetful, slightly bonkers relative, was brought to life by Ann
Morgan Guilbert, an actor with almost six decades of industry experience. Unlike Grandma Yetta,
whose European origins are mysterious and never fully explained, Guilbert was born
in Minneapolis in 1928. According to The New York Times, she got her big break in "The Billy Barnes
Revue," which made its off-Broadway premiere in 1959, before moving on to other theater roles.
Aside from "The Nanny," Guilbert is perhaps best known for her role in "The Dick Van Dyke Show,"
where she played the Petries' neighbor, the perky Millie Helper. Guilbert was in her 60s when "The
Nanny" hit airwaves. She appeared in 56 episodes, bringing comic relief to every scene she was in.
“Sammy says I got the boobs of a seventy-three-year-old.”
In 2016, at the age of 87, she died of cancer. Fran Drescher remembered her through a series of
tweets, writing, "Grandma Yetta I love you!" and "I feel so sad about Annie.
She was brilliant [as] my Grandma Yetta. Such a sweet woman too." Drescher continued,
"Such a great actress! I thank you Annie.
Thank you for all the laughs! May you be cracking them up in heaven!"
Often simply called "the Genius," Ray Charles was an innovator in soul music, introducing the world
to a style of rock that combined secular lyrics and gospel instrumentals. NPR reported that he
began working as a professional musician at the age of 15, leaving the school for the deaf and
blind he'd been attending to eventually tour the U.S., showing off his unique new style.
By the time "The Nanny" came along in the 1990s, Charles was an institution. After
earning 17 Grammys, a lifetime achievement award in 1987, recording hundreds of tracks,
and being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he was ready to branch out into projects
that could best be described as pure fun. In the sitcom, he played Yetta's love interest, Sammy.
While his run didn't last long, the cast seemed to have enjoyed his presence on the set.
Fran Drescher posted a conglomeration of photos on Instagram with the caption,
"When I invited Ray Charles to join the Nanny cast as Grandma Yetta's fiance
and he said yes, well we were all beyond thrilled."
In 2004, The New York Times reported that Charles died at 73 years of age,
following complications from liver disease.
On-screen, Joseph Bologna played Dr. Joe Razzo,
the physician that Fran's mom, Sylvia Fine, was having an affair with. Off-screen,
Bologna was happily married to Renée Taylor, the actor who played Sylvia, for more than 50 years.
Bologna was raised in Brooklyn, graduated from Brown University,
and served in the Marines, though he was already interested in acting.
He then worked on television commercials at ad agencies in Manhattan.
The star spent much of his career collaborating with Taylor, whom he first met in a comedy club.
Together the duo wrote 22 plays, as well as several movie and TV projects. One of their most
notable works, according to Variety, was "Made for Each Other," a film that earned a Writers
Guild Award. Outside of writing these works and starring in the latter with his wife, Bologna was
best known for playing King Kaiser, a character based on Sid Caesar, on "My Favorite Year."
In 2017, Bologna died of pancreatic cancer. His wife,
and occasional co-star, remembered him to The West Australian, saying,
"He had a beautiful life."
His manager, Matt Sherman, told the outlet,
"Joe was a loveable man, a kind soul, a good friend, and always a pleasure to be with."
A popular character actor, Allan Rich was born in 1926 in New York City. He made his professional
debut at the age of 17, in a production of "I'll Take the High Road," and really never
stopped working after that point. An impressive feat considering he was blacklisted in Hollywood
in the 1950s, following his attempts to get a wrongly-convicted Black man freed from death row.
In 1951, he married Elaine Rich, who managed a number of stars, including Fran Drescher. It
could have been this connection that led to Allan landing a number of acting credits on "The Nanny":
Pauly the Pawnbroker, The Judge, and Uncle Ray. He maintained his friendship with Drescher
for the rest of his life. When Rich died, Drescher eulogized him to Variety, saying,
"He lived large and was quite heroic to many including me when faced with
the depths of despair. He had a great intellect and excelled in everything he set his mind to.
He was always on the side of good and right."
In 2020, Rich died of progressive dementia at the age of 94.
Another Bronx native, Marilyn Cooper was primarily a Broadway actor. She had roles in the original
productions of "West Side Story" and "Gypsy." For her part in "Woman of the Year," which The New
York Times called, "a few minutes of show-stopping hilarity", she won a Tony Award in 1981.
Her impeccable comedic timing translated well to the screen, where she had guest-starring roles on
series including "Cheers" and "Caroline in the City." On "The Nanny," she played Nettie Fine,
Fran's paternal grandmother. Her character, much like Grandma Yetta, was forgetful and flashy,
with an affinity for cigarettes and a deep dislike of her daughter-in-law, Sylvia.
Cooper's friend, Virginia Seidel, a fellow actor,
remembered her to the Times as having, quote, "a super voice and super comedic timing."
In 2009, Cooper died at The Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey. She was 74.
Many of the actors who starred in "The Nanny" came to the series with a background in comedy. That
was not the case with Spalding Gray. Known for his dramatic, autobiographical monologues, Gray
didn't have tons of experience making audiences laugh before agreeing to take part in the series.
That's not to say that his character, Dr. Jack Miller, wasn't funny in his own
wry way. Appearing primarily in Season 4, Dr. Miller was Fran's psychologist,
who helped her work through many of her enduring, if not all that serious,
issues. The Los Angeles Times said the actor's extended guest run was "particularly enjoyable."
Gray's most well-known works are the 1987 film "Swimming to Cambodia" and its follow-up,
1992's "Monster in a Box." He once told Charlie Rose that it was his, quote,
"relatively honest voice" that made his work as a monologist stand apart.
In 2004, The New York Times reported that Gray had taken his own life.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts,
please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).