Marian Mercer | Comedic actress, 75

Marian Mercer, 75, a willowy actress with a comedic flair who won a Tony Award in 1969 for her performance in the hit musical

Promises, Promises,

died April 27 in Newbury Park, Calif. She lived in Agoura Hills, Calif.

The cause was complications of Alzheimer's disease, her husband, Patrick Hogan, said.

Ms. Mercer, a 5-foot-9 blonde with green eyes and, when necessary, a sultry voice, won the Tony for best featured actress in a musical for her portrayal of Marge MacDougall, a pickup girl at Clancy's Lounge.

She handled weighty characters as well. Among dozens of roles she played in repertory theaters around the country, she was Olivia in Twelfth Night, Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Her zany streak led to frequent television appearances with the likes of Johnny Carson, Jonathan Winters, and Dom DeLuise.

She was seen on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; St. Elsewhere; Archie Bunker's Place; and The Golden Girls, among many other shows. And on ABC from 1980 through 1982 (and later in syndication) she played the humorless hostess Nancy Beebe on It's a Living, a sitcom that followed the lives of waitresses working in an expensive restaurant atop a hotel in Los Angeles. - N.Y. Times News Service