Sheila MacRae, veteran of stage, movies, and television, died suddenly at a nursing home in Englewood, New Jersey, at age 92. She had dementia and had been hospitalized for a minor surgical procedure.

MacRae was the long-suffering wife of singing star and sot Gordon MacRae, and appeared with him on stage and in variety shows, including the February 23, 1964, telecast of The Ed Sullivan Show, along with other Brits Acker Bilk, comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, and the Beatles. Perhaps eclipsed by the latter performing act, she is better remembered for portraying Alice Kramden in Honeymooners sketches on the CBS variety series The Jackie Gleason Show and for playing Madelyn Richmond on the daytime soap opera General Hospital.

Born in London as Sheila Stephens on September 24, 1921, she evacuated England in 1939, shortly before World War II, with her parents. They eventually settled on Long Island, New York, and she began acting at a local playhouse. She married Gordon MacRae in 1941. They were parents to sons William Gordon MacRae and Robert Bruce MacRae (deceased) and two daughters, both actresses. Heather MacRae appeared on series including Starsky and Hutch, The Sopranos, and Sex and the City, while Meredith MacRae (also deceased) appeared as Sally Ann Morrison Douglas on My Three Sons and later starred as Billie Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction.

This is Keister Button's first hit of the year, a 7-point solo (2 for hit + 5 for solo).

--Keister Button