April 30, 2026, 5:07 a.m. CT
Cloris Leachman and Jack Mishler star in a production of “Ah Wilderness” from the 1941-1942 Des Moines Community Playhouse season.
Provided By The Des Moines Community Playhouse
Raquel Welch, left, Gene Hackman and Cloris Leachman (holding her best supporting actress oscar) at the 44th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, on April 17, 1972.
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Cloris Leachman in “Love Rides the Rails” (1942-43 Season).
The Des Moines Community Playhouse/Special To The Register
Cloris Leachman in 1983.
The Des Moines Community Playhouse/Special To The Register
Cloris Leachman visiting The Playhouse in the 1980s.
The Des Moines Community Playhouse/Special To The Register
Cloris Leachman with her children, George, Adam, Morgan and Bryan, in an undated family photo.
Provided By Cloris Leachman
Cast members from the television series “The Facts of Life” stand around a piano, circa 1987. (L-R front) Kim Fields, MacKenzie Astin and Cloris Leachman. (L-R rear) Lisa Welchel, Nancy McKeon and Mindy Cohn.
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Cloris Leachman plays Granny in the 1993 redo of “The Beverly Hillbillies.”
DEANA NEWCOMB/FOX
Actor John Larroquette and Cloris Leachman hold their trophies at the 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 13, 1998 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Larroquette won Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his appearance in “The Practice” and Leachman won for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her appearance in “Promised Land.”
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“Thanks,” a comedy series about Pilgrims adapting to life in the New World, starring (clockwise from left): Timothy Dutton, Kirsten Nelson, Jim Rash, Erika Christianson, Cloris Leachman (as Grammy Winthrop), Andrew Ducote and Amy Centner (as Elizabeth Winthrop), premiered Aug. 2, 1999, on CBS.
Provided By Scott Humbert/CBS Television Network
American Actress Cloris Leachman holds her Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a comedy series at the 54th annual Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 22, 2002. Leachman won for her appearance on “Malcolm in the Middle.”
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Actress Cloris Leachman arrives at the 2004 Creative Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 12, 2004.
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Actors Cloris Leachman and Elaine Stritch attend The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Nominees For Outstanding Performing Talent reception at Spago on Sept. 17, 2004, in Beverly Hills, California.
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Actress Cloris Leachman attends the 3rd Annual Bow-Wow-Ween with her dogs Peony and Joe on Oct. 31, 2004, at the Barrington Dog Park in Los Angeles.
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Ellen DeGeneres and Cloris Leachman arrive at the 11th annual Screen Actors Guild awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Feb. 5, 2005.
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Actor Ed Asner and actress Cloris Leachman speak at the 55th ACE Eddie Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 20, 2005, in Beverly Hills, California.
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Academy Award-winning actress Cloris Leachman received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree during Drake University’s commencement ceremony at the Knapp Center on May 14, 2006.
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Actress Cloris Leachman attends the Beerfest film premiere at Grauman Chinese Theatre on Aug. 21, 2006, in Hollywood, California.
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Bryan Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek and Cloris Leachman attend the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ reception honoring the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards nominees for outstanding talent on Aug. 25, 2006, at Wolfgang Puck at The Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles.
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Leslie Jordan and Cloris Leachman on stage at the Emmy Awards show to present the award for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series on Aug. 28, 2006 in Loas Angeles.
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Leslie Jordan and Cloris Leachman present awards for outstanding directing and writing for a comedy series at the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Aug. 27, 2006.
Mike Blake/Reuters
Actresses Cloris Leachman and Blythe Danner attend the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards nominees reception for outstanding performing talents in West Hollywood on Aug. 25, 2006.
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John Savage and Actress Cloris Leachman at the celebration for Cloris Leachman’s 60 years in show business at Fogo De Chao restaurant on Oct. 5, 2006, in Beverly Hills, California.
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Actress Cloris Leachman arrives at the 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 28, 2007.
Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
From left: Actresses Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper, and Georgia Engel present the Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series onstage at the 13th Annual Screen Actor Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on Jan. 28, 2007 in Los Angeles, Calif.
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Gavin MacLeod, Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Betty White, Valerie Harper and Asner pose at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences celebrating White’s 60 years on television at the Leonard Goldenson Theatre on Aug. 7, 2008.
Kevin Winter, Getty Images
Cloris Leachman was playing the piano in 2007. She and Eddie Rissien came to Des Moines to see Jack Mishler in “Tuesdays with Morrie” at The Playhouse.
The Des Moines Community Playhouse/Special To The Register
L-R: Cloris Leachman, Jack Mishler, and Eddie Rissien at The Playhouse in 2007 to see Mishler in “Tuesdays with Morrie.”
The Des Moines Community Playhouse/Special To The Register
Tournament of Roses President Ronald H. (Corky) Conzonire and actress Cloris Leachman attend the 2009 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Grand Marshal announcement held at the Pasadena Tournament House on Oct. 10, 2008, in Pasadena, California.
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Parade Grand Marshal actress Cloris Leachman rides in the 120th Tournament of Roses Parade January 1, 2009, in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
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Actress Cloris Leachman unveils the new PETA ad in Times Square on March 31, 2009, in New York City.
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Beverly Coleman stopped her to say hello to Cloris Leachman, a classmate from Roosevelt High School’s class of 1944, as Leachman walked through the Downtown Farmers Market on May 9, 2009.
Andrea Melendez/The Register
Cloris Leachman smiles with her first cousin, John Leachman of Des Moines and friend Pat Matter of Elkader, as they share a few laughs and quickly catch up at Dos Rios in Des Moines on May 9, 2009. Cloris Leachman was doing a book signing at the Downtown Farmers Market.
Andrea Melendez/The Register
Priscilla Bjerg of Des Moines talks with Cloris Leachman as she has her book signed at Dos Rios on May 9, 2009, during the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market. It was a cool morning so Dos Rios opened their doors to Leachman and her fans.
Andrea Melendez/The Register
Cloris Leachman and Betty White pose for a photo shoot at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif on June 2, 2009.
Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY
Celebrity Grand Marshals Lt. Dan Choi, a graduate of West Point, and Actress Cloris Leachman take part in the 39th annual gay pride parade on June 28, 2009, in San Francisco, California.
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Actress Cloris Leachman attends the Twentieth Century Fox 75th Anniversary Party held at the Fox Studio Lot on May 27, 2010, in Century City, California.
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Valerie Harper and Cloris Leachman arrive to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Hall of Fame Committe’s 20th Annual Induction Gala on Jan. 20, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
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Geri Jewell. Cloris Leachman, Nancy McKeon, Charlotte Rae and Lisa Whelchel attend the 9th Annual TV Land Awards at the Javits Center on April 10, 2011, in New York.
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Actress Cloris Leachman arrives at the FOX All-Star Party at the Langham Huntington Hotel on Jan. 8, 2013, in Pasadena, California.
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Actress Cloris Leachman arrives at the 2011 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 10, 2011.
Danny Moloshok/Reuters
Actresses Betty White and Cloris Leachman attend the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at JW Marriott Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE on April 20, 2013, in Los Angeles, California.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images For GLAAD
Two Academy Awards won by Iowans Donna Reed and Cloris Leachman are seen at the Hollywood in the Heartland exhibit at the State Historical Museum on Thursday, June 26, 2014, in Des Moines, Iowa.
Register File Photo
Actresses Julianna Margulies and Cloris Leachman attend Variety and Women in Film Emmy Nominee Celebration powered by Samsung Galaxy on Aug. 23, 2014, in West Hollywood, California.
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Director/screenwriter Mel Brooks (L), actresses Teri Garr (C) and Cloris Leachman attend a 40th anniversary screening of the 1974 classic “Young Frankenstein,” on Sept. 9, 2014, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, California.
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Actress Cloris Leachman arrives at the 2015 Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar Party in West Hollywood, California on Feb. 22, 2015.
Gus Ruelas/Reuters
Cloris Leachman taking her seat at the 2016 Cloris Awards on Aug. 28, 2016, at the Des Moines Social Club.
Danny Carman/For The Register
Cloris Leachman taking the stage at the Cloris Awards hosted by the Des Moines Social Club.
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Cloris Leachman, her daughter, and one of her life long friends on stage at the 2016 Cloris Awards on Aug. 28, 2016, at the Des Moines Social Club.
Danny Carman/For The Register
Cloris Leachman accepting her Cloris award at the 2016 Cloris Awards on Aug. 28, 2016, at the Des Moines Social Club.
Danny Carman/For The Register
Cloris Leachman is on stage at the 2016 Playhouse Legends induction with her good friend Eddie Rissien on the right, John Viars on the left (and two well dressed young men as her escorts). Rissien came with her and was also inducted into the Playhouse Legends. Her daughter and granddaughter were with her, and she recorded a pre-show greeting for our production of “The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein” in her Frau Blucher voice.
Steve_Gibbons/Special To The Register
Cloris Leachman at the 2016 Playhouse Legends induction with John Viars.
Steve Gibbons/Special To The Register
Cloris Leachman attends the 55th Annual International Cinematographers Guild Publicists Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 2, 2018 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
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Actor Cloris Leachman, a Des Moines native, attends Ed Asner’s 90th Birthday Party and Celebrity Roast at The Roosevelt Hotel on November 3, 2019, in Hollywood, California.
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