Guilbert enjoyed a long and varied career that began in LA with a musical cabaret scored by Billy Barnes, which in 1959 spun into an off-Broadway production. Among the show’s fans was the producer Carl Reiner, who remembered Guilbert as he was assembling the cast for The Dick Van Dyke Show. She was offered the role of Millie Helper, the friend and neighbor of Laura Petrie, played by Mary Tyler Moore.
Thirty years later, Guilbert went on to star as Fran Drescher’s fiery Grandma Yetta in the ‘90s sitcom The Nanny. She also appeared in Nicole Holofcener’s 2010 drama Please Give, and most recently in the CBS comedy Life in Pieces.
Guilbert’s daughter, Nora Eckstein, cited cancer as the cause of her mother’s death. In addition to Eckstein, she is survived by her other daughter, the actress Hallie Todd, as well as her husband Guy Raymond.
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