Actress Elyse Donalson — known to millions of TV fans through appearances on JAG, The X-Files, and the original Matlock — has died suddenly at her home in Studio City. She was 78, her sister Harriette Meyer confirmed.
Born Mary Elise Donalson in Victoria, Texas, the future actress fell in love with performing while studying at Southwest Texas State University. After college, she and her husband, Joe Houde, relocated to Los Angeles, where she trained professionally and booked her first big gig in 1983 on the CBS fantasy series Wizards and Warriors.
Over the next two decades, Donalson became a familiar face across some of TV’s most beloved shows, racking up credits on St. Elsewhere, Our House, Quantum Leap, Doogie Howser, M.D., Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Chicago Hope, Beverly Hills, 90210, and JAG. She also appeared on the big screen in projects such as Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Carpool, Man Against the Mob, Locked Up: A Mother’s Rage, and Children of the Dark. According to IMDb, her final acting role came in a 2004 episode of Medical Investigation.
Donalson spent years as a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, but she also balanced life outside Hollywood with jobs at several California law firms, including De Castro, West, Chodorow, Mendler & Glickfeld in Westwood and Hahn & Hahn in Pasadena.
She is survived by her sister, Harriette; nieces Kellie and Kate; brother-in-law Jimmie; and great-nieces Madison, Macy, and Piper, along with her great-nephew Clay. No cause of death has been released.
A steady presence across some of TV’s biggest shows, Donalson leaves behind a legacy of memorable roles that helped define an era of network storytelling.
😢🙏🙏🙏
God bless her soul