UPDATE: Tanya Roberts Dies After False Death Announcement

Tanya Roberts

UPDATE 1/5/21 3:00P:   Tanya Roberts, the breathy-voiced actress who found fame in the 1980s as a detective on “Charlie’s Angels” and as a brave earth scientist in the James Bond film “A View to a Kill,” died on Monday night in Los Angeles, reports the NY Times. . She was 65.

Her death, at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, was confirmed on Tuesday by her companion, Lance O’Brien. Her publicist, who was given erroneous information, had announced her death to the news media early Monday, and some news organizations published obituaries about her prematurely.

The publicist, Mike Pingel, said Ms. Roberts collapsed on Dec. 24 after walking her dogs near her Hollywood Hills home and was put on a ventilator at the hospital. He did not give the cause of death, but said it was not related to Covid-19. He said she had not been noticeably ill before she collapsed.

Earlier Story 1/5/21 1:44 AM...

Tanya Roberts, who captivated James Bond in “A View to a Kill” and later played Midge Pinciotti in the sitcom “That ’70s Show,” has been hospitalized after falling at her home. The actor had mistakenly been reported dead by her publicist earlier Monday.

Roberts’ publicist Mike Pingel later told The Associated Press Monday afternoon that Roberts, 65, was still alive as of 10 a.m. PST but was in a poor condition. He had said earlier Monday that Roberts collapsed in her home on Dec. 24 and was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was believed to have died on Sunday.

Pingel said Robert’s partner, Lance O’Brien, told him that he held his wife and she “seemed for him to slip away.”

O’Brien, who’d been unable to see Roberts in the hospital because of COVID-19 restrictions, was allowed to visit Sunday for a last goodbye, Pingel said. The actor does not have the virus, he said.

The publicist said he is awaiting further updates on Roberts’ condition.

Multiple media outlets, including the AP, reported Roberts’ death. The AP removed its obituary and sent an advisory noting that the actor was still alive.

One of Roberts highest profile roles was playing geologist Stacey Sutton opposite Roger Moore in 1985′s “A View to a Kill.”

Roberts also appeared in such fantasy adventure films as “The Beastmaster” and “Hearts and Armour.” She replaced Shelley Hack in “Charlie’s Angels,” joining Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd as third Angel Julie. She also played comic book heroine Sheena — a female version of the Tarzan story — in a 1984 film.

A new generation of fans saw her on “That ’70s Show,” playing Midge, mother to Laura Prepon’s character Donna.