Jill Jacobson, best known for “Falcon Crest” and “The New Gidget”, dies at 70

Jill Jacobson, a character actress on television best known for her work on series like Falcon Crest and The New Gidget, has died, her manager Ben Padua confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. She was age 70.

Jacobson died Dec. 8 at Cedars-Sinai’s Culver West Health Center following a long illness, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"We are incredibly sad to say goodbye to our beautiful, soulful, hysterically funny, elegantly raunchy client, Jill Jacobson," Padua said in a statement. "Jill was a total spitfire of an actress with comedic timing straight out of a Marx Brothers’ flick and Hollywood glamor right from its golden age. Jill took us on so many adventures and she was an absolute blast. Thank you, Jill. We’ll see you in our dreams."

Jacobson was born in Texas and grew up between Beaumont, Tx., and Dallas. She attended the University of Texas in Austin, where she received a B.S. in Radio, TV and Film Performance before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting. Her first role was in the 1977 low-budget slasher horror film Nurse Sherri in the titular role.

Beginning in the early 1980s, Jacobson acted primarily on television, with bit parts in shows like Harper Valley PTA, and in TV movies including Not Just Another Affair, Forbidden Love, Policewoman Centerfold, and An Uncommon Love. In 1984, Jacobson had an uncredited role in the blockbuster Splash.

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From 1985 to 1987, Johnson played spy Erin Jones on 22 episodes of the ’80s primetime soap opera Falcon Crest.

"Working on this amazing show was some of the happiest times I've had!" Jacobson said in a 40th-anniversary tribute to Falcon Crest. "I got to blow up bridges and hijack large truckfuls of wine and put mealy moths in vineyards! How much fun could one possibly have?"

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Simultaneously, Jacobson starred on The New Gidget — a sequel to the ’60s sitcom that made Sally Field a star — as Larue, Gidget's longtime best friend, from 1986 to 1988. Other notable parts include two episodes on Newhart, a five-episode arc on Days of Our Lives, and guest-starring roles on both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Jacobson made numerous and varied appearances on TV throughout her decades-long career, such as Quantum Leap, Who's the Boss?, Murphy Brown, Party Down, Hung, and Castle. Her last credited role was in the 2020 series Etheria.

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