Dixie Carter “Designing Women” Dead at 70 Cancer

From ABC News:

Actress Dixie Carter, who played an outspoken liberal on the sitcom "Designing Women" and received an Emmy nomination for a guest role on "Desperate Housewives," has died, according to TV gossip show "Entertainment Tonight." She was 70.
Details about the time, place and cause were not immediately known.
"This has been a terrible blow to our family," actor Hal Holbrook, Carter's husband since 1984, was quoted as telling "Entertainment Tonight." "We would appreciate everyone understanding that this is a private family tragedy."

"Designing Women," which ran on CBS for seven seasons from 1986, revolved around the lives of four women and a man at an interior design firm in Atlanta. Carter's sharp-tongued character, Julia Sugarbaker, was an advocate of liberal causes and women's rights.

In 2007, Carter received an Emmy nomination for a stint as the devious mother-in-law of Marcia Cross' character, Bree Hodge, on "Desperate Housewives."

The Tennessee native also appeared in the 1980s sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" toward the end of its run, playing the wife of Conrad Bain's character Philip Drummond. The role was later assumed by Mary Ann Mobley after it switched networks.

In addition to her 85-year-old husband, Carter is survived by her daughters from her first marriage, Mary Dixie and Ginna, "Entertainment Tonight" said.

UPDATE: Actress Dixie Carter appeared in many shows during her lengthy career, but she will be best remembered for her iconic portrayal of Southern belle and business woman Julia Sugarbaker on the long-running CBS sitcom "Designing Women." The Tennessee actress died on April 10, 2010 in a Houston hospital of complications from cancer. She was 70 years old.

Dixie Carter's Christian Roots

Carter was not just known as an actress; she was also a rarity in Hollywood - a staunch Republican and outspoken about her Christian faith.

"How come we've got to the point where Christians must apologize for being who they are?" she said. "Why have Christians allowed themselves to get into the position of being the bad guys? That is a very sad turn of events, and we'd better do something about it. Again, the extremists are the ones who get the attention. They're the ones people listen to, but they don't represent the vast majority of sensible, decent people who are too well-mannered to scream their opinions in your face." (cleveland.com)

Trying to Get to Heaven: Opinions of a Tennessee Talker

You can find out more about Dixie Carter in the book she published through Simon & Schuster in 1996, titled Trying to Get to Heaven: Opinions of a Tennessee Talker.