Actress Lynne Marie Stewart, who appeared in five episodes of M*A*S*H during Seasons 4 and 5, died late last week (February 21) at the age of 78. Stewart is best known for playing Miss Yvonne, first as part of the 1981 stage show The Pee-wee Herman Show and later on television in Pee-wee’s Playhouse on CBS from 1986 to 1990. More recently, Stewart had a recurring role on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia playing Charlie’s mom in 18 episodes between 2005 and 2023.
Stewart made her first appearance on M*A*S*H in the Season 4 episode “Dear Ma,” where she was credited as Nurse Fox. In the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene, she’s in the Mess Tent when Radar asks if anyone is sitting at her table. She replies no and then gets up and walks away. She returned that same season in “Deluge” playing Nurse Plummer, who helped Hawkeye search for a missing sponge during surgery. For both of these episodes, the closing credits misspelled her name Lynn Marie Stewart.
Stewart made three additional seasons throughout Season 5. In “Lt. Radar O’Reilly” she was credited as Nurse Baker and was very interested in pursuing Radar–at least until he earned a promotion. She was again credited as Nurse Baker in “The Abduction of Margaret Houlihan, which saw Radar walk in on her in the shower. Finally, she attended Margaret’s bridal shower in “Margaret’s Marriage,” this time credited as Nurse Clark. Her name was spelled correctly in the closing credits for these episodes.
Her career in show business started only a few years before she appeared on M*A*S*H. According to her Internet Movie Database page, her very first role was in a 1971 movie called Drive, He Said. She guest starred in seven episodes of Laverne & Shirley between 1977 and 1983. She had a starring role in the short-lived CBS sitcom Husbands, Wives & Lovers in 1978.
Stewart acted regularly from the 1980s to the 2010s, with roles in TV shows like Remington Steele, The Golden Girls, Suddenly Susan, Spin City, Arrested Development, 2 Broke Girls, and The Cool Kids. On the big screen, she appeared in movies like Jumpin’ Jack Flash, The Running Man, Dunston Checks In, and Bridesmaids.
Obituaries can be found at The New York Times, CBS News, and The Hollywood Reporter.
