Yesterday, the world mourned the supposed passing of Charlie’s Angels star/former Bond Girl Tanya Roberts. Reported to have died at the age of 65, the story was that Roberts had collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, only to pass away after several days of care. Well, that apparently isn’t as true as we thought, as the same personal rep that reported Ms. Roberts’ passing has come out as saying that she’s very much alive.
As early as this morning, Tanya Roberts’ rep, Mike Pingel, and her husband, Lance, were informed that she was still alive. As TMZ reported, even Roberts’ own spouse was shocked, as he’d thought he had paid witness to her final moments sometime yesterday. One phone call changed all of that, and now a tragic passing has become a thankful close shave with death, though there’s no update on Tanya Roberts’ condition in these updates just yet.
This comes after Tanya Roberts had experienced a fall on Christmas Eve that had prompted her arrival at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center shortly after. Previous reporting stated that Roberts was actually on a respirator until her alleged passing yesterday. So while the TV icon who also played roles on hit sitcoms like That ‘70s Show is still with us, her road to total recovery is uncertain at this time. At the very least, she’s alive and responsive.
If you’re starting to think this story sounds a bit familiar, it’s because saw this a similarly erroneous report issued around this time last year. Much like Ms. Roberts, actor Julie Strain was reported as passing away last January, via an Instagram post made by a studio that had received “trusted” information that Ms. Strain had passed. But, much like the case of Tanya Roberts, Julie Strain had not passed, which led the company who had claimed she was dead to issue an apologetic retraction.
While no one ever wants to have to issue an obituary in the first place, having issued a premature one has to be an even more awkward feeling. Tanya Roberts’ supposed passing was already a dour affair, but after a year of celebrity passings that took quite a few stars, especially from the constellation of other figures that had made the James Bond franchise as bright as she had, it felt even more saddening to hear of it. So the reversal of Ms. Roberts’ death reports is all the more joyful, as she’s still in the world of the living.
Normally, this is where we’d issue our deepest condolences to the family of Tanya Roberts, much as we had in the death announcement from yesterday. But in light of new developments, we’d like to congratulate the family and friends of Ms. Roberts on this joyous update. We may all owe a debt to the afterlife, with death being a natural part of life; but the joy of treasuring someone being around that much longer is just as important.
