The cast, crew and fans of NBC's Superstore suffered a blow at the end of September when actress Linda Porter, who had played Cloud 9 employee Myrtle Vartanian since Season 1 of the sitcom, passed away at the age of 86 after a long battle with cancer. Those who worked with Porter were quick to take to social media or put out statements about how much they loved working with her and how she'd be missed around the Cloud 9 set. Superstore had just begun airing Season 5 when Porter passed away, so nothing could be done officially to honor her, but now that's changed.
Superstore just aired the second episode of its fifth season, and took some time at the end of the half hour to pay tribute to Linda Porter with a simple and sweet title card to let her friends, family and fans know that she won't be forgotten any time soon. Take a look:
Awww. Unfortunately, Linda Porter hadn't been able to film anything for Season 5 of Superstore before she passed away, and while we can hope that there may be some mention of Myrtle on the show to wrap up her storyline, it's not like she'll be an easy character to forget. On a show filled with hilariously ridiculous characters who constantly do and say the unexpected, Porter's Myrtle was always at the top of that list whenever she was on screen.
While Myrtle, who'd worked at the store since 1987, was a sweet, older woman, she was also confused most of the time and casually racist, saying things like, "When I was a teenager, I crashed my father's Hudson Super and blamed it on a Chinese." As you can tell, Myrtle also had a habit of telling stories that proved just how wild of a life she lived in her younger years, and had been known to shock with her use of sudden sass and...inappropriate / risque language.
In Season 2, for instance, when the store was celebrating the start of the Olympics, Myrtle was given the task of lighting their cauldron, but instead set a giant stack of toilet paper on fire, which (unsurprisingly) led to a panic in the store. This season also saw spitfire Myrtle try to push over a ladder that a new employee, Opal, was standing on. Why did Myrtle want to kill Opal, you ask? Well, because Opal was older than her and getting more of that awww-look-at-the-old-lady-working attention than Myrtle. Ol' girl was no joke.
While Myrtle was briefly fired from Cloud 9 in Season 3, her dismissal rallied her bickering co-workers, who were able to get some changes made, and she was eventually hired back, after having her likeness used as a (sometimes devil-faced) virtual greeter for the store.
Linda Porter and Myrtle appeared in 35 Superstore episodes, including the emotional Season 4 finale in May, and it's clear that both will be missed. Superstore (which will be adding some cool guest stars this season) airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on NBC, and you can keep up with all of this season's debuts with our 2019 fall premiere guide!
