Conchata Ferrell death: Two and a Half Men star dies, aged 77

Actor portrayed housekeeper Berta throughout the sitcom’s 12 seasons

Conchata Ferrell arrives at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ 21st annual Hall of Fame gala on 1 March 2012 in Beverly Hills, California (Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

Conchata Ferrell, the actor celebrated for her role as Berta in Two and a Half Men, has died at the age of 77.

According to Deadline, Ferrell died on Tuesday in Sherman Oaks, California, of complications following a cardiac arrest.

Warner Bros TV, the distributor of the iconic sitcom, tweeted on Tuesday: “We are saddened by the loss of Conchata Ferrell and are grateful for the years she brought us laughs as Berta which will live on forever.”

Her Two and a Half Men co-star Jon Cryer wrote in a tribute of his own: “She was a beautiful human.  Berta’s gruff exterior was an invention of the writers. Chatty’s warmth and vulnerability were her real strengths. I’m crying for the woman I’ll miss, and the joy she brought so many.”

Back in July this year, Ferrell’s husband told TMZ she had been taken to a care facility after spending more than four weeks in an intensive care unit. The actor had reportedly been hospitalised in May after feeling ill, and went into cardiac arrest while being treated in the ICU.

Born in West Virginia in 1943, Ferrell began her career on the stage, receiving several awards for her role in the off-Broadway play The Sea Horse. 

She began acquiring TV credits in the Seventies, and in 1979 portrayed Elinore Randall Stewart in Richard Pearce’s film Heartland. The 1980s brought more TV credits, including a turn as Nurse Joan Thor in the short-lived series E/R. That decade also saw Ferrell star alongside Julia Roberts in Donald Petrie’s 1988 Mystic Pizza.

The 1990s brought the actor her first Emmy nomination. In 1992, she was in the running for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series as the result of her work as Susan Bloom in LA Law. Ferrell also starred as Helen in Tim Burton’s acclaimed 1990 fantasy romance Edward Scissorhands.

Making guest appearances on shows such as Friends, ER, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Ferrell also kept building her career on the silver screen, appearing in Steven Brill’s 2002 rom-com Mr Deeds (starring Adam Sandler and Winona Ryder).

Ferrell portrayed housekeeper Berta for all of Two and a Half Men’s 12 seasons, from 2003 to 2015.  Her performance on the sitcom earned her two more Emmy nominations, this time in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category, in 2005 and 2007.

In recent years, the actor appeared in the TV series Grace and Frankie and The Ranch. She also has a role in the upcoming film Deported, currently scheduled for release in April 2021.