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Ray Romano has lead tributes to his Everybody Loves Raymond co-star Doris Roberts, who died in her sleep overnight. She was 90.
The Emmy Award-winning actress played the role of Romano's on-screen mother in the series, which ran from 1996 to 2005.
The cause of death has not yet been established. Her spokeswoman Janet Daily told the Associated Press Roberts was healthy and active before passing away at her Los Angeles home.
Patricia Heaton, who played her on-screen daughter-in-law for almost a decade, praised Roberts as a “consummate professional" on Twitter.
“She was funny and tough and loved life, living it to the fullest."
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Phil Rosenthal, the sitcom's creator, described Roberts as “a wonderful, funny, indelible actress and friend” while Romano paid tribute to her "amazing energy and spirit".
“She never stopped,” he told Entertainment Tonight
Roberts also appeared in the 1980s TV detective drama Remington Steele , in films such as The Rose and on stage in a number of plays, but it was her turn as the formidable and interfering mother in Everybody Loves Raymond that cemented her status as a household name.
She also co-wrote Are You Hungry, Dear? Life, Laughs, and Lasagna , a memoir with recipes, in 2005.
She is survived by her son Michael Cannata, her daughter-in-law, Jane and her three grandchildren.
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