Actress Jill Jacobson Dies At 70

Jill Jacobson, known for her more recent roles in films such as Visage (2017), Excess Flesh (2015) and Cats Dancing on Jupiter (2015), died on Dec. 8. Having dealt with cancer for over two years, 70-year-old Jacobson’s last moments were at Cedars-Sinai’s Culver West Health Center in Los Angeles, her publicist and friend Dan Harary told The Hollywood Reporter. 

Beginning her acting journey in 1977 where she made her debut as the lead in the horror film Nurse Sherri, Jacobson took on an array of roles in film and television over the course of her career. 

Jacobson acted in films including Baby Sister (1983), Instinct to Kill (2001), and House of Usher (2008). Later on in her career, she also had prolific involvement in a variety of short films such as Sad Girl: Chlorine (2019), Boredom (2015), and Hotel Vernonia (2013).   

She also wrote and starred in the 2014 short Mic Whore, a story about a woman who becomes addicted to performing stand-up and will do anything to book a gig. 

Jacobson is also renowned for her roles in television shows such as The New Gidget, Falcon Crest and Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

According to a statement for Deadline, Jacobson’s The New Gidget co-star Caryn Richman said, “Jill’s comic timing was brilliant. And her enthusiasm and love of life made our time together on set joyful.”

Jacobson battled with esophageal cancer, and she opened up about her struggles in an interview with Jim Masters just months before her death. Although fighting cancer herself, she was a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society where she was rewarded for her volunteer work within the organization. 

“What I went through was pretty intense. You can’t function, you just can’t function. And now I’m so grateful, I just want to keep going, I want to help people. It makes you want to help people,” she told Masters in September. 

In recent years Jacobson was a familiar face at Los Angeles’ comedy clubs The Improv and The Comedy Store, where she would often perform stand-up, seemingly channeling her inner Mic Whore. 

“She will be deeply missed by numerous relatives, friends and her beloved dogs, Benny and Kowalski,” Harary said.