R.I.P. Liz Sheridan: Jerry Seinfeld, Ron Funches Mourn 'Seinfeld' Actress

Actress Liz Sheridan died Friday at the age of 93, and fans around the world are in mourning.

Sheridan died of natural causes in her sleep, according to Deadline. She was best known to TV watchers as Jerry's mom, Helen, on Seinfeld as well as nosey neighbor Mrs. Ochmonek from ALF. Sheridan also had a long, fruitful career on Broadway, acting with Meryl Streep and Christopher Lloyd in the 1977 production of Happy End.

"Liz was funny. She gave her all to every scene and rose to every comedic challenge. She was a charming, sweet, wonderfully funny woman. I had the pleasure to share many laughs with her both on and off screen," Paul Fusco, creator and star of ALF, told Newsweek. "I was incredibly lucky to have her on Team ALF."

Born into showbiz in 1929 as the daughter of a professional singer and a classical pianist, Sheridan started her career as a nightclub dancer and singer, according to her autobiography, Dizzy & Jimmy: My Life with James Dean: a Love Story. Though she started out in New York, in the 1950s and '60s she moved to the Caribbean, where she described "singing and playing the piano in almost every bar and saloon in the West Indies."

While there, she had a number of side gigs—including forming an award-winning dance troupe with her neighbor and winning a horse race with her horse Generalé.

She moved back to the United States in the late 1960s, and became a stage actress. Sheridan moved to Hollywood in the late 1970s to find her fortunes on screen.

Before landing the ALF role, she was known for her numerous guest appearances on shows including Kojak, St. Elsewhere and Newhart. The same year ALF ended, she joined the cast of Seinfeld, where she was the only non-lead actor to appear in every season of the show.

Sheridan died two weeks after the passing of Estelle Harris, the actress who played George's mom Estelle on Seinfeld. Sheridan passed only five days after turning 93.

Friends and fans alike came out to mourn the actress. Her TV son, Jerry Seinfeld, shared a picture of the two hugging on set.

"Liz was always the sweetest, nicest TV mom a son could wish for. Every time she came on our show it was the coziest feeling for me. So lucky to have known her," Seinfeld wrote.

Comedian Ron Funches invoked the fictional retirement complex in Seinfeld where Jerry's parents moved.

"They can't keep the Seinfeld's out of Del Boca Vista in the sky!!! RIP to an industry legend," he wrote.

TV host Brendan Kirby also referenced Seinfeld with one of Sheridan's most famous lines from the series.

"How could anyone not like her?" he wrote.

Columnist Jeff Sneider mourned both her and her fellow Seinfeld mom in his tweet.

"Losing Mrs. Seinfeld and Mrs. Costanza in the same month is a tough blow straight from the cosmos. R.I.P. Liz Sheridan," he wrote.

Though Seinfeld received most of the attention online, there were a number of folks who said they would always remember her from ALF first.

"Many of you remember her as Jerry Seinfeld's mom. I remember her as Mrs. Ochmonek," All Things Considered host Bill Rinehart wrote.

CBS Sports host Damon Amendolara shared a picture of ALF sneaking behind Mrs. Ochmonek with his comment.

"RIP Liz Sheridan, who was superb as Mrs. Ochmonek. She always knew something was up with the house next door," he said.

Newsweek reached out to Jerry Seinfeld's representatives for comment.

Update (4/15/2022, 7:35 p.m.): This article has been updated to include comment from Paul Fusco.