In a statement confirming her tragic passing, Mary Mara’s manager Craig Dorfman revealed that the actress best known for her roles in ER and Ray Donavan “was one of the finest actresses I ever met.”
As Dorfman continued in his statement, he remember the first time he ever saw her onstage. “I still remember seeing her onstage in 1992 in ‘Mad Forest’ off-Broadway. She was electric, funny, and a true individual. Everyone loved her. She will be missed.”
‘ER’ Actress Tragically Drowns at the Age of 61
In a press release shared by New York State Police, Mary Mara’s body was discovered on Sunday around 8:10 a.m. Police responded to the call of a “possible drowning.”
Mara was already deceased by the time first responders arrived on the scene. “The preliminary investigation suggests the victim drowned while swimming” in the St. Lawerence River in Cap Vincent, New York, police shared in the release.
The statement further reveals that there were no signs of foul play. An autopsy is expected to be performed for more concrete information.
Mara has an illustration career as a television actress. Her work includes very popular series including ER, Ray Donavan, Nash Bridges, Dexter, The Practice, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
She had recently retired from acting in 2020 and moved back to Syracuse where she was born. Prior to her retirement, People reports that the actress was living a bicoastal lifestyle with homes in California and New York City.
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Mara was a Yale University graduate. It’s unclear if she was married at the time of her passing.
According to her brother-in-law Scott Dailey, Mara was visiting and staying at her sister Martha’s summer home when the swimming incident occurred, he told People.
In a tweet honoring his friend, fellow actor Jon Lindstorm shared a photo of them together with a few worlds. “Crushed to learn of Mary Mara’s untimely passing. We performed together back in 2008 in Malcolm Danare’s ‘In Heat’ at the Lost Playhouse in LA.”
“She was plowing through the aftereffects of Chemo. Brave, brilliant, Uber-talented. Earth will be much less-colorful without her. R.I.P.” It’s unclear what form of cancer Mara was dealing with at the time.
People further reported that Mara is survived by a stepdaughter, Katie Mersola, her sisters, Martha and Susan Mara, her brother-in-law, Scott, and a nephew, Christopher Dailey.