How sad. I will never forget being a kid and seeing her sing 'Memory' on the Today Show and being absolutely entranced. I recorded it on a VHS tape (as I did all those Broadway tv performances) and would watch it over and over and over. I know she got a lot of work but she never got the recognition she deserved.
Delightful interview with Linda during her time on Broadway as Madame Giry in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. She comes on at the 5:45 minute mark.
Side note to her age at the time she did SUNSET BLVD - she was 36 when she headlined the 1st US National Tour. The youngest person ever cast as Norma during its original run AND next to LuPone, the only actress to also sing the score in the original keys.
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)