{"id":7219,"date":"2026-08-23T11:35:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T11:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219"},"modified":"2026-08-23T11:35:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T11:35:58","slug":"bunny-levinegilmore-girls-and-la-la-land-actress-dead-at-97","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219","title":{"rendered":"Bunny Levine,\u2018Gilmore Girls\u2019 and \u2018La La Land\u2019 actress, dead at 97"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Bunny Levine, a former school librarian who built a second career in Hollywood with roles in \u201cGilmore Girls\u201d and \u201cLa La Land,\u201d has died. She was 97.<\/p>\n

Read more A-list actor barely recognizable in heartwarming Disneyland moment: \u2018More starstruck by Goofy\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

The New Jersey-born actress died peacefully in her sleep Thursday at her home in Tarzana, Calif., NBCLA reported.<\/p>\n

Police responded to her home after receiving a report of an unresponsive person and said her death appeared to be from natural causes.<\/p>\n

Levine worked as a school librarian and teacher in Teaneck, NJ, for about 25 years and didn\u2019t launch her Hollywood career until the late 1980s, when she was almost 60.<\/p>\n

She appeared in some of television\u2019s biggest shows as a character actress, including \u201cGilmore Girls,\u201d where she played Mrs. Thompson, and \u201cEverybody Loves Raymond,\u201d where she played a friend of Ray\u2019s mom, Marie, who kept dropping things while admiring Ray\u2019s bottom.<\/p>\n

Her credits also included \u201cLaw & Order,\u201d \u201cUgly Betty,\u201d \u201cPrivate Practice,\u201d \u201cCriminal Minds,\u201d \u201c2 Broke Girls,\u201d \u201cRaising Hope,\u201d \u201cSouthland,\u201d \u201cNew Girl,\u201d \u201cThe Mindy Project,\u201d \u201cFuller House\u201d and \u201cShameless,\u201d according to her IMDb page.<\/p>\n

In 2014, she notably starred alongside the late James Van Der Beek in an episode of \u201cFriends With Better Lives,\u201d which aired for one season on CBS. <\/p>\n

On the big screen, she had a small role as a movie theater cashier in \u201cLa La Land,\u201d the 2016 musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.<\/p>\n

She also appeared in Adam Sandler\u2019s \u201cYou Don\u2019t Mess With the Zohan\u201d (2008), \u201cSandy Wexler\u201d (2017) and \u201cYou Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah\u201d (2023).<\/p>\n

Levine kept working into her mid-90s, with her final roles including the last season of \u201cThe Upshaws\u201d and Mrs. Polanski in the 2026 movie \u201cThe Cure\u201d \u2014 her final film role.<\/p>\n

Read more Nevada governor declares state of emergency as Hawk Fire grows to over 10,500 acres<\/a><\/p>\n

Her first professional acting credit was the 1988 horror-comedy \u201cSlime City\u201d when she was 59.<\/p>\n

Levine was born Dec. 22, 1928, in East Orange, NJ, where she grew up and attended East Orange High School, and performed in school and local productions from an early age.<\/p>\n

After graduating from Washington State University in 1951, Levine returned to New Jersey, where she became a school librarian and teacher, raising three children with her husband, Bernard.<\/p>\n

Living in the Pacific Northwest was \u201ca culture shock at first\u201d after growing up on the East Coast, she told Washington State Magazine in 2013.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

After Bernard died in 2003, Levine moved from the New York area to Los Angeles, where she began booking commercials and acting jobs.<\/p>\n

She once spoke about what drew her to acting, a career she had dreamt of since childhood, after decades in education.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that many of us could explain why \u2014 it\u2019s just something. Maybe it\u2019s in the genes,\u2019 Levine told the Daily Evergreen in March 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if there was any \u2018moment.\u2019 I just plugged along, and I would go study and try to get better at my crafts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very blessed to have been able to get back to what I had always wanted since early memory. I wish that everyone could find that happiness,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Read more Exclusive | Phallic-masked sicko, unhinged vagrants terrorize young girls at soccer practice at NYC park<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bunny Levine, a former school librarian who went on to star in “Gilmore Girls” and “La La Land,” has died at age 97 at her California home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-news"],"yoast_head":"\nBunny Levine,\u2018Gilmore Girls\u2019 and \u2018La La Land\u2019 actress, dead at 97 - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bunny Levine,\u2018Gilmore Girls\u2019 and \u2018La La Land\u2019 actress, dead at 97 - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bunny Levine, a former school librarian who went on to star in "Gilmore Girls" and "La La Land," has died at age 97 at her California home.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-23T11:35:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7219#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7219\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"headline\":\"Bunny Levine,\u2018Gilmore Girls\u2019 and \u2018La La Land\u2019 actress, dead at 97\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-23T11:35:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7219\"},\"wordCount\":556,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7219#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/7d147d68ac28c9faecdf77a3d01b70cc.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Celebrity News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7219#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7219\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7219\",\"name\":\"Bunny Levine,\u2018Gilmore Girls\u2019 and \u2018La La Land\u2019 actress, dead at 97 - Metro Transit Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7219#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7219#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/7d147d68ac28c9faecdf77a3d01b70cc.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-23T11:35:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7219#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7219\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7219#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/7d147d68ac28c9faecdf77a3d01b70cc.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/7d147d68ac28c9faecdf77a3d01b70cc.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7219#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bunny Levine,\u2018Gilmore Girls\u2019 and \u2018La La Land\u2019 actress, dead at 97\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metro Transit Review\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bunny Levine,\u2018Gilmore Girls\u2019 and \u2018La La Land\u2019 actress, dead at 97 - Metro Transit Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bunny Levine,\u2018Gilmore Girls\u2019 and \u2018La La Land\u2019 actress, dead at 97 - Metro Transit Review","og_description":"Bunny Levine, a former school librarian who went on to star in \"Gilmore Girls\" and \"La La Land,\" has died at age 97 at her California home.","og_url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219","og_site_name":"Metro Transit Review","article_published_time":"2026-08-23T11:35:58+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"headline":"Bunny Levine,\u2018Gilmore Girls\u2019 and \u2018La La Land\u2019 actress, dead at 97","datePublished":"2026-08-23T11:35:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219"},"wordCount":556,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7d147d68ac28c9faecdf77a3d01b70cc.webp","articleSection":["Celebrity News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219","name":"Bunny Levine,\u2018Gilmore Girls\u2019 and \u2018La La Land\u2019 actress, dead at 97 - Metro Transit Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7d147d68ac28c9faecdf77a3d01b70cc.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-23T11:35:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7d147d68ac28c9faecdf77a3d01b70cc.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7d147d68ac28c9faecdf77a3d01b70cc.webp","width":1200,"height":799},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7219#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bunny Levine,\u2018Gilmore Girls\u2019 and \u2018La La Land\u2019 actress, dead at 97"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/","name":"Metro Transit Review","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/metrotransitreview.com"],"url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}