SANDEFJORD, Norway, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Lorene Yarnell, part of the U.S. mime team Shields and Yarnell, has died in Sandefjord, Norway, at age 66, her former husband and partner said.
Robert Shields told the Los Angeles Times Yarnell was stricken with a fatal brain aneurysm July 29 while watching television at her home with her husband, Bjorn Jansson.
There was no immediate word on services.
"I'm devastated by her death," Shields told the Times. "Lorene was an incredibly gifted and magical person."
Shields and Yarnell teamed up in the 1970s to perform pantomime sketches on stage and on various television variety shows. They had their own such series on CBS in 1977 and 1978.
The Times noted Yarnell had a unique movie role in the Mel Brooks comedy "Space Balls" in which she played the robot Dot Matrix with the voice dubbed in by Joan Rivers.
Yarnell was born in Inglewood, Calif., during World War II and went on to become a top-notch dancer on the TV variety show circuit. She and Shields worked together after their marriage ended.
She is survived by Jansson, her fourth husband, and her brother, Richard Yarnell. Another brother, Bruce Yarnell, a Broadway veteran, died in a 1973 plane crash, the Times said.
