SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Hope Lange, a noted film, television and stage actress, has died in Santa Monica, Calif., at the age of 70.
The New York Times said Lange was beloved for her natural comedic style and intelligent portrayals of women in difficult circumstances. Her work brought her two Emmy Awards and an Academy Award nomination.
Lange's husband, Charles Hollerith Jr., told the Times the cause of death was an intestinal infection brought on by a bout of diverticulitis.
Lang won praise for her first film role as a young woman who befriended a temptress played by Marilyn Monroe at a bus stop in the 1956 romantic comedy "Bus Stop."
But the Times noted it was her next role, in the controversial 1957 melodrama "Peyton Place," that made her a star.
Lange's two previous marriages -- to Don Murray and to director Alan Pakula -- ended in divorce. Besides her husband, she is survived by her son, Christopher, of Malibu, Calif., and daughter Patricia Murray of Arroyo Grande, Calif.
