If you’ve seen the sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” you may remember the character
Yesterday, Slayton-Hughes’ family announced some sad news for friends and fans of the actress. She has died at the age of 92. They made the announcement on Slayton-Hughes’ Facebook page, posting a montage of pictures along with quotes from the actress. For example, one quote reads, “I love doing drama but I’m always hired to do comedy.” Another quote reads, “The universe is getting ready for a big project: preparing for my departure.”
Along with the pictures and quotes, Slayton-Hughes’ family wrote, “To the friends and fans of our beloved Helen, Helen passed away last night. Her pain has ended but her fierce spirit lives on. Thank you for the love and support of her and her work. Rest sweet one.…”
Her family did not mention a cause of death, but mentioning that “her pain has ended” may mean that she was suffering from a disease of some sort.
Slayton-Hughes was born in 1930, but she didn’t start acting until she was 50 years old. Her first role was in 1980 in the movie “Mafia on the Bounty.”
She stepped away from acting for awhile, but in her self-written IMDB biography, she explained, “She had spent about forty years acting on stage (community theater, non-union and Equity waiver) in over two hundred plays and musicals when, at Berkeley Stage in the San Francisco Bay Area, she was cast in a two part story arc on Nash Bridges (1996) and discovered she could actually make money as an actor! So she moved to Los Angeles at the age of 70 to try to earn more.”
Besides her beloved role on “Parks and Recreation,” other credits include “The Drew Carey Show,” “That’s So Raven,” “Arrested Development,” “My Name Is Earl,” “Pretty Little Liars,” “Burning Love,” “True Blood,” “New Girl,” “He’s All That,” and her most recent role in a Netflix movie, “The Curse of Bridge Hollow,” which was released earlier this year.
Multiple people have posted tributes to the late actress. Here’s one showing a clip of her role on “The West Wing.”
It’s a longer clip, but it is worth it to honor #HelenSlaytonHughes who has passed away at the age of 92. #MarionCotesworthHaye #TheWestWing pic.twitter.com/JnC0SnkYnC
— Peter James Smith (@PJSActor) December 9, 2022
And here are some epic clips of Slaton-Hughes on “Parks and Recreation.”