Marcia Ann Burrs, who appeared on dozens of TV shows including Mad Men, How I Met Your Mother and Grace and Frankie across three decades in Hollywood, died Sunday in Matthews, North Carolina, her family announced. She was 85.
Burrs also was known for playing Mrs. Claus opposite Steve Guttenberg, Crystal Bernard and John Wheeler (as Santa) in two beloved Hallmark holiday films, 2004’s Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus and its 2005 sequel, Meet the Santas.
Over the years, Burrs showed up in everything from The Slap Maxwell Story, Moonlighting, 7th Heaven, Will & Grace, Gilmore Girls, Frasier, Monk and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia to The King of Queens, My Name Is Earl, Scrubs, Bones, Criminal Minds, Grey’s Anatomy, Angie Tribeca and Young Sheldon.
She also worked in films including Rob Reiner’s Rumor Has It … (2005), Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring (2013) and Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town (2017).
Marcia Hoffman was born on Nov. 25, 1940, in Manila, the Philippines. After performing in school plays and studying drama at William & Mary, she moved to New York and worked in musical theater, commercials and soap operas before relocating to California.
Survivors include her daughters, Jennifer and Diana; her sons-in-law, Douglas and James; her grandsons, Grant and Talon; her brothers, Fred (and wife Judy) and Greg (Jayne); and her sister, Toni.
Her husband of 52 years, Joe Bures, who spent two decades as a business executive at NBC, died in January 2020 at age 83.
They met in New York, and he taught her “how to play golf, which became a cornerstone of their relationship and a favorite way to spend time together with their daughters,” her family said. “Family lore says their perfect rhythm was simple and sacred: church, golf, lasagna, repeat — the way most Sundays were joyfully spent.”
They added: “She never acknowledged an age older than 39.”
A private family service is set for 11 a.m. on Friday at Salisbury National Cemetery in North Carolina. Online condolences may be made here.
