Actress. Born Sada Carolyn Thompson, she was raised in New Jersey due to her father’s position as a magazine editor. She attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology, earning a degree in Drama, and following graduation she formed a summer stock company along with her former classmates in Massachusetts. She debuted on TV in an episode of the program “Goodyear Playhouse” (1954) and marked her Broadway debut in the play “The Carefree Tree” one year later. Thompson’s stage career peaked in the early 1970s, as she won an OBIE Award for Best Performance with “The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds” (1970 to 1972), and a Tony Award for “Twigs” (1972). Audiences became familiar with her on the small screen with her Emmy Award-winning role as Kate Lawrence in the series “Family” (1976 to 1980), as well as for her Emmy-nominated performances in “Cheers” (1982) and the HBO special “Indictment: The McMartin Trial” (1995). She died from complications of lung disease. (bio by: C.S.)