Actor Lisa Banes, 65, star of stage and screen, has died after a hit-and-run collision last week in New York.
“We are heartsick of Lisa’s tragic and senseless passing,” a representative for Banes said. “She was a woman of great spirit, kindness and generosity and dedicated to her work, whether on stage or in front of a camera and even more so to her wife, family and friends... We were blessed to have had her in our lives.”
Banes was taken to hospital after she was struck by a scooter or motorcycle in Manhattan while crossing the road outside the Lincoln Center to visit her former drama school Julliard.
Banes’ wife, Kathryn Kranhold, urged people to pray for Banes and to contact the police if they had any information about the scooter driver, who has not yet been found.
Banes played the mother of Rosamund Pike’s character in the 2014 David Fincher film Gone Girl. Other big screen roles included an older woman romanced by Tom Cruise in Cocktail, as well as a boardroom executive in A Cure for Wellness.
She was a regular on and off Broadway after her 1984 breakthrough in Isn’t It Romantic?, with key parts in Neil Simon’s Rumors opposite Christine Baranski; Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia with Paul Giamatti and Billy Crudup, and a 1998 revival of Cole Porter’s High Society with Anna Kendrick.
On television, Banes had recurring roles on Nashville, Royal Pains, and Six Feet Under and guested on multiple sitcoms including Frasier, Roseanne and The King of Queens as well as cop and sci-fi shows.
Seth MacFarlane, who worked with Banes recently on The Orville, tweeted that “her stage presence, magnetism, skill and talent were matched only by her unwavering kindness and graciousness towards all of us. A tremendous loss.”
Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, a friend of Banes, said she was “just busted” over the news. “Lisa Banes was magnificent, hilarious, and big-hearted – always helped me through the hard times. She was so beloved by so many.”
