Actress Sperber Loses Breast Cancer Fight

[U2Girl1978]

By Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Actress Wendie Jo Sperber, who starred opposite Tom Hanks on TV's "Bosom Buddies" and who in his words became "a walking inspiration" after she contracted cancer, has died. She was 46.

Sperber died at home Tuesday after an eight-year battle with breast cancer, publicist Jo-Ann Geffen said Wednesday.

A Los Angeles native, Sperber appeared in dozens of television shows and movies, including all three "Back to the Future" films.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, the actress became an advocate for cancer care. In 2001, she founded the weSPARK Cancer Support Center, which provides free emotional support, information and social activities for individuals and families affected by cancer.

Sperber helped unveil and promote a breast cancer stamp for the U.S. Postal Service in 1998, Geffen said.

"The memory of Wendie Jo is that of a walking inspiration," Hanks said in a statement. "She met the challenges of her illness with love, cheer, joy and altruism. We are going to miss her as surely as we are all better for knowing her."

Sperber is survived by a son and daughter, her parents, two sisters and a brother.

 

[BluRmGrl]

That's so sad. She was one of those actresses you immediately recognized but couldn't place her name... and for some reason, the roles she played (quirky, brief but memorable parts) always make me think of Edie McClurg.

My prayers for her children and family.

 

[wenda]

I just read this and it made me so sad. She seemed like a great woman.

My prayers go out to her and her family.

 

[Doozer61]

 

[Carek1230]

I loved her and the characters she played! This news is so so so sad, and especially hits hard when it is someone around your own age. Wow. This makes my heart sink. We've GOT to fight breast cancer!

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Oh no, I know who she is

 

[Hewson]

What a shame.

RIP

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, Sperber, a native of L.A., became an advocate for cancer care. In 2001, she founded the weSPARK Cancer Support Center, which provides free emotional support, information and social activities for individuals and families affected by cancer.

"I get e-mails and letters from people saying weSPARK has changed their life," Sperber told PEOPLE in a 2002 interview. "And I know that's healing me."

Sperber got the idea for the center after working on a 1998 Murphy Brown episode with cancer survivors Tracy Nelson and Marcia Wallace. "All these actresses had already gone through what I was about to," said Sperber, who had been diagnosed just a few weeks earlier. "It was my very first support group."

For more information on weSPARK, go to www.wespark.org.

 

[tiny dancer]

 

[Carek1230]

This news makes me so sad.