Markie Post, who played the public defender on the sitcom “Night Court” in the 1980s and ’90s and was a regular presence on television for four decades, died Aug. 7 in Los Angeles. She was 70.

Ellen Lubin Sanitsky, her manager, said the cause was cancer.

Ms. Post was a longtime television regular who appeared in shows including “Cheers” and “Scrubs.” But she was best known for her seven-
season run on NBC’s “Night Court,” the Manhattan municipal court sitcom that ran from 1984 to 1992 and starred Harry Anderson as Judge Harold T. Stone.

Ms. Post became a full-time cast member of “Night Court” in Season 3 as Christine Sullivan, a sincere and strong-willed lawyer who served as a foil to Dan Fielding, John Larroquette’s womanizing, narcissistic prosecutor. With comic rebuttal, Ms. Post’s Christine deflected Fielding’s lechery throughout the series’ run. Though an unrealized romance between Christine and Harry was often teased, “Night Court” ended with Fielding concluding that the public defender was the love of his life.

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Several of Ms. Post’s “Night Court” co-stars have died in recent years. Anderson died at age 65 in 2018. In July, Charles Robinson, who played the clerk Mac, died at 75. NBC is developing a sequel to the series.

Marjorie Armstrong Post was born in Palo Alto, Calif., on Nov. 4, 1950.

She started in television behind the camera, working on the production crew of the game shows “Double Dare” and “Card Sharks.” Her first series regular role was in the Lee Majors action adventure series “The Fall Guy,” in which she played Terri Michaels from 1982 to 1985.

Ms. Post’s other credits included playing Cameron Diaz’s mother in “There’s Something About Mary” (1998); Elliot Reid’s mother on “Scrubs”; and appearances in the shows “The Love Boat,” and “The A-Team.” While receiving treatments, Ms. Post acted in the Lifetime movie “Christmas Reservations” (2019) and guest starred on the ABC series “The Kids Are Alright.”

Ms. Post’s marriage to Stephen Knox ended in divorce. She had two daughters with her second husband, TV producer and writer Michael A. Ross. A complete list of survivors was not immediately available.

— Associated Press

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