‘True Blood’ actress, Marcia DeRousse, dies after long illness

Marcia DeRousse, who fought for the supernatural on the HBO program True Blood as Dr Patricia Ludwig, passed away on Saturday in Altadena after a protracted illness, according to a publicist. She was 70 years old.

In April, she claimed on Facebook that a slip and fall in the doctor's waiting room would "lead to my death," and that the spill had "caused my hiatal hernia to move to an area where it is now dangerous."

The 164-inch In the Warner Bros. movie Under the Rainbow (1981), which also starred Chevy Chase and Carrie Fisher, DeRousse made her big-screen debut alongside fellow child actor Billy Barty. She appeared in Tiptoes (2002) and D.J. Caruso's The Disappointments Room (2016), among other films.

In the second, fourth, and seventh seasons of the Alan Ball-produced True Blood, DeRousse made guest appearances on various episodes.

DeRousse, a native of Doniphan, Missouri, attended the University of Missouri before moving to Los Angeles in 1980 with her mother. She started to consider a career in acting while working as a teacher in the Pasadena public school system.

She first made an appearance in Under the Rainbow as one of the hotel guests thanks to a chance encounter with Barty, and then she went on to guest star on NBC's St. Elsewhere and ABC's The Fall Guy.

Altadena resident DeRousse looked up to Poltergeist actress Zelda Rubinstein as a role model. She was referred to as "an outspoken dynamo with a distinct, sharp wit," a supporter of chances for seniors with disabilities, and a lover of cats, particularly stray kittens.