Jill Jacobson, a film and television actress known for her work on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and the primetime soap opera “Falcon Crest,” died on Dec. 8 in Los Angeles. She was 70 years old.
Jacobson’s death was confirmed Variety by publicist Daniel Harary, a friend of Jacobson’s, who noted that the actress died after a battle with “a long-term illness.”
After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, Jacobson moved to Los Angeles, where she began her acting career with the title role in “Nurse Sherri.” She went on to appear in ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’, ‘Days of Our Lives’, ‘Hung’, ‘Newhart’, ‘Castle’ and ‘Who’s the Boss?’
Notably, she simultaneously played the recurring roles of Erin Jones in ‘Falcon Crest’ and Larue Wilson in ‘The New Gidget’. Jacobson appeared in 22 episodes of ‘Falcon Crest’ and eight episodes of ‘The New Gidget’ respectively.
Caryn Richman, Jacobson’s co-star in “New Gidget,” commented on the death of her lifelong friend, “Jill’s comedic timing was brilliant. And her enthusiasm and love for life made our time together on set joyful.”
Jacobson’s other television credits include “Crazy Like a Fox,” “Quantum Leap,” “Arliss” and “Murphy Brown.” Her film credits include Ron Howard’s ‘Splash’, ‘Bad Georgia Road’, ‘Forbidden Love’ and ‘Baby Sister’. She also made multiple stage appearances and performed stand-up comedy routines at LA’s The Improv and The Comedy Store.
Outside of her work in entertainment, Jacobson was a spokesperson who volunteered with the American Cancer Society.