'Simpsons' voice actress Marcia Wallace dies

Marcia Wallace, the voice Edna Krabappel, Bart Simpson's jaded, chain-smoking school teacher on the animated show "The Simpsons" has died, the show producers said Saturday. "I was tremendously saddened to learn this morning of the passing of the brilliant and gracious Marcia Wallace," read a statement from the show's executive producer Al Jean posted on Facebook. "She was beloved by all at 'The Simpsons' and we intend to retire her irreplaceable character," Jean wrote. Wallace, 70, died in Los Angeles of complications due to pneumonia, her son Michael Hawley told the Los Angeles Times. Wallace's career in show business included a role as a sassy receptionist on the 1970s TV comedy "The Bob Newhart Show," and guest roles on 80s and 90s shows like "Full House," "Taxi" and "Murphy Brown." In 1992 Wallace won a Primetime Emmy award for her work on "The Simpsons." Show producer Jean said that there had been talk about the death of one of the "Simpsons" characters, but that "was not Marcia's Edna Krabappel. Marcia's passing is unrelated and again, a terrible loss for all who had the pleasure of knowing her," he wrote.