   audra marie lindley (september 24, 1918 â october 16, 1997) was an american actress, most famous for her role as landlady helen roper on the sitcom three's company and its spin-off, the ropers. ==life and career== born in los angeles, california, lindley was the daughter of show business parents. her father was bert lindley, an actor who played small roles from 1917 through 1937. she got her early start in hollywood by being a stand-in, which eventually progressed to stunt work, and eventually became a contract player with warner brothers. in 1943, she went to new york in her mid-20s to work in theater. among her many broadway plays during her long career were: on golden pond, long day's journey into night, and horse heavens. after a break from acting to raise five children, she began to make steady appearances on television in the early 1960s, including the role of sue knowles on the cbs soap opera search for tomorrow, and a six-year stint as manipulative "aunt liz" matthews on the nbc soap opera another world. she also had regular roles as meredith baxter's mother in the sitcom bridget loves bernie, as well as lee grantâs best friend in fay. in 1971, she starred in the first american film of the legendary milos forman, taking off.{{cite news|url=http://ww
1918_births 1997_deaths 20th-century_American_actresses Actresses_from_Los_Angeles,_California American_soap_opera_actresses American_stage_actresses American_television_actresses Burials_at_Woodlawn_Memorial_Cemetery,_Santa_Monica Cancer_deaths_in_California Deaths_from_leukemia