Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Peggy Lipton, a star of the groundbreaking late 1960s TV show “The Mod Squad” and the 1990s show “Twin Peaks,” died of cancer Saturday. She was 72.
Lipton died surrounded by her family, her daughters from her marriage to famed music producer Quincy Jones, Rashida and Kidada Jones, said in a statement.
“We are heartbroken that our beloved mother passed away from cancer today,” they said. “She made her journey peacefully with her daughters and nieces by her side. We feel so lucky for every moment we spent with her. We can’t put all of our feelings into words right now but we will say: Peggy was, and will always be our beacon of light, both in this world and beyond. She will always be a part of us.”
Lipton played one of a trio of Los Angeles undercover “hippie cops” on “The Mod Squad,” which aired on ABC.
The Los Angeles Times says it was one of pop culture’s first efforts to reckon seriously with the counterculture and one of the first TV shows to feature an interracial cast. Lipton was nominated for Emmys and won a Golden Globe in 1971 for her performance. The show addressed issues such as the Vietnam War, drugs and domestic violence.
She married musician and producer Jones in 1974, making headlines for the controversial interracial relationship. The couple divorced in 1989 after having been separated since 1986.
In the 1990s, she played the role of Norma Jennings in the TV series “Twin Peaks.”
“It was very scary,” Lipton told The Times in a 1993 interview. “I had a push-pull thing inside me that I wanted to do it.. I had become so insulated in my world as a mother, that I didn’t know how to pick up the phone and call anybody to put myself out there.”
