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Broadway Legend, 'Knots Landing' Star Julie Harris Dead At 87

WEST CHATHAM, Mass. (CBS/AP) — Broadway star Julie Harris, who won an unprecedented five Tony Awards for best actress, has died. She was 87.

Actress and family friend Francesca James says Harris died Saturday at her home in West Chatham, Mass. She had previously suffered two strokes.

Harris' Tony-winning roles ranged from the flamboyant Sally Bowles in "I Am a Camera" to the reclusive Emily Dickinson in "The Belle of Amherst," a one-woman show.

Television viewers knew her as the free-spirited Lilimae Clements, Valene's mother, in the 1980s series "Knots Landing." She played Lilimae from 1980-1987. (The series remained on CBS through 1993.)

Harris leaped to fame at age 24 playing a lonely 12-year-old tomboy in "The Member of the Wedding." She repeated the Broadway role in the 1952 film version. She was also James Dean's romantic co-star in "East of Eden."

Harris won a 6th Tony for Lifetime Achievement in 2002.

In 2005, she was also a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors along with Robert Redford, Tina Turner, Tony Bennett and Suzanne Farrell.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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