'Mod Squad' Star Peggy Lipton Dead at Age 72
Certain people define an era, and nothing reminds us of the slow, inexorable crawl of time like when one of those people passes away. Eras change, as do the faces associated with them.
One of the people most associated with the 1960s/70s has entered into eternity. According to the Los Angeles Times, Peggy Lipton, one of the stars of “The Mod Squad,” has passed away at the age of 72.
Her daughters, actresses Kidada Jones (“Proud”) and Rashida Jones (“Parks and Recreation,” “The Social Network”), issued a statement after their mother’s death from cancer on May 11.
“She made her journey peacefully with her daughters and nieces by her side,” they told The Times.
“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.”
The Times reported that Lipton’s career in entertainment started young. She began modeling at the age of 15 and quickly graduated to television.
She enjoyed bit parts in famous shows such as “Bewitched” and “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.” However, she wouldn’t make a name for herself until 1968.
That was when she took on the role of Julie Barnes in “The Mod Squad.” Just as the show’s title is inexorably linked with 1960s counterculture, so Lipton became linked with that particular period in American history.
As you may know, the show focused on a trio of hippie police officers. Show creator Bud Ruskin actually based the ABC program off of his own law enforcement experiences.
According to The Times, “The Mod Squad” was supposed to be titled “The Young Detectives,” but a change gave it a much more memorable moniker.
The show also made waves for tackling a whole host of contemporary social issues, everything from pacifism to police violence and drug use.
However, Lipton didn’t view herself as having a particularly outsize impact. “I never saw myself as trend-setting,” she told The Times.
“We were always working. Fame really drove me into my house.
“I was very paranoid,” she continued. “I had no idea how to be comfortable with the press.”
“The Mod Squad” ran for five seasons, and soon after its conclusion, Lipton would marry record producer Quincy Jones. Their relationship would last 16 years.
Lipton acted sporadically after “The Mod Squad,” most famously appearing in David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” as Norma Jennings. “It was very scary,” she recalled in 1993.
“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.”
The RR diner is dark today. Very sorry to hear Peggy Lipton is gone. We’ve lost a beautiful soul.
— Kyle MacLachlan (@Kyle_MacLachlan) May 12, 2019
Lipton’s costars remembered her fondly in the wake of her death. The “Twin Peaks” actor Kyle MacLachlan wrote on social media, “The RR diner is dark today.
“Very sorry to hear Peggy Lipton is gone. We’ve lost a beautiful soul.”
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