Cindy Morgan, Caddyshack Star, Dead At 69

Actor Cindy Morgan has died at age 69. Although the exact date of her death is undetermined, TMZ reports Morgan's roommate last saw her on December 19, 2023, before leaving for a vacation. On her return December 30, the roommate detected an odor coming from Morgan's bedroom and called the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Officers found Morgan dead of natural causes.

Morgan was widely recognized for playing Lacey Underall in the 1980 golf-themed comedy "Caddyshack," starring Chevy Chase and Bill Murray. As the sexy niece of the country club owner, she memorably tried to seduce Chase with the line, "You wanna tie me up with some of your ties, Ty?" In an interview with the Biography Channel years later, she recalled the experience as "kamikaze filmmaking at its best. Of the chaotic production, Morgan said, "You either became part of the madness, or you got swept away with it." Morgan also confessed she didn't actually do a high dive during the pool scene: Not only was she not a strong swimmer, she was also "legally blind" without her contact lenses in. Instead, Morgan mimed a jump, and then a stunt double did the actual dive.

Morgan went on to star in the popular 1982 sci-fi film "Tron," and two decades later, she came full circle by lending her voice to the character Na3a in the video game "Tron 2.0." Her many TV credits include appearances in "The Fall Guy," "Falcon Crest," "Matlock," "Mancuso FBI," and "The Larry Sanders Show."

According to her approved IMDb biography, Cynthia Ann Cichorski was a Chicago native from a blue-collar family. She was the first of her family to graduate from college, studying communications at Northern Illinois University. Hired as a news reporter by a local radio station, she took the stage name Cindy Morgan after the enchantress Morgan le Fey from the King Arthur legend. From there, Morgan went on to other local stints as a weather reporter and deejay before moving to LA in 1978. Commercial work eventually led to her casting in "Caddyshack," which launched her acting career.

Morgan's Facebook page reveals that in recent years, she was a frequent guest at pop culture conventions, often appearing with fellow stars such as Chevy Chase and Henry Winkler. In addition to fun moments and reunions, Morgan didn't shy away from sharing the more raw aspects of her personal life on social media. In the days leading up to her death, the former soap star took to Facebook to air out issues with her landlord, drumming up concern from her followers. Morgan's final posts took a cheerier turn, though: a celebration of the winter solstice on the 21st, and greetings to overseas troops on Christmas Day.