Kathryn Joosten (AP Photo/ABC, Danny Feld)"Desperate Housewives" fans were devastated to hear last month that beloved co-star Kathryn Joosten, who played cranky neighbor Karen McCluskey, had passed away after a long battle with lung cancer at the age of 72. But Emmy voters will always have a place in their hearts for Mrs. McCluskey: They gave Joosten a posthumous nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy this morning, her first in the category.
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Joosten's no stranger to the Emmys, though: She took home two previous Emmy wins for the role, but in the Guest Actress category. She also won raves (but no Emmys) for her key supporting role as President Bartlet's secretary Mrs. Landingham on "The West Wing." But it was her heart-wrenching death scene in the "Housewives" series finale that clinched this year's Emmy nod; eerily, Joosten passed away just weeks after her on-screen character did.
And this isn't the first time the Emmys have recognized an actor after their death. Farrah Fawcett earned a nomination in 2009 for her revealing documentary, "Farrah's Story," just three weeks after she died. And "Bewitched" co-star Alice Pearce (who played another nosy neighbor, Gladys Kravitz) won for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy in 1966, after she passed away from ovarian cancer earlier that year. Here's hoping Joosten can join her and enjoy a nice, well-deserved Emmy win this fall, wherever she is.
Watch a clip of Joosten on "Desperate Housewives" right here:
