Shelley Morrison was an American theater and television actress. Morrison was known for her role as maid Rosario Salazar in the NBC comedy Will & Grace, which she played from 1999 to 2006. She was also a regular performer on the sitcom The Flying Nun, playing Sister Sixto, a nun known mostly for mangling the English language, and she had a recurring role in the soap operaGeneral Hospital in 1982.
Early life
Morrison was born in the South Bronx, the only daughter of Sephardic Jewish parents. She was initially raised in the Bronx, New York, and her first language was Ladino, also known as Judeo-Spanish. Her mother, Hortense, was a homemaker, and her father, Maurice Nissim Mitrani, was a clothing manufacturer. Morrison moved to California with her parents in 1946.
Career
Morrison studied acting at Los Angeles City College and landed early film roles in Divorce American Style and How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life. From 1965 to 1967, she appeared four times as an American Indian, Linda Little Trees, in the television series Laredo In 1967, she capitalized on her own experiences learning English to play the Puerto Rican nun Sister Sixto, who had trouble with English, in Sally Field's show The Flying Nun. She played this role until the show was cancelled in 1970. Morrison also appeared in the 1997 romantic comedy filmFools Rush In, starring Salma Hayek and Matthew Perry, as well as more dramatic films such as Blume in Love and Breezy. Morrison's most widely recognizable role was as the Salvadoran maid Rosario Inés Consuelo Yolanda Salazar on sitcom Will & Grace. She appeared in 68 episodes from 1999 to 2006. The role originally was created for a brief one-episode appearance, but Rosario was so popular with viewers that she became a recurring character. In addition to sparring with her libertine and very spoiled employer Karen Walker, Rosario married Karen's gay friend Jack McFarland to prevent her deportation. Among approximately 25 film appearances and 200 television appearances, Morrison portrayed a maid or housekeeper on 32 separate occasions. Morrison had just informed her agent not to offer her any more "maid parts" when the call came for Will & Grace. In 2017, NBC revived Will & Grace for a new series of episodes. On August 3, 2017, co-creator Max Mutchnick announced to reporters that Morrison had been asked to reprise her role as Salazar on the show, but that she ultimately decided to retire completely from acting. Although her last official acting role was a voiceover in the 2012 animated filmFoodfight!, her final appearance as an actress was the 2016 election-themed webisode of Will & Grace.
