Linda Porter (actress)

Linda Porter (born Linda Schandler; January 31, 1933 – September 25, 2019) was an American character actress in film and television, best remembered for her recurring role as the elderly Cloud 9 employee Myrtle on the NBC sitcom Superstore and as the Lady Slot-Addict in David Lynch's 2017 Twin Peaks revival.^{1 • 2}

Early life and teaching career

Porter was born Linda Schandler in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1933 and was active in theater from childhood, appearing in school plays and with the local troupe the Curtain Pullers.⁵ At Bennington College she studied subjects ranging from philosophy to modern dance but concentrated on drama, graduating in 1955 and later earning a master's degree.⁵

She became a teacher, moving to Los Angeles with her then-husband, rock DJ Martin Perlich, and became highly respected within the Los Angeles unified school district, chairing a committee that evaluated all of the district's Title 1 programs.⁵ She had three sons, including the future character actor Max Perlich, before divorcing Perlich; she remarried Bruce Porter in 1974 and kept his surname.⁵

Acting career

Having earned her retirement as a public school teacher in the mid-1980s, Porter began attending auditions and made one of her first on-screen appearances in the comedy hit Twins (1988).⁵ She then booked guest roles on popular series including Murder, She Wrote (CBS, 1984–1996), Frasier (NBC, 1993–2004), Melrose Place (Fox, 1992–99), and The X-Files (Fox, 1993–2018).⁵ Her film credits included Mrs. Crabbleman in Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), the newscast auditioner in The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996), and a role in Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016).^{5 • 1}

Recurring television roles. Porter played the recurring character Fran Westin, the original Dragonfly Inn owner, on Gilmore Girls (The WB, 2000–07), and had recurring roles on The Suite Life on Deck.^{5 • 3} Guest appearances through the 2000s and 2010s included Scrubs, The King of Queens, My Name Is Earl, How I Met Your Mother, The Mindy Project, American Horror Story, and 2 Broke Girls.⁵ She also appeared in the video for Tenacious D's song "Tribute" and in Nature Valley cereal commercials as the Sample Lady.^{3 • 6}

Superstore and Twin Peaks. From Superstore's first season Porter played Myrtle Vartanian, a longtime employee of the Cloud 9 big-box store, appearing in 35 episodes.^{4 • 3} Her character arc had Myrtle fired after the discovery that she was the store's highest-paid employee, then reemployed as the store's holographic mascot.³ In 2017 she worked with David Lynch on the Twin Peaks revival, playing a woman addicted to slot machines who trails the amnesiac Dale Cooper in search of her next win.^{5 • 7} These were among her last roles.²

Death and tributes

Porter died of cancer on September 25, 2019, at 86, having completed her fourth season of Superstore.^{5 • 3} The show's cast and crew posted remembrances; creator Justin Spitzer described the improvised comedy she did at the end of takes, and co-star Ben Feldman wrote, "Here's hoping the angels don't call cut right away because your best stuff always came at the end."³ The Superstore season 5 episode "Myrtle," aired in January 2020, paid tribute to her character, using the Cloud 9 hologram as a send-off.⁸

References

1. Linda Porter, Television Academy
2. Linda Porter, IMDb
3. Linda Porter (1933–2019), character actress known for "Superstore" and "Twin Peaks", Legacy.com
4. Superstore's Linda Porter Dead At 86, TVLine
5. Linda Porter Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes
6. Porter, Linda, Encyclopedia.com
7. Cast and crew share remembrances of Linda Porter, Superstore's Myrtle, The A.V. Club
8. Superstore Review: Myrtle (Season 5 Episode 12), Tell-Tale TV

Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026

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