Just last night I was watching a TV commercial featuring Dixie Carter, talking to the camera about a terrible disease whose name escapes me at the moment. And tonight comes the news that Carter has passed away at the age of 70. No further details have been released yet.

Carter is probably best known for her role as feisty, outspoken (well, all of the women were pretty feisty and outspoken on that show, weren't they?) Julia Sugarbaker on 'Designing Women,' which ran on CBS for eight years. But younger TV watchers might know her from her role on 'Desperate Housewives' as Gloria, the loopy mom of Orson (she was nominated for an Emmy for the role). But she actually starred in several other TV shows over the years, including 'Family Law,' 'Ladies Man,' 'Filthy Rich,' 'Out of the Blue,' and 'On Our Own,' not to mention numerous guest roles on many other shows. Her first TV role was in the soap 'The Doctors.'