Bunny Levine, who traded a 25-year career as a school librarian for a working actor’s life and turned up in “Gilmore Girls,” “La La Land” and several Adam Sandler comedies, died at her home in Tarzana, California, on August 20, 2026, at age 97.

Her manager, Brandon Kjar, said she slipped away peacefully in her sleep, confirming the death on Sunday, August 23, to CBS News. The Los Angeles Police Department, which responded to the home that morning after a report of an unresponsive person, said the death appeared natural.

“She was a great and fearless actress and such a nice lady,” Kjar said.

Her agent, Mike Eisenstadt, gave CBS News the same line word for word in an emailed statement, adding, “What a full life. She will be missed.” Kjar also said Levine was still going out for roles at 97, and that her last job came in June.

A Librarian’s Long Detour

Born December 22, 1928, in East Orange, New Jersey, Levine knew almost from the beginning that she wanted to perform. The ambition sat on hold. For 25 years after high school she put it aside, working as a school librarian and raising three children while collecting master’s degrees from New York University and Columbia University.

Retirement redirected her rather than slowing her down. She signed up for acting classes and started auditioning, going after the career she had postponed for a quarter-century. Once her husband, Bernard “Bernie” Levine, died in 2003, she relocated to Los Angeles and got down to work.

Her family said in a statement that she made an impression on people during both halves of that life — the decades spent in schools and the decades spent on camera.

The Actors Connection Years

New York came before Hollywood. Levine and her husband of 53 years launched the Actors Connection in New York City in 1991, an organization designed to guide performers through the industry and put them in front of the people doing the hiring. According to her family, the couple helped a great many actors move their careers ahead there.

“Her passion for helping actors has launched countless careers,” the group said in a statement following her death, offering thanks to Levine for creating a community for the artists she loved.

A Career Built on Guest Spots

Her list of television credits amounts to something close to a survey course in the past 30 years of American TV. She appeared on “Law & Order,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Ugly Betty,” “Private Practice,” “Criminal Minds,” “2 Broke Girls,” “Raising Hope,” “Southland,” “New Girl,” “Getting On,” “The Mindy Project,” “Fuller House,” “Shameless” and “Dave.”

On film, her credits ranged from “Slime City” and “The Jimmy Show” to “A Thousand Words” and “La La Land.” In 2008 she appeared in “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan,” the comedy starring actor and comedian Adam Sandler. The two crossed paths again on “Sandy Wexler” in 2017 and on the 2023 Netflix film “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.”

She kept working deep into her 90s. Her more recent credits include “The Invisible Raptor” in 2023 and two 2024 releases: “Sacramento,” directed by actor and filmmaker Michael Angarano and starring Kristen Stewart and Michael Cera, and “Thelma,” the comedy led by veteran actress June Squibb. Levine turned out for the Los Angeles premiere of “Thelma” at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on June 14, 2024.

Her work reached audiences again in 2026, when she appeared in the final season of “The Upshaws” and in “The Cure.”

Services Set for August 27

Those left behind include three children — Marty, Francie and Joe — as well as two grandchildren, Robin and Jeffrey.

Services are scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday, August 27, at the Jewish Memorial Chapel in Clifton, New Jersey. Contributions honoring her may be directed to the Entertainment Community Fund.

It is the familiar Hollywood story told backward. Most actors arrive young, hungry and unencumbered, then drift away when the auditions dry up. Levine arrived late, after a full career and a full house, and never left. She spent 25 years shelving other people’s stories before she started telling her own — and she was still auditioning at 97.