I was very sad to hear of the passing of comedic actress Wendie Jo Sperber (middle row, left). She lost her battle against breast cancer yesterday at the young age of 47.

Like many, I first became aware of Wendie Jo in the 1980s sitcom Bosom Buddies which also starred a very young Peter Scolari, the ever delicious Holland Taylor (top) and some guy named Tom Hanks. Wendie Jo and Holland were my favorite actors on that show and I was always happy when they popped up in other projects. While Holland has worked on many other shows and movies, I was always surprised that Wendie Jo didn't work more than she did. I found out later that she was a mother of two and had been battling cancer off and on for many years.

Wendie was very active in the fight against cancer and in 2001 founded weSPARK, a cancer support center in Sherman Oaks, CA. "SPARK" stands for "Support, Prevention, Acceptance, Recovery and Knowledge."

Tom Hanks is a supporter of the organization (as are many of Wendie Jo's other former costars) and said yesterday: "The memory of Wendie Jo is that of a walking inspiration. We are going to miss her as surely as we are all better for knowing her."

She was a funny, funny gal. Extremely sad news.