Update 1-'Designing Women' Actress Dixie Carter Dies

* Actress dead at age 70


Media * Television star received Emmy nod
(Adds cause of death, cabaret detail)LOS ANGELES April 10 (Reuters) - Actress Dixie Carter, who
played an outspoken liberal on the sitcom "Designing Women" and
received an Emmy nomination for a guest role on "Desperate
Housewives," has died, according to TV gossip show
"Entertainment Tonight." She was 70. "This has been a terrible blow to our family," actor Hal
Holbrook, Carter's husband since 1984, was quoted as telling
"Entertainment Tonight." "We would appreciate everyone
understanding that this is a private family tragedy." Holbrook said his wife died on Saturday from complications
of endometrial cancer at a Houston hospital, according to the
New York Times. "Designing Women," which ran on CBS for seven seasons from
1986, revolved around the lives of four women and a man at an
interior design firm in Atlanta. Carter's sharp-tongued
character, Julia Sugarbaker, was an advocate of liberal causes
and women's rights. In 2007, Carter received an Emmy nomination for a stint as
the devious mother-in-law of Marcia Cross' character, Bree
Hodge, on "Desperate Housewives." The Tennessee native also appeared in the 1980s sitcom
"Diff'rent Strokes" toward the end of its run, playing the wife
of Conrad Bain's character Philip Drummond. The role was later
assumed by Mary Ann Mobley after it switched networks. In later years, Carter -- whose early singing career
included a revival of "Pal Joey" on Broadway -- performed in
cabaret. In addition to her 85-year-old husband, Carter is survived
by her daughters from her first marriage, Mary Dixie and Ginna,
"Entertainment Tonight" said.
(Reporting by Dean Goodman; editing by Sandra Maler and Todd
Eastham)