Mysterious Circumstances Surround Dixie Carter's Death

With a simple statement today, the family of Dixie Carter, which includes husband and fellow actor, Hal Holbrook, announced that Dixie Carter had died at the age of 70.

70 seems rather young to die of old age in today's culture, and barring a tragic accident or an illness that the family has kept under wraps, Dixie Carter's death seems peculiar. Particularly, when you consider the statement Hal Holbrook gave to Entertainment Tonight saying, "We would appreciate everyone understanding that this is a private family tragedy"

Indeed, every death is tragic and it is also certainly a most private family matter. But given that she is a well known actress and an announcement about her death has been made with little to no details at all, one can't help but wonder if Ms. Carter's premature death wasn't due to something such as suicide or an accidental drug overdose. If so, that would certainly make her death even more tragic.

Having grown up in the Deep South, like so many other Southerner's, I loved the show Designing Women, which starred Dixie Carter along with Delta Burke, Jean Smart and Annie Potts. Set in Atlanta, Georgia, Designing Women, which ran from 1986 to 1993, was funny, smart and sassy. Already an elegant, Southern woman herself, Dixie Carter brought the right mixture of saucy, cheeky and class to her character Julia Sugarbaker. Not unlike so many women of her generation actually were in the Deep South.

Off screen, Ms. Carter oozed a genteel, Southern charm, which was probably the same charm that attracted her husband of 26 years, American actor, Hal Holbrook. Not short on class himself, Hal Holbrook and Dixie Carter always seemed like a great match to me. She with her impeccable, ladylike style and him with his earthy, approachable, everyman quality. Perfectly comfortable in each others presence, they were balanced in the perfect yin and yang. The way marriage was supposed to be.

Whatever the circumstances surrounding Dixie Carter's death turn out to be, she was a beloved American actress who will be sorely missed. Dixie Carter was of the old school. A real, classy broad, as Frank Sinatra would have said. And with a name like Dixie how could she have been any less?

Sources: ABC News.Com

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