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    R.I.P Frau Blücher

    More than forty years ago, director Mel Brooks gave the story of Frankenstein a new take with his film ‘Young Frankenstein.’ On the 27th of January, Cloris Leachman, the actress who played the deeply appreciated role of Frau Blücher in the film, passed away at 94. ‘Young Frankenstein’ told the story of Frankenstein’s grandson, who inherits his castle and then starts reworking his grandfather’s experiments using one of his old books. The film was a horror comedy that, apart from Leachman, also starred Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, and Teri Garr.

    Quite the prankster

    News reports have revealed that Leachman died of natural causes in the peace and comfort of her own home in Encinitas, California. In ‘Young Frankenstein,’ she played Frau Blücher, a housekeeper at the castle. A common inside joke running throughout the film was the neighing and whining of horses each time Blücher’s name is uttered, even if the horses are nowhere close! Fans spent years speculating the reason behind this as it was never actually revealed in the movie and many settled for the theory that it is because the name “Blücher” means “glue” in German and since it is commonly known that glue comes from horses, the mention of her name used to scare them. Even though director Brooks later cleared that he chose this name because it sounded quintessentially German, Cloris Leachman herself played into this narrative for years, extending the joke’s life span.

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    Other works of the actress

    Leachman had gone on to play several more memorable roles in her life, such as Grandma Albertson from ‘Now and Then’ (1995), Helen from ‘Manna from Heaven’ (2002), and Evelyn Wright from ‘Spanglish’ (2004). She has also worked on television shows like ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’ ‘The Muppet Show,’ and ‘Girl Meets World.’ Leachman has been the recipient of many awards, including multiple Emmys, one Golden Globe, and even an Oscar. The late actress is survived by five children with ex-husband George Englund, who passed away himself in 2017.

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