Actress Farrah Forke, most known for her roles in cult-favorite 1990s TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Wings, has died at the age of 54. The star passed away on Feb. 25 in her Texas home after a private battle with cancer, a family friend confirmed to the press (via Variety).
Forke was a regular face on American television screens throughout the ’90s. Most notably, she appeared as helicopter pilot Alex Lambert on seasons four to six of NBC’s hit sitcom Wings, which was set on a Nantucket airfield and ran for eight seasons from 1990-97. Her character was at the center of a love triangle between brothers Joe (Tim Daly) and Brian Hackett (Steven Weber), though she eventually ended up with Brian.
The actress also found herself caught up in another love triangle during her other most famous role. Forke had a recurring presence on the second season of ABC’s Lois & Clark as Metropolis District Attorney Mayson Drake, who dated Clark Kent (Dean Cain) for a time, earning the jealousy of Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher).
Ironically, her Wings co-star Tim Daly also voiced Superman in The WB’s network of interconnected cartoon series known as the DC Animated Universe. Forke herself appeared in the DCAU, voicing superheroine Big Barda on both Batman Beyond and Justice League Unlimited.
Forke’s resume likewise includes recurring and guest stints on such TV shows as Party of Five, Fantasy Island, and Mr. Rhodes, as well as supporting roles in movies like Ground Control, Hitman’s Run, and Michael Mann’s classic actioner Heat, opposite Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. In the mid-2000s, Forke elected to retire from acting to raise her twin sons, Chuck and Wit Forke.
Instead of flowers, Farrah Forke’s family is requesting that anyone wishing to pay their respects can do so by donating to the American Cancer Society.