The Footloose and Starsky & Hutch star has died after a battle with cancer… just weeks after the death of her ex-husband David Soul

Actress Lene Marta died Thursday at the age of 78 at her home in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer.

Marta’s friend Chris St. Hilaire confirmed her death to The Hollywood Reporter.

Marta has spent four decades in show business, most notable for her work in the films Footloose and Joe Kidd; And in the TV shows Love, American Style, Starsky & Hutch, Barnaby Jones, The FBI and Medical Center.

Marta’s death comes weeks after her lover, Starsky & Hutch actor David Soul, died on January 4, aged 80.

In 1983, she described her relationship with People magazine as an “open relationship”, as Sol was married at the time to actress Karen Carlson.

Throughout the Starsky and Hutch years from 1975 to 1979, “David and Lynn lived together but spent time with other people,” the magazine reported at the time.

Marta appeared with her late lover on his 1977 special, David of Soul and Friends.

Marta was previously married to the late actor Brick Houston from 1968 to 1975. He died in August of 2018.

Marta, who was born on October 31, 1948 in Somerville, New Jersey, was the youngest daughter of George, who served as the state’s air and water pollution commissioner.

In the 1972 film Joe Kidd, directed by John Sturges, Marta played Elma, the partner of landowner Frank Harlan (played by Robert Duvall), who would come to the attention of the film’s titular bounty hunter character, portrayed by Clint Eastwood.

The actress played Lulu Warneker, the aunt of Kevin Bacon’s character Ren, in the 1984 film Footloose.

On television, she has also appeared in a number of shows produced by the late Aaron Spelling, including The Mod Squad, Charlie’s Angels, The Rookies, Matt Houston and Vega$.

She also worked on a number of series produced by the late Quinn Martin, such as The Streets of San Francisco, Dan August, Cannon, Caribe, and The Manhunter.

The actress was also close to one of the darkest events in Hollywood history, when My Sister Sam actress Rebecca Schaeffer was murdered at the age of 21 on July 18, 1989 in her Los Angeles home by Robert John Bardot, an obsessed fan. with her.

Marta was Schiffer’s neighbor and testified at Bardot’s trial about hearing the gunshots that killed the rising actress, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“The door shook, the wall shook,” she testified in this case. “The cat rose into the air.” I fell to my knees and crawled into the bedroom. Then I heard Rebecca’s first scream.

“She was still screaming while I was talking to 911. When I got to the door, she was crying.” I opened the small hatch in my door. There was a smell I will never forget: the smell of gunfire. It was quiet except for a light moan.

Marta is survived by her sister MJ and her cat Mr. Peaches, according to THR.