It is with heavy hearts that we announce the unfortunate passing of beloved character actress Helen Slayton-Hughes, most notable to modern audiences for her role as the straightforward and unapologetic court stenographer Ethel Beavers on NBC’s Parks and Recreation. She was only 92. News of Ms. Slayton-Hughes’ tragic passing comes to us from the Hollywood Reporter.
Slayton-Hughes’ family took to Facebook the day after her passing to announce the tragic news with a message that read: “To the friends and fans of our beloved Helen, Helen passed away last night. Her pain has ended but her fierce spirit lives on. Thank you for the love and support of her and her work. Rest sweet one.” Slayton-Hughes’ loved ones also attached a beautiful tribute video to the message, which featured photos of the late actress throughout her career and thanked her for “the love and the laughter.” According to the Hollywood Reporter, Slayton-Hughes’ cause of death has yet to be disclosed with the public.
Throughout her career, Slatyon-Hughes spent nearly forty years acting on stage in community theater, raised four children, and performed in more than 200 plays and musicals. She moved to Los Angeles in 2000 at the age of seventy after her debut role as a recurring character for two episodes of the police procedural show Nash Bridges. She went on to appear on numerous television shows throughout the years, including The Drew Carrey Show, The West Wing, NYPD Blue, Malcom in the Middle, That’s So Raven, Arrested Development, Desperate Housewives, Pretty Little Liars, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and New Girl.
Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus, Emily the Criminal), who played April Ludgate on Parks and Recreation and was Slayton-Hughes’ former co-star on the show, shared a heartbreaking tribute message on Instagram which read: “It was always Ethel Beavers. Always. Rest in Peace Helen. You were so loved and admired and I wanna be you when I grow up.” Similarly, the official Parks and Recreation Instagram page paid homage to Slayton-Hughes with a message that read: “Rest in peace, Helen Slayton-Hughes. Ethel Beavers will forever be in our hearts.”