Lynne Marie Stewart’s last film was The Dink, and she saw it before she died
Director Josh Greenbaum told Mashable he sent Stewart an early cut of The Dink after her sister asked, before her death at 78.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Lynne Marie Stewart’s last film was The Dink, and director Josh Greenbaum made sure she got to see it before she died. In an interview with Mashable Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko, Greenbaum said Stewart’s sister asked whether the family could get a copy while the actor was ill.
Stewart died on Feb. 21, 2025, at 78. She was widely known for playing Miss Yvonne on Pee-wee’s Playhouse and Charlie’s mother on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Mashable reported that her comedy career included more than 150 film and television appearances.
Her final film role arrived in The Dink, an underdog comedy about pickleball that is now streaming on Apple TV. Stewart had also recently appeared in the Paul Reubens documentary Pee-wee as Himself.
What was Lynne Marie Stewart’s last film?
The Dink was Stewart’s final film appearance, according to Mashable. The movie follows pickleball players and features Stewart as Judy, a seventy-something player who connects with Candace, played by Mary Steenburgen, and Dusty, a former tennis standout played by producer Jake Johnson.
Judy is written as a lively presence on the court, with trash talk and a spark that Greenbaum said Stewart brought to the part. The director told Mashable that the production auditioned several women for the role and found the choice difficult because so many were funny.
Greenbaum said older women are not offered many roles, and he stressed that The Dink does not use Judy’s age as the joke. He told Mashable that people do not stop being funny when they reach 70, and that approach also fit his earlier work, including Barb and Star and Will & Harper.
The director said Stewart won over the room before she began the audition. Greenbaum recalled that he and Johnson were present when she came in smiling, arms open, and gave off the feeling that she had already found Judy.
Greenbaum also credited Stewart with one of his favorite pieces of comic business in the film. He said he asked her to spin out a long, over-explained bit of pickleball trash talk tied to the kitchen, and she turned it into an extended riff involving a butter knife, butter and a forgotten muffin.
According to Greenbaum, the team did not know during filming that Stewart was terminally ill. He said she learned that after the shoot, and her sister later contacted him to ask if Stewart could watch the movie.
Greenbaum told Mashable he sent Stewart and her sister a cut of The Dink. He said they watched it together and later sent him a note saying Stewart had laughed and felt joy seeing what became her last performance.
The director said he attended Stewart’s funeral and reception in Los Angeles. He described the gathering as filled with thousands of people who had worked with her or counted her as a friend, and said he was grateful he had the chance to work with her, even briefly.
This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.