'Designing Women' star Dixie Carter dead at 70

LOS ANGELES - Dixie Carter, who died Saturday at the age of 70, was the daughter of a grocery and department store owner.

When he died three years ago, Carter said he had taught her to believe in people's essential goodness.

"When I asked him how he handled shoplifting in his new store, which had a lot of goods on display, making it impossible to keep an eye on everything, he said, 'Most people are honest, and if they weren't, you couldn't stay in business because a thief will find a way to steal,' " Carter said. " 'You can't really protect yourself, but papa and I built our business believing most people are honest and want to do right by you.' "

Publicist Steve Rohr, who represents Carter and her husband, actor Hal Holbrook, told The Associated Press Sunday that Carter died in Houston of complications of endometrial cancer. Carter lived with Holbrook in the Los Angeles area.

"This has been a terrible blow to our family," Holbrook said in a written statement. "We would appreciate everyone understanding that this is a private family tragedy."

A native of Tennessee, Carter was most famous for playing wisecracking Southerner Julia Sugarbaker for seven years on "Designing Women," the CBS sitcom that ran from 1986 to 1993. The series was the peak of a career in which she often played wealthy and self-important but independent Southern women.

She was nominated for an Emmy in 2007 for her seven-episode guest stint on the ABC hit "Desperate Housewives." Carter's other credits include roles on the series "Family Law" and "Diff'rent Strokes." She married Holbrook in 1984. The two had met four years earlier while making the TV movie "The Killing of Randy Webster."

They wed two years before Carter landed her role on "Designing Women." Holbrook appeared on the show regularly as her boyfriend, Reese Watson.

The two appeared together in her final project, the 2009 independent film "That Evening Sun."

The middle of three children, Carter was born in 1939 in McLemoresville, Tenn.

She grew up in Carroll County and made her stage debut in a 1960 production of "Carousel" in Memphis.

She appeared in TV soap operas in the 1970s, but did not become a national star until her recurring roles on "Diff'rent Strokes" and "Filthy Rich," in the 1980s. Those two parts led to her role on "Designing Women."

In addition to Holbrook, Carter is survived by daughters Mary Dixie and Ginna.