Shirley Prestia, who played the no-nonsense wife of Harry Turner (Blake Clark) on "Home Improvement," died of brain cancer in 2011. The New Orleans native moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting and became "one of the original members of The Groundlings Theater, where she formed life-long friendships with many of her colleagues," her obituary revealed.
Prestia made her first credited appearance in the 1982 horror-comedy "Pandemonium," playing a morgue attendant. She would only appear in a handful of other movies in the decades that followed, settling into a career as a TV actor. A few years after "Pandemonium," she landed a gig on the medical drama "St. Elsewhere," which in turn led to a recurring role on the short-lived hospital-set sitcom "E/R." She never became a recognizable name, but with appearances in "The Golden Girls," "Cheers," "Babylon 5," "Fraiser," "Will & Grace," "Ally McBeal," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," to name but a few, Prestia was a veteran of the industry.
She's perhaps best remembered for playing Delores on "Home Improvement" between 1995 and 1999, appearing in eight episodes. She was never afraid to let her husband Harry (the owner of Harry's Hardware, where Tim liked to shop and hang out) know what she was thinking, sometimes without words: she could clear the guys out of the store with just a look. Prestia appeared as Delores in the last ever "Home Improvement" episode.
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