Alice Ward, Played By Melissa Leo In The Fighter, Dies At 79

Alice Ward, described as a “tough-talking mother of nine,” died yesterday after being taken off of life support. Ward and her sons, retired welterweight champion Micky Ward and his trainer half-brother Dicky Eklund, inspired the award-winning film The Fighter, starring Melissa Leo, Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. At the Critics Choice awards, Bale noted that in January, Ward had died — stopped breathing due to cardiac arrest — for 30 minutes, but came back to life. “That is one tough cookie,” Bale declared. It seems Alice Ward was a fighter until the end:

Doctors on Tuesday estimated Ward would survive about two to 12 hours off life support. She hung in for another day, Eklund said.

The Fighter Matriarch Alice Ward Dies [E!]
Alice Ward Passes Away [Lowell Sun]