Mary Mara, ER actor, drowns in New York river

A veteran of television dramas, Mary T. Mara, was found dead in a river, New York State Police said on Monday.

The 61-year-old actress, who won hearts wit her performance in "ER," "Nash Bridges" and "Law & Order," drowned while she was swimming in the St. Lawrence River in the town of Cape Vincent on Sunday morning, state police said in a statement.

Troopers and Cape Vincent emergency medical service workers made the discovery in early hours on Monday.

"Mary was one of the finest actresses I ever met," Mara’s manager, Craig Dorfman, said by email. "She was electric, funny and a true individual. Everyone loved her. She will be missed."

Mara made her television debut in 1989 in the made-for-TV movie “The Preppie Murder,” the same year she hit the big screen with a small role Jamie Lee Curtis' "Blue Steel."