Becky Rothman, seen here on the right, flying on a magic carpet with Wanda, Princess of Tile
Screengrab via YouTube” class=”uk-display-block uk-position-relative uk-visible-toggle”>
Screengrab via YouTube
A beloved St. Louis icon has gone to the great carpet store in the Sky.
Becky “Queen of Carpet” Rothman died yesterday at age 67. Her legendary commercials for Becky’s Carpet & Tile Superstore imprinted on generations of St. Louisans, who saw her as a local legend as famous as John Goodman or Jon Hamm.
KSDK reports that Rothman’s nephew, Marc, confirmed her passing this afternoon and that she died of renal failure after having undergone kidney dialysis over the past several years.
Rothman was beloved around town and getting a selfie with her was social media gold. We spotted her once at the Off Broadway music venue on Lemp Avenue, looking healthy and happy while rocking out to a band. She was generous with her many fans, kindly taking pictures with anyone who asked and giving out a seemingly endless number of hugs.
Her kindness extended out to the LGBTQIA+ community, too. She was a proud ally and was very public about supporting and loving her queer daughter.
In fact, Rothman was so admired that just a couple of weeks ago here at the Riverfront Times when we were putting together a collection of “4 Word St. Louis Horror Stories,” we listed “Queen of Carpet died” as a horror on par with “Josh Hawley is here.”
Rest in peace, Becky. We will be dressing like you on Halloween for decades to come. May you reunite with Wanda “Princess of Tile” in beautiful, high-flying paradise.
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