Louisa Moritz's Bill Cosby Lawsuit To Continue Despite Actress' Death, Lawyer Says

Louisa Moritz, one of the first women to come forward and accuse Bill Cosby of sexual assault in 2014, died in Los Angeles on Jan.4. Her lawsuit against Cosby will continue despite her death, the actresses' lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, said in a statement Wednesday.

Moritz was 72 when she died and had been ill for about a year. She was in a hospice care having sustained an injury after she fell during a trip to Washington. She was later shifted to her house in Los Angeles where she died.

She was one of the several women who accused Cosby of sexual assault and later sued him for defamation after he publicly called her a liar. In 2014, Moritz said, in a video where several women shared their harrowing experiences with Cosby, the actor had forced her to perform oral sex on him while she was in her dressing room before they both were scheduled to appear on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" in 1970.

Speaking about her ordeal, Moritz said she was in the green room when Cosby opened the door without knocking first. He walked into her room and after closing the door behind him, he went up to her and unzipped his pants. She said, “It went on for maybe four minutes, five minutes. But it was the longest five minutes that I have ever experienced.” Throughout their segment on the show, Cosby refused to make eye contact with her and she felt disgusted.

However, Moritz was neither Cosby’s first victim nor his last. As of 2015, more than 60 women filed complaints against Cosby. On the other hand, Cosby denied all the allegations, calling the women liars and claiming that whatever happened between was consensual. After these claims, Moritz along with at least seven other women sued Cosby for defamation, who in turn, countersued the women.

Edward Lozzi, Moritz’s spokesperson and friend, said despite being ill, she continued going to Washington to meet with her lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, who was handling the defamation suit she and seven other women filed against Cosby in the Massachusetts federal court in 2014.

“Despite her death, her claim against Mr. Cosby will continue… We look forward to a resolution of the case that will establish that Louisa was a truth-teller, so that her legacy will live forever untarnished,” Lozzi said. He said Moritz was elated that the suit was going to go forward.

Cosby is currently serving time at a prison in Pennsylvania after he was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home 14 years ago. He was sentenced to at least three years in prison for the charge.

Born as Louisa Castro in September 1946, Moritz moved to New York City in the 1950s and changed her last name to Moritz after she saw the St. Moritz Hotel. Though she was known as an actor, Moritz was also a lawyer, sold real estate and even bought a hotel in Beverly Hills which she later renamed the Beverly Hills St. Moritz. At the time of her death, according to her publicist, she was writing two books: one about Cuban cooking and the other on “how to get out of traffic tickets.”

Famously known as Rose from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest", Moritz acted in several other movies including "Love", "American Style", "Match Game", "The Man from O.R.G.Y", "Death Race 2000", "Up in Smoke", "The Last American Virgin" and "Chained Heart". She also had appearances in TV series such as "The Leslie Uggams Show", "The Joe Namath Show", "Ironside", "Happy Days", "M*A*S*S", "Chico and the Man", "The Rockford Files", "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Associates".

Though she was often cast as a dumb blond in several films and TV shows, Moritz in real life was the total opposite of that persona. According to Lozzi, she made the Dean’s list while she was studying law at the University of West Los Angeles and also went on to win the American Jurisprudence Bancroft Whitney Prize for Contracts — the award granted to students who score the highest grades in particular subjects.

Moritz’s memorial service is still pending.