tv_talk | TV Tuesday: Sad Goodbyes

There's been quite a few for me, but here's a few that had the most impact I think:

Will Lee - Mr Hooper on Sesame Street (Heart Attack)
His death happened when I was young but not so young I was still into Sesame Street - but my younger sisters were, so I was still watching it, and I think it was the first time a character on tv that I knew, died. I think the show handled it really well, they did a whole thing about death where Big Bird learned that people died and everyone talked about their grief. They kept the name of the store Hoopers store as a tribute I guess.

Lee Thompson Young - Barry Frost on Rizzoli & Isles (self inflicted gunshot)
the actor was suffering from depression and had been diagnosed as bi-polar. In the show they killed Frost off with a car accident but the grief from the actors was pretty real according to all reports. I think this one hit hard for me for personal reasons, but it did open up a whole discussion about depression, mental health etc within the fanbase and online.

Don S Davis - Gen Hammond in Stargate (heart attack)
His character retired and then died (also of a heart attack). He was one of my fav characters, but also I grew up watch Canadian TV and remember him from The Beachcombers back in the 1970s. And the John West adverts that ran for the majority of my childhood which starred him. "It's the fish that John West rejects, that makes John West the best"

Elisabeth Sladen - Sarah Jane Smith in Dr Who and the Sarah Jane Adventures (Pancreatic Cancer)
The show was cancelled, but I don't think there was a better way to handle her death, because she was the titular character. But she was one of the best Dr Who companions, and I spent a good chunk of my childhood watching her on my tv every night (dr who aired nightly in Australia back in the 1980s)

Aw, same about Mr. Hooper and Sesame Street. I wasn't watching it at that point but I remember all the coverage it got about the show using it as a teaching moment. And I heard about Sarah Jane even though I'm not in the fandom.

Yes I could see that in the case of the Rizzoli & Isles actor. One plus these days is that fans can rally together to deal with losses in a way that was harder when news was more difficult to come by and fans could gather less easily.

I think the show handled it really well, they did a whole thing about death where Big Bird learned that people died and everyone talked about their grief.

I'm glad they handled it so sensitively.

I think that very often the loss of a younger actor hits particularly hard, either because of a shortened career or just because it seems particularly tragic. One that I always recall is the death of Glenn Quinn on Angel, who died not long after being written out of the show for the drug problem that ended up taking his life.

One thing that stands out to me these days are all the still beloved shows whose entire casts are now deceased. It's always been the case that film has preserved people long gone, but perhaps because TV used to be such a constant thing (long seasons and the weekly time with characters) it can seem eerie sometimes.

Mike Hagerty, who played Sam's father in Somebody Somewhere, died before they started filming the second season. I always thought keeping the character alive off-screen was a good decision and kept his memory alive.

I miss Lee Sun-kyun. There was supposed to be a second season of Dr. Brain coming out, and even though I didn't particularly like the first one, I would have checked it out just for him. Rewatching Coffee Prince or My Mister scenes will never be the same.

Oh that is a nice solution, keeping the character alive but just not seen.

Mike Hagerty, who played Sam's father in Somebody Somewhere, died before they started filming the second season

Oh, dang, I didn't know that.

Miguel Ferrer's death (he had cancer) during NCISLA really hit me hard. His character was one of my favorites. I remember thinking in his last few episodes that he must have been struggling with a health issue, but I had no idea until after he passed. He really worked as long as he could, and I'm glad the show had a little bit of time to write in an explanation for the death of his character instead of him just disappearing with no acknowledgement at all.

Separately, I didn't know Cliff Simon (who played Ba'al in Stargate SG-1) had passed away until a few years after his death. (The series had already concluded by then.) But it was still a shock to find out because I was just looking up various actors from the series to see what they were doing more recently

Yes, it's good when there's a chance for an exit. Ferrer's death seemed to come too soon. By coincidence I came across a YouTube post memorializing many actors from JAG. In a lot of ways it was unsurprising given how long the show ran and that many actors appeared late in life. But it was a surprise to see how many died in their 50s and sometimes just a few years after their appearance. Lung cancer seemed a frequent culprit, and I wonder if there will be less of that now.

Yeah, it's always such a shock when they're not even the typical "senior citizen" age (which isn't really that old either tbh) It would definitely be great if lung cancer was trending downwards these days

Came here to mention Miguel. I think they handled it brilliantly. Letting him work right up til the end clearly meant a lot to him (iirc his dad, Jose Ferrer, did the same thing), and the denouement with his character's daughter meant a lot to *me*. That episode featured a song by the band he was in, the Jenerators, and even though I don't think he played in that particular song it made me tear up. The episode where his character left also featured a Jenerators song, this time with Miguel singing Knocking On Heaven's Door.

I wasn't a big NCIS: LA fan, but I was a big Miguel fan, and the people working the show very obviously loved him a lot. That alone meant a lot to me.

It's been a while since I've watched either of those episodes, so I'd forgotten about them featuring his music too. That was such a lovely tribute to include. And I really appreciated that they were able to wrap up his story with his character's daughter. It could have been easy for the show to just forget about him, but they took the time to include that, which I also appreciated

Luke Perry is the one that comes to mind. Riverdale handled that with a memorial for his character.

That is a great example, yes.

I watch long-running serial dramas - so it's always happening. General Hospital had six in 2024 alone. And that's not including recasts. After a while I hand-wave it. But it's always an adjustment.
Also they had at least five actors die between 2022-2024. One by suicide (40), one by alcoholism (45), one by heart disease (50), one by an injury that hadn't healed (90).

Whedon's shows were notorious for it. Early in Angel's run, Glenn Quinn who played Doyle died. Then about five years after? Andy Hallet who played Lorne died. Quinn was harder - they had to write the character out completely, and bring in Wesley - it worked very well, actually.

Buffy - lost actors to other things? Seth Green wanted out - so they had to write him out halfway through S4, and rewrite the entire plot arc they'd planned. Plus side? We got the Tara/Willow romance - that would never have happened if Seth Green didn't want out. Lindsey Crouse also wanted out - and they had to shift the entire focus of S4, and the plot arc.

Then there's Star Wars - which had to deal with the sudden death of Carrie Fisher halfway through the making of Last Jedi. That was painful. Rise of Skywalker was supposed to be Leia's film. I miss Fisher possibly the most. She died suddenly. There was so much more story there - and there was no real way of doing it effectively without her.

Soap operas definitely raise the recasting issue. It seems that nighttime shows have generally dealt with departures by writing out the character. Of course, Due South may be the most entertaining example of dealing with it by not dealing with it. But I do wonder why more shows don't do it.

The most recent example I can think of is on All Creatures where Diana Rigg's death meant a recast. I think they made a splendid choice and the character lives on.

I still can't believe Michelle's so suddenly, and tragically, gone...

I agree with another poster here who mentioned when she/he really notices it the most is in watching shows where most, if not all, of the cast have already departed from this plane. I used to LOVE Golden Girls. It was one of my first shows, a comfort go-to for me throughout my life, and is some of the very few good memories I have left of a certain Great Aunt... But now I can barely watch, because every time I look at it, I just remember that all the Girls are gone now, even Betty, and get so broken-hearted over it...

But as for as actors passing DURING the show, my mind goes to Adventures Inc. I'm not sure how many people actually remember that one. It was rather short-lived, but came to an abrupt stop and did not even attempt to get another season because of the young actor's/Michael's character's sudden death from pneumonia, of all things. (Although I could have SWORN I'd read elsewhere back then that it was suicide...)

Another I think of is Kevin Smith, but I THINK Xena and Hercules were already over when he fell to his death doing his own stunts?? (Very VALID reason why actors do NOT always need to do their own stunts!!)

Most of the others I think of either it was the characters during the show, or the actors/actresses passed sometime after the show, even if not always a long time (like poor Glenn, who I'm glad to see others have already mentioned <3). It really does sadden my greatly that one of my all-time favorite shows has already lost THREE of its actors, Glenn, Andy, and Michelle... I know, from all accounts, working for Joss had to be a nightmare, but this breaks my heart even more...

Oh wow, I'd never heard that about the death on Xena-Hercules. Yes, actors trying to do stunts or being pushed into them has turned out poorly a number of times. I always remember the case of Jon Erik Hexum though that was just stupidity.

Absolutely agreed! I thought of poor Jon yesterday (you KNOW he HAD to have other things going on with him to agree to that "game" to begin with!) but couldn't recall if it happened during the show's run or not.

And yeah, I've cried many times over poor Kevin! </3 It wasn't for the shows that he was in but for a movie, and I think the shows may have been in-between acting seasons at the time. But I still remember how devastated everyone was at the news!

Weirdly, the one I miss most is Matthew Perry.

Definitely Carrie Fisher, too.

Yes, I remember there were articles talking about how rewatching Friends would affect a whole generation who would be aware he's gone.

TV Tuesday: Sad Goodbyes

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