TV Tuesday: Sad Goodbyes

[yourlibrarian]

News of Michelle Trachtenberg’s recent death saddened and surprised many Buffy fans given she was the youngest member of the cast. Have any of your favorite shows had sudden cast departures? How well did the show move past them? And which deceased actors or other creatives do you miss the most?

Comments

[apachefirecat]

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...

[yourlibrarian]

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.

[apachefirecat]

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!