When A Actors Die During A Tv Show Run

[USATVFAN]

when a Lead actor dies During A Tv Shows Run Have You Had A Hard Time Watching It the show after they died.
John Ritter-it Easy To Watch Three's Company But It Hard To watch 8 simple rules Now,probably becuase on three's company he was there all 8 seasons but on 8 simple rules he was there really for 1 season and you knew it was his last show and that he died at the beggining of season 2.

[treky]

no; it's just like watching a movie when you know one or more actors died soon after.

[comedyfreak]

Well, the show wasn't the same without him.
Alias Smith And Jones
Chico And The Man
These two shows lost the lead actor and the shows didn't last. Night Court lost two supporting cast members, Selma Diamond and Florence Halop. Each was missed but the show continued on successfully. Bewitched lost a supporting cast member when Alice Pearce died during the second season. She too was missed, she brought something special to the character just as the other actresses above did to their roles as well. I watch each show with a fondness to them. The Jeffersons wasn't quite the same after Zara Cully (Mother Jeffersons) died, she was my favorite character next to Florence.

[Chocoholic]

NewsRadio just wasn't the same after Phil Hartman was murdered. It only lasted one season after his death.

[Zoneboy]

William Frawley of My Three Sons was missed after his passing but William Demarest filled in just fine as Uncle Charley. Sandra Gould was good as Gladys Kravitz but I thought Alice Pearce played the role much better. Oddly enough, William Frawley and Alice Pearce died on the same day, March 3rd, 1966.

[Adamantium]

One thing about watching "NewsRadio" after Phil Hartman died, watching the reruns with Hartman in them, you look at the jokes differently. His character talked about death a few times. He was paranoid that he was being stalked, the lobby Santa Claus wanted to kill him, and other lines he had about death. Jokes that are funny when he's still alive, but ones you look at differently after he's passed. However, I still enjoy watching the show. It's part of his legacy and because he's died is no reason to always be sad when I see him on TV or in movies.

[Mikado]

Seems like the consensous here is that a "second banana can die (like Coach on Cheers ) and the show goes on, but, if one of the A stars dies, its unlikely the show can last much longer without them

[tv star collector]

Most popular TV shows never quite recover from losing one of the stars,
especially an actor in a key role. WAGON TRAIN's Ward Bond (who died in
1960) was the first one that I remember (although John McIntire did a capable
job as the new wagonmaster). Certainly, BONANZA's Dan Blocker was irreplaceable. George Reeves (Superman) is another one that I vividly
remember. In the 1970s, we lost the aforementioned Freddie Prinze of
CHICO & THE MAN and also BARNEY MILLER's Jack Soo (they even did a
whole tribute show to him even though Yemana was only a supporting character). These are just a few more examples.

[Heidi Dawn]

Bea Benederet died during Petticoat Junction's 6th season. It only lasted another season with June Lockhart as her replacement. I didn't mind June's character, but I think the ratings went downhill from there.

On Phyllis, Barbara Colby played Julie for three episodes and was murdered and Liz Torres replaced her but I'm not sure if anyone noticed.

On Green Acres, Barbara Pepper died and Fran Ryan replaced her as the new Doris Ziffel.

[Stuck In The '70's]

Seems like the consensous here is that a "second banana can die (like Coach on Cheers ) and the show goes on, but, if one of the A stars dies, its unlikely the show can last much longer without them
That's pretty much it.

[treky]

Bea Benederet died during Petticoat Junction's 6th season. It only lasted another season with June Lockhart as her replacement. I didn't mind June's character, but I think the ratings went downhill from there.

On Phyllis, Barbara Colby played Julie for three episodes and was murdered and Liz Torres replaced her but I'm not sure if anyone noticed.

On Green Acres, Barbara Pepper died and Fran Ryan replaced her as the new Doris Ziffel.
oh; so that's why Mrs. Ziffel was different toward the end of GA. I always wondered why; now I know. Thanx for clearing that up!

[comedyfreak]

Oddly enough, William Frawley and Alice Pearce died on the same day, March 3rd, 1966.
Now that's something I didn't know, what a trip.

[TURBOCSX]

Bea Benederet died during Petticoat Junction's 6th season. It only lasted another season with June Lockhart as her replacement. I didn't mind June's character, but I think the ratings went downhill from there.

On Phyllis, Barbara Colby played Julie for three episodes and was murdered and Liz Torres replaced her but I'm not sure if anyone noticed.

On Green Acres, Barbara Pepper died and Fran Ryan replaced her as the new Doris Ziffel.


I always felt Barbara Pepper was a much better Doris Ziffel.

[freshprinceofLA]

One thing about watching "NewsRadio" after Phil Hartman died, watching the reruns with Hartman in them, you look at the jokes differently. His character talked about death a few times. He was paranoid that he was being stalked, the lobby Santa Claus wanted to kill him, and other lines he had about death. Jokes that are funny when he's still alive, but ones you look at differently after he's passed. However, I still enjoy watching the show. It's part of his legacy and because he's died is no reason to always be sad when I see him on TV or in movies.
Yea you could say the same thing about 8 simple rules (already mentioned). Like in the 1st season John Ritter's character says feel my heart is it beating?? he did as most of you know from Aortic Dissection

[Scoobiedoo30]

Mr Hopper died during Sesame Street and If member is correct I think they replaced Mr Hopper with David

[Zoneboy]

Mr Hopper died during Sesame Street and If member is correct I think they replaced Mr Hopper with David

Will Lee's (Mr Hooper) passing and the way they handled it with Big Bird trying to understand the meaning of death was probably one of the saddest moments ever on tv.

[Scoobiedoo30]

when did Will Lee Pass Away

[Zoneboy]

when did Will Lee Pass Away

Dec. 7th, 1982

[Scoobiedoo30]

it was nice of them to keep the store named Mr Hoppers Place

[Adamantium]

Talking about Sesame Street, something I only found out recently. When Mr. Hooper died and David took his place at the store, in 1989, David just vanished from Sesame Street was replaced by Gina (I believe is her name). I always wondered why David left. Now I found out that he died almost a year later. He had stomach cancer. :(

But what about watching "I Love Lucy" where all four main actors are now deceased? We can still watch that and not always think about their deaths.

When I watch "Gilligan's Island" I forget all about Bob Denver being dead. I still can't believe that one.

And when I watch "Three's Company" I think to myself, "Come on, let's have a reunion movie already!" And then I think to myself, "Oh no. Nevermind." Because without John Ritter there's no way they could do a Three's Company reunion.

And in the scene of "8 Simple Rules" where John's character wakes up in bed with Don Knotts (in a nightmare), it was that moment that it hit me that they were both gone now. :(

[Dynomite]

Has anyone mentioned Nicholas Colasanto from Cheers? He passed away in 1985, between seasons 3 and 4. Redd Foxx fatally collapsed on the set of the short-lived CBS sitcom, The Royal Family in 1991. The West Wing's John Spencer died of a heart attack while the show was still in production. This is going to be a real long list to post.

[Stuck In The '70's]

Has anyone mentioned Nicholas Colasanto from Cheers? He passed away in 1985, between seasons 3 and 4. Redd Foxx fatally collapsed on the set of the short-lived CBS sitcom, The Royal Family in 1991. The West Wing's John Spencer died of a heart attack while the show was still in production. This is going to be a real long list to post.
The Royal Family was a real good show too. They tried to keep it going after Redd died but it was useless.

[Scoobiedoo30]

I did not not know that David passed Away and yes Gina is the lady that replaced David.

[mstewart]

The Royal Family was a real good show too. They tried to keep it going after Redd died but it was useless.
The plug should had been pulled after Redd passed away. The show was a vehicle for him and Della Reese.

Petticoat Junction left a huge void after Bea Benederet passed away. The void was felt when she got ill and was missing quite a few shows. The cast was feeling the loss as well in their performances that season. Plus the loss of Bea was not handled properly where the viewers could had got some closure in it.

Gimme A Break left a void when Dolph Sweet passed away. At some point the formula was going to have to change because the girls were growing up and the Chief would had more than likely got involve with a younger woman with kids and/or remarry.

Eight Is Enough handled Diana Hyland's passing well plus we did not fully bond with her character, Joan Bradford, because she was in only a few episodes. The addition of Abby helped the series because I don't it would had done well with leaving Dick Van Patten's character single.

[Adamantium]

I was watching a DVD of "Conan O'Brien's 10th Anniversary" which was made in 2003. There was a sketch on the DVD from the 90s, where Conan got some celebrities together to do another song like "We Are the World." That was sooo funny. Anyways, Karl "Oldie" Olsen was in it. He was very funny. This was the first time I've seen him since he died. It was kind of weird. Anyways, I just wanted to mention Oldie Olsen. He had been a recurring character on Late Night, I believe since Conan started.

[Tweety]

William Frawley of My Three Sons was missed after his passing but William Demarest filled in just fine as Uncle Charley. Sandra Gould was good as Gladys Kravitz but I thought Alice Pearce played the role much better. Oddly enough, William Frawley and Alice Pearce died on the same day, March 3rd, 1966.


Wow, quite a coincidence... as great a career as Pearce had, even though she was only 48 when she passed away, I'd guess that Frawley's death probably grabbed most of the headlines that day.

[Scoobiedoo30]

I think Gina just adopted a Baby

[USATVFAN]

when i watch every episode of 8 simple rule from season 2 i can't help but cry,From the start of the goodbye episode to the season 2 final all the episode are sad and teary at times

[OH Nuts!]

I think for me it was Bea Benaderet during the run of Petticoat Junction. Kate Bradley was one of my favorite characters and I was very fond of Bea, the actress who played her as well. Bea could sort of be described as a still water that ran deep. She was highly respected in Hollywood and did many voice overs and character voices. In fact, she was Lucille Ball's first choice for Ethel but was under contract. She was also the voice of Betty Rubble. Her passing from lung cancer at 62 left much sadness to all who loved and admired her and left a big gaping hole in the series. The series was never the same afterwards, and even a fine actress like June Lockhart couldn't fill Bea's shoes--that's how well Bea played the role, and how central she was to the show. It was almost as if the role was tailor made for Bea. The show limped along and ended 1-2 seasons later.

[Brieannas21]

Will Lee's (Mr Hooper) passing and the way they handled it with Big Bird trying to understand the meaning of death was probably one of the saddest moments ever on tv.


I sooooo agree, I've seen that episode and it brought me to tears, Also Dolph Sweet from Gimme a Break, that was a touching episode.

[mstewart]

I sooooo agree, I've seen that episode and it brought me to tears, Also Dolph Sweet from Gimme a Break, that was a touching episode.
As I shared in other posts about Dolph Sweet's passing and the episode dealing with the Chief's passing was a hard episode for me to watch. I saw in repeats and the first time I saw was the year my father passed away. I literally broked down at the end of that episode because at the time the pain of my own loss was so fresh. The show gave a great closure to a great actor who brought a lot into the series and the show was no good after his passing. I loved the interaction between him and Nell. He was the heart and soul of Gimme a Break.