I was just googling to see what happened to the actor that played Johnny Slash, Merritt Butrick. He died of AIDS-related complications on St. Patrick's Day in 1989.

I thought he was really funny. I figured he was doing theatre or something like that, I had no idea he'd passed away. :(

It was on wikipedia and I read it at a few other places, to confirm since wiki isn't the most reliable source.

I found out Merritt had died when Square Pegs was on TV Land. A friend told me when I mentioned how much I liked the show. He was terrific. :(

Yes he was, so sad.

I just watched the Devo ep on youtube and enjoyed Jami Gertz and Merritt the most. Even though MTV had only been on the air for about a year or so, you could really see the its influence on this show. It wasn't as funny as I'd remembered, the timing and the pacing were rather awkward, but it was fun to watch for the sake of nostalgia.

Love your username, by the way!

Love your username, by the way!

Thanks! :wave:

I remember hearing or reading that the DEVO episode was an exciting event because at the time seeing musical groups on TV was rare. Most people didn't have MTV back then.

Yep! It really was a huge deal. My hometown actually got MTV in August 1981, when it debuted. Too bad we moved from that town two weeks before.

I remember my grandpa showing us the channel when we came back for visits! I can still see him standing in front of the TV (no remotes!), changing the channel and saying "you won't believe this, girls, this channel shows music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." It seemed like such a foreign concept then, but I was intrigued.

The town we moved to? Cable services weren't even offered. I don't think they added MTV to the lineup until 1992.

It seemed like such a foreign concept then, but I was intrigued.


In a way, it's still a foreign concept because MTV shows more TV shows than music videos now. It's a totally different head.

Funny and sad, but true.

Merritt Butrick also played Admiral Kirk's son David in Star Trek II-The Wrath of Khan in 1982 and Star Trek III-The Search For Spock in 1984. Also in 1982, he co-starred in Wiz Kids with Scott Baio and Willie Aames. He also guest starred in an episode of Star Trek-The Next Generation called "Symbiosis" during the spring of 1988.

Thanks for that info!

I knew he had had something to do with Star Trek, but since I've never watched a single ep of any of their shows, I didn't know which it was.

I had no idea he was in Wiz Kids and I think I forgot that show ever existed.

I love it when my memory is jogged by something I haven't thought of in years. And that's getting more difficult as the nostalgia wave continues to roll. Quick, someone contact VH1, I think they missed something in their I Love the 80's series! Hee!

Thanks for that info!

I knew he had had something to do with Star Trek, but since I've never watched a single ep of any of their shows, I didn't know which it was.

I had no idea he was in Wiz Kids and I think I forgot that show ever existed.

I love it when my memory is jogged by something I haven't thought of in years. And that's getting more difficult as the nostalgia wave continues to roll. Quick, someone contact VH1, I think they missed something in their I Love the 80's series! Hee!

Oh, he wasn't in the show Wiz Kids, but the movie. I didn't even know that there was a show.

Haha! And that's just how bad my memory is...:D It was a movie!

Here are two pictures of Merritt as Dr. David Marcus in Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan (1982):

Thanks for posting that. Such a shame he went so soon.

Thanks for posting that. Such a shame he went so soon.

You're welcome. :) I think that he could have been a really sucsessful character actor. The characters of David Marcus and Johnny Slash were so totally different, it really showed how much range and talent that Merritt had. He was also only 30 years old when he passed away. Much too young an age to die.

Awww...thirty is far too young.

Even though I haven't seen him in anything else, I have to say I'm inclined to agree with you, and I think there's no higher accolade for an actor than to be known as a character actor (see: David Strathairn, one of my favorite character actors).

He really seemed to give some heart and nuance to Johnny Slash. I don't think lesser actors could have pulled that off or made those choices given the material he had to work with. I really enjoyed what he brought to the show.

ETA: Love the Muffy Tepperman avatar. I swear, this site, by far has the best avatars I've seen on the net.

I really liked Merritt as Johnny; definitely one of my favorite characters! Like others have said, it's really sad that he's gone.:( I think he was kinda cute! :)

Thanks for posting the picture of him from Star Trek. I was wondering what kind of involvement he had in it, because IMDB didn't elaborate.

Andrea

right, i liked him too .....

Yep, "Johnny Slash" rocked, with his ever present Walkman (the ipod of my childhood). Merritt Butrick R.I.P.

I didn't know he had passed away. R.I.P.

I really liked Merritt as Johnny; definitely one of my favorite characters! Like others have said, it's really sad that he's gone.:( I think he was kinda cute! :)

Thanks for posting the picture of him from Star Trek. I was wondering what kind of involvement he had in it, because IMDB didn't elaborate.

Andrea

You're very welcome. :)

I didn't know he had passed away. R.I.P.

Sadly he's been gone for 20 years now. :(

Also in 1982, he co-starred in Wiz Kids with Scott Baio and Willie Aames.

I'm pretty sure the movie that you're thinking of is called Zapped. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BjvdWBf0G4

There was a tv series called Whiz Kids but it didn't have anything to do with Merrit Butrick, Scott Baio or Willie Aames. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFuW2NZFMb4=related

In the Next Generation episode Symbiosis (one of the worst TNG episodes ever, thankfully there weren't too many bad ones!) it's pretty obvious he's sick, he doesn't look that good at all. I think that was one of his last (if not the last) acting jobs he did before he died.

Ed.

You're welcome. :) I think that he could have been a really sucsessful character actor. The characters of David Marcus and Johnny Slash were so totally different, it really showed how much range and talent that Merritt had. He was also only 30 years old when he passed away. Much too young an age to die.

He was about 6 months shy of turning 30 when he passed.

On the commentary interviews, Steven Peterman talks about (https://youtu.be/LAbVilIHPqQ?t=131) how he was a troubled person. He gets upset saying he wishes he had offered more help to Merritt, who he thought clearly needed it.

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He was (https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/star-trek-iii-the-search-for-spock-underrated/) Captain Kirk's son (https://armchairsquid.blogspot.com/2020/02/star-trek-symbiosis.html) and an 80s icon, but behind the fame lay a devastating secret. Discover the heartbreaking true story of Merritt Butrick, a brilliant talent consumed by Hollywood's darkest decade.

Explore the tragic story of Merritt Butrick (https://www.google.com/search?q=Merritt+Butrick&tbm=bks&tbs=bkt:s&source=newspapers), a Star Trek (https://theultimaterabbit.com/2019/08/30/george-takei-reflects-on-the-significance-of-star-trek-ii-the-wrath-of-khan/) son (https://www.facebook.com/groups/2790621151096613/posts/3101718386653553/) whose life spiraled. This documentary details (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7968/merritt-butrick) his early career success and the devastating impact of undiagnosed mental illness and the AIDS (https://books.google.com/books?id=sDxUAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA22&dq=Merritt+Butrick&article_id=3212,2830975&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiFw-LopeaSAxWOHDQIHZ-OL_0Q6AF6BAgHEAM#v=onepage&q=Merritt%20Butrick&f=false) crisis on their life and career. Witness the pressures of Hollywood fame and the struggles of a talented individual navigating a challenging era.