For those of you who saw GAB in its original first time run, or in reruns back in the day when you were a little kid, etc., and not knowing then what we know now: Did you ever pay attention to Dolph Sweet's physical changes (i.e. his weight loss) during the show's first four seasons? I was too young to watch the first five seasons of the show during its original run, and it was on past my bedtime, back in the early 80's (I only saw the final season in its original run), but I got to watch those seasons when it first went into syndication in the mid-late 80's. Anyway, as I watched the show then, and even now watching the dvds, I remember thinking that in Season 1, Dolph Sweet was huge! In Season 2, he looked like he lost a few pounds, but still on the heavy set side. In Season 3, especially as the season progressed, his weight became more proportionate to his height. I wonder if other people noticed his dramatic weight loss in Season 3. When I saw the 4th season of GAB for the first time when I was a kid, the word, cancer, was not an active word in my vocabulary. I just remember thinking, "The Chief looks different." Then of course, we learned that he had cancer at that point. Any thoughts?

I didn't really notice during the first 3 seasons but it was reported that Dolph sweet was ill during the 4th season. I forget if they said he had cancer right at the beginning of the season. I know he missed quite a few episodes and some other episodes he was only in a little bit. I wasn't really surprised that he died because he did look quite bad by the end of the season. The one episode I do remember from that season was the live episode they did. It aired not long before he died. He was a trooper being able to carry that off.

You notice he looks his best in the episode "Melissa". He had lost weight because of the cancer, but he looked normal. That's where he looks like he lost a lot of weight between seasons 2 and 3.

Season 4 he looks OLD, like old enough to be a grandfather. It looked like he had aged at least 7 or 8 years in his face.

As season 4 progressed he looked worst each episode and it was clear that he was dying. How sad to see those episodes. They should had took the show off after he passed away because the feel was never the same. The interaction between the Chief and Nell was classic. He was heart and soul of the show. The episode when they were dealing with the Chief's passing was hard to watch because that year my father had passed away. I wept through the entire episode when I saw it that year.

You notice he looks his best in the episode "Melissa". He had lost weight because of the cancer, but he looked normal. That's where he looks like he lost a lot of weight between seasons 2 and 3.

Season 4 he looks OLD, like old enough to be a grandfather. It looked like he had aged at least 7 or 8 years in his face.

About a year or so ago, I saw a copy of Dolph Sweet's obituary on Ebay, and it said that he was diagnosed with cancer of the bladder and fought it for a little over a year. That leads me to think that he had an operation sometime in late 1983 or very early 1984, which would probably explain his dramatic weight loss between seasons 2 and 3. perhaps the cancer spread to his stomach, hence the stomach surgery in the Summer of 1984.

It was really sad to watch Season 4, as his condition worsened as the season progressed, and then his passing soon after.