Did something terrible happen to Freddie Prinze when he was young?

[Vahan]

I think that might have been the reason why he killed himself at a young age.

People don't just drive themselves to suicide for no reason. There had to have been a horrifying moment during his childhood that drove him to suicide. It's the only explanation for what happened that night in January of 1977.

[DJM77]

This clip pretty much explains it all...

[Babalu]

Originally Posted by Vahan

I think that might have been the reason why he killed himself at a young age.

People don't just drive themselves to suicide for no reason. There had to have been a horrifying moment during his childhood that drove him to suicide. It's the only explanation for what happened that night in January of 1977.

That's ridiculous.

[PracTz]

Originally Posted by Babalu

That's ridiculous.

WHY do you think that theory is ridiculous? Yes, I grant that he DID have too much/too soon re success,etc. but others have had that who did NOT become so self-destructive.

I'm not a fan by any means of the late Shelley Winters but I DO believe her account when she said that when she guested on "CatM", that he raced like a demon even going against freeway traffic and laughed maniacally when she called him on it. As soon as she got out of the car, she said she SLUGGED HIS JAW and screamed at him that if he wanted to destroy himself that was his own deal but he should NEVER let others get hurt in the process. As tragic as his end was for his family, at least he didn't take anyone down with him when he put shot that gun at his head.

None of us knew him when he became famous or even beforehand and we have no idea what demons were truly haunting him but I think there could be validity to the idea that something bad may have happened to him in his early years that may have been a contributing factor to his end.

[EccentricGenius]

I think what happened that caused Freddie to pull the trigger on himself was that he had experienced fame and fortune at such an early age that the pressures of super-stardom became too much for him to deal with. Poor guy.

[Yong Fang]

I was basically going to echo what the person above me said, when Prinze got famous, he went nuts. He went from near nothing to a superstar at around 21, overnight and for whatever reason "couldn't handle it".

It seems I saw a documentary or reading something about this, and another comedian sat Prinze down and said that he achieved overnight what all the other comedians have been striving for their whole careers.

I dont know really what there is that he"couldnt handle". He became a millionaire at 21 and could have lived the rest of his life. Just said "I quit", and rode off into the sunset. People would have quickly forgotten about him and he could have gotten his privacy or whatever he wanted.

[Bonniegirl]

I think he got addicted to cocaine and also separated from his wife who he had a Son with , Freddie Prinze Jr. , he was a baby or toddler when his Father tragically took his own life ! But yeah, apparently he was pretty strung out on cocaine , drugs affect people differently , apparently it brought on a severe depression or something in Freddie along with having problems with his wife and being a new Father and all , was too much for him !

Very sad, may he be resting in peace!

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

I think he got addicted to cocaine and also separated from his wife who he had a Son with , Freddie Prinze Jr. , he was a baby or toddler when his Father tragically took his own life ! But yeah, apparently he was pretty strung out on cocaine , drugs affect people differently , apparently it brought on a severe depression or something in Freddie along with having problems with his wife and being a new Father and all , was too much for him !

Very sad, may he be resting in peace!

This sounds like a better explanation as to what may have led to the suicide instead too much success. If that was the case, I should be doing back strokes in the Delaware River

[TMC]

I wonder if Freddie was bipolar. He without a doubt, had to have some sort of mood disorder. It should be noted that he was was prescribed Quaaludes.

While I haven't found any concrete evidence that he could've been bipolar, while I was looking around, I came across what his daughter in law, Sarah Michelle Gellar had to say about mental health:

Gellar made headlines in May after revealing in an Instagram post that she struggled with postpartum depression following the birth of her first child.

“I got help, and made it through, and every day since has been the best gift I could ever have asked for. To those of you going through this, know that you’re not alone and that it really does get better,” she wrote. Gellar’s post came in the midst of a national healthcare debate and included a call to readers to reach out to their representatives about mental health coverage.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Vahan

I think that might have been the reason why he killed himself at a young age.

People don't just drive themselves to suicide for no reason. There had to have been a horrifying moment during his childhood that drove him to suicide. It's the only explanation for what happened that night in January of 1977.

Why do people as individuals, commit suicide to begin with? For example, why did Naomi Judd recently take her own life? Why also did Robin Williams or Kurt Cobain commit suicide? I think that it's more complicated than narrowing it down to people having traumatic events in their childhood.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by EccentricGenius

I think what happened that caused Freddie to pull the trigger on himself was that he had experienced fame and fortune at such an early age that the pressures of super-stardom became too much for him to deal with. Poor guy.

I was watching The Dark Side of Comedy on Vice the other night, and the latest episode was on Freddie Prinze. What really hit me was that Freddie was still incredibly young when he not only became "a star" but when he died. I think that he was only 19-22 years old in that time span.

[Yong Fang]

Naomi Judd died because she suffered from deep depression issues which she has had for many years. It was more or less pyschological and she was getting older (she was 76 years old) and she dropped out of the music business years before.

I saw a show on the death of Robin Williams, I think it was called "The Last 24 Hours", whoch chronicaled the last day of a famous person's life before death. Williams suffered from a condition called Lewy's Body Dementia which is a horrible malady which cripples the body and affects the mind psychologcally. The late, famous radio personality named Casey Kasum also had this.

The show mentioned Williams doing some strange things before his death, like hiding valuables in his socks for no reason and other strange things. The episode basically judged that Williams was under his dementia when he killed himself. If he didnt have the malady which affected his mind, he would not have killed himself, so I dont really consider his death so much a suicide as a victim of his disease (which would have killed him if he didnt himself long before now)

Kurt Cobain also suffered from deep depression, coupled with years of alcohol and drug abuse. Just him becoming famous that quickly and his depression, partly due to the stress of his life. I think there are a lot of pressures to make that next big song, the next great album and all of that. Cobain was also a heroin addict and heroin is very difficult to stop and get away from, and it didnt help that he had an unlimited money suppily to spend on it and people in every city to get it for him.

His wife, Courtney Love was also crazy. There are unproven conspiracy theories that Love either killed Cobain or pushed him to do it. Maybe, but that doesnt make much sense since Cobain could have contiued to produce music and hits and made a lot more money for her. The two have a daughter who is about 30 now and hopefully isnt a mess like her parents, but she was raised by Love so who knows. My advice to Cobain would have been to retire, enjoy his wealth, get away from Love and enjoy yourself.

Freddy Prinze seemed to have been clinically depressed and also had drug (cocaine) and alcohol issues. I dont know the whole thing of he got famous too young and too quickly. He did become a star basically right after high school. At 19 years old was on the Tonight Show, something professional comedians spend years dreaming about doing. Like Cobain, I might have told Prinze that if he had problems with the business, just walk away. You are 21 years old and worth millions of dollars. Stop, become anonymous, invest your money wisely, live off the interest and do what you want and get psychological help for your depression and drug issues.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

Naomi Judd died because she suffered from deep depression issues which she has had for many years. It was more or less pyschological and she was getting older (she was 76 years old) and she dropped out of the music business years before.

I saw a show on the death of Robin Williams, I think it was called "The Last 24 Hours", whoch chronicaled the last day of a famous person's life before death. Williams suffered from a condition called Lewy's Body Dementia which is a horrible malady which cripples the body and affects the mind psychologcally. The late, famous radio personality named Casey Kasum also had this.

The show mentioned Williams doing some strange things before his death, like hiding valuables in his socks for no reason and other strange things. The episode basically judged that Williams was under his dementia when he killed himself. If he didnt have the malady which affected his mind, he would not have killed himself, so I dont really consider his death so much a suicide as a victim of his disease (which would have killed him if he didnt himself long before now)

Kurt Cobain also suffered from deep depression, coupled with years of alcohol and drug abuse. Just him becoming famous that quickly and his depression, partly due to the stress of his life. I think there are a lot of pressures to make that next big song, the next great album and all of that. Cobain was also a heroin addict and heroin is very difficult to stop and get away from, and it didnt help that he had an unlimited money suppily to spend on it and people in every city to get it for him.

His wife, Courtney Love was also crazy. There are unproven conspiracy theories that Love either killed Cobain or pushed him to do it. Maybe, but that doesnt make much sense since Cobain could have contiued to produce music and hits and made a lot more money for her. The two have a daughter who is about 30 now and hopefully isnt a mess like her parents, but she was raised by Love so who knows. My advice to Cobain would have been to retire, enjoy his wealth, get away from Love and enjoy yourself.

Freddy Prinze seemed to have been clinically depressed and also had drug (cocaine) and alcohol issues. I dont know the whole thing of he got famous too young and too quickly. He did become a star basically right after high school. At 19 years old was on the Tonight Show, something professional comedians spend years dreaming about doing. Like Cobain, I might have told Prinze that if he had problems with the business, just walk away. You are 21 years old and worth millions of dollars. Stop, become anonymous, invest your money wisely, live off the interest and do what you want and get psychological help for your depression and drug issues.

Jerry Sloan, the long time head coach of the Utah Jazz also suffered from Lewy Body dementia. Estelle Getty also suffered from it as did baseball pitching legend Tom Seaver. I think that Ted Turner was recently diagnosed with it.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

Naomi Judd died because she suffered from deep depression issues which she has had for many years. It was more or less pyschological and she was getting older (she was 76 years old) and she dropped out of the music business years before.

I saw a show on the death of Robin Williams, I think it was called "The Last 24 Hours", whoch chronicaled the last day of a famous person's life before death. Williams suffered from a condition called Lewy's Body Dementia which is a horrible malady which cripples the body and affects the mind psychologcally. The late, famous radio personality named Casey Kasum also had this.

The show mentioned Williams doing some strange things before his death, like hiding valuables in his socks for no reason and other strange things. The episode basically judged that Williams was under his dementia when he killed himself. If he didnt have the malady which affected his mind, he would not have killed himself, so I dont really consider his death so much a suicide as a victim of his disease (which would have killed him if he didnt himself long before now)

Kurt Cobain also suffered from deep depression, coupled with years of alcohol and drug abuse. Just him becoming famous that quickly and his depression, partly due to the stress of his life. I think there are a lot of pressures to make that next big song, the next great album and all of that. Cobain was also a heroin addict and heroin is very difficult to stop and get away from, and it didnt help that he had an unlimited money suppily to spend on it and people in every city to get it for him.

His wife, Courtney Love was also crazy. There are unproven conspiracy theories that Love either killed Cobain or pushed him to do it. Maybe, but that doesnt make much sense since Cobain could have contiued to produce music and hits and made a lot more money for her. The two have a daughter who is about 30 now and hopefully isnt a mess like her parents, but she was raised by Love so who knows. My advice to Cobain would have been to retire, enjoy his wealth, get away from Love and enjoy yourself.

Freddy Prinze seemed to have been clinically depressed and also had drug (cocaine) and alcohol issues. I dont know the whole thing of he got famous too young and too quickly. He did become a star basically right after high school. At 19 years old was on the Tonight Show, something professional comedians spend years dreaming about doing. Like Cobain, I might have told Prinze that if he had problems with the business, just walk away. You are 21 years old and worth millions of dollars. Stop, become anonymous, invest your money wisely, live off the interest and do what you want and get psychological help for your depression and drug issues.

The Dark Side of Comedy episode also went into the narrative that maybe comedians were resentful of Freddie because he didn't exactly "pay his dues" so to speak. Like you and I have said, he was 19 years old when he got on The Tonight Show and not to long after that, he was the star of a top 5 TV program in Chico and the Man.

It also talked about how Freddie was becoming somewhat of a despised or reveled figure within the Latino community because he was playing a Mexican man on TV when he was really Puerto Rican. Also Chico and the Man in itself was depending on your point of view (especially in a modern context), a show that really lived and died on what could be considered cringeworthy and racist jokes. So I suppose, that with that, Freddie was facing accusations that he was some type of sell-out.

And even outside of that, Freddie according to the show, must of had immense pressure to succeed because he was said to be really the first major Latino sitcom star in the United States since Desi Arnez in the 1950s.

[Yong Fang]

Chico and the Man to me was sort of a ripoff of Sanford and Son, with two male main characters, one young and the other older, and the older man was grumpy but was a father figure to the younger man, and instead of a junkyard, a greasy garage. The only difference from Sanford was that the younger man was the funny one and the old man was the straight man. Sanford and Son also had racial humor, a lot of it.

Anyone who was Puerto Rican and had a problem with Prinze playing a Mexican needed to get a life. Lots of actors played people of other nationalities.

I dont know if I feel too sorry for Prinze. If he had a lot of problems and issues in the entertainment industry, he should have gotten away from it. He made enough money from Chico that he could have stayed away, at least for awhile and gotten some "help".

He was a cocaine user, but a lot of people in entertainment were, and someone from Hollywood probably introduced him to the *****. I do know if this was me, and I was in my very early 20's and in his position, I would do my job but would be partying.....a lot. With cocaine too. Again, a lot of people did it. Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson over at Sanford both used the drug. Most of the cast of the 1970's SNL did.

Maybe and probably Prinze was clinically depressed and this is what caused his suicide. I dont know if it was the "stress" of being famous, because the guy could have taken his money and walked off into the sunset.