Freddy's Death

[Ireneparalegal]

Sorry if this has been posted before. How do you all think the producers of the show should have handled the show following the death of Freddie Prinze? I can't stand that they brought in that little boy on the show to "replace" Chico.
By the way, I have on VHS his life movie "I Can't Hear The Laughter" starring Ira Angustain.

[Vince 887]

I think under the circumstances they did the best they could in dealing with Freddie's Death ..I remember when the news Broke the story on Freddy's suicide ...I know they waited until next season for Ed to tell the little boy that Chico was gone..that was very sad.... I saw bits of the tv movie when it originally aired....I didn't have a VCR then ...do you think it portrayed Freddie pretty accurately ?

[Ireneparalegal]

From what I read abt him and what I know now, it was very good. But of course the only ones who could answer that would be his family. Ira did a very good job of playing him. I felt like I was watching Freddie. I have the tape but I haven't seen it in years. I think I will pull it out and watch it this weekend.

[Cheryl Harrell]

The movie was a good one but a real tearjerker at the end when he died. So sad...

[tylersmistress2002]

I hated that they thought they could "replace" Freddie....
but obviously they found out they were wrong.... they had to somehow explain he was no long with us...and even then...the show failed w/o him.
The light in Jack's eyes was no longer there. You could see his grief even tho he struggled to hide it, the magic was gone. Jack and Freddie shared an obvious bond that was like one of a father and son....and I dont think it ended on stage.....that kind of genuine caring you saw that played through could NOT have been JUST an act.... which is why he was so obvioulsy devastated at Freddies loss. In the show where he finally did tell the kid about Chico, he looked completely heartbroken.... no one could fake that.

About the movie, I got it on EBAY....I havent watched it in a long time.
A lot of ppl think it made him look bad but I didnt see it that way at all. The parts of the movie that were not flatering were made that way because thats what happened to him when he became addicted to the drugs...they took over the personality. That was not the sweet gentle boy that grew into a man before your eyes on the screen.... and I think that was probably a pretty accurate account of what really did happen to him. If you watched the show religiously like most of us who come here you saw not only the physical change, as he lost weight and became "drawn" looking.... but the gleem in his eyes was gone. In the beginning, he was so enjoying his work you could see him HOLDING BACK the laffs....in the end...even a smile looked as tho it was FORCED.

What really bothers me is that no one who was close to him saw this? Or cared enough to have stopped what happened? It seems all the ppl in his life were like vultures.... they just took took took.... no one gave a damn. Thats so sad.

I still miss you Freddie.

[Ireneparalegal]

What really bothers me is that no one who was close to him saw this? Or cared enough to have stopped what happened? It seems all the ppl in his life were like vultures.... they just took took took.... no one gave a damn. Thats so sad.

Unfortunately when one is addicted, it is up the person to want to stop, change, whatever. No one in the world can make that choice for them. I know abt addiction and all the problems it can cause. I am not an addict, but dealt with alcoholism and drug addiction from two people who were (still are) close to me. All the yelling, crying, begging, pleading, bargaining in the world will not do a damn thing. For Freddie, he got into something only he could dig himself out of. If he went to someone and said, "Help me", then that's when one can step in, but when an addict doesn't seek help or want help, it's futile for anyone to try to help them. Sad, but true. I miss Freddie Too.

[Luckymama58]

First point, the first few shows after Freddie's death, they had the character of Chico off on a trip to visit his long lost father, who had shown up on a previous episode. I know that it would have been hard to just come out and say Chico is dead or something so abrupt, but after about two episodes of his being away and sending presents to them, they ignored his presence (or absence) completely. It wasn't until the MIDDLE of the next season that they decided to deal with the death of the actor by killing off the character. I personally thought it was too long.... I think other shows have done a better job, like when Phil Hartman and John Ritter died. I know it was because Freddie took his own life and that was hard for everyone in Hollywood to deal with (maybe cause they were feeling a little guilty that they didn't do more to help him when he was in need of help??? Who knows??). I suppose after almost thirty years we can sit back as armchair quarterbacks and speculate on how they could have done a better job. But it would only be speculation, we weren't in the shoes of the executives in charge. Lets face it, Freddie's sudden death was hard on everyone.

Second point. The movie. I sat and watched it with one of my best Freddie friends, Mariposa, the first time I visited her 4 years ago. (OMG has it been that long! LOL) Anyway, neither of us were impressed. I know Freddie was NO angel, no one is. He had his demons and owing to his talent, he was thinking about himself and his career most of the time. But he had a lot of good in his life too, and I think the movie dwelled on some of the darker side of his personality (and not always so accurately) and not enough on the good sides. He loved his parents, particularly his mom, so much that one of the first things he did with his new found wealth was to buy them a home in CA and get them out of a rather dangerous neighborhood in NYC. He did love his son very much, but the drugs that had a hold of him kept him from expressing that love. A lot of people want to fault him for his drug habit exclusively, but to be honest, it was a time where it was acceptable, almost a necessity, for stars to endulge. Talk to any of Freddie's friends who survived that period in Hollywood history. And they didn't know then what we know now about a lot of the dangers. Plus, the one drug that did the most ultimate damage, methaquaalone, was not only legal at the time, but being prescribed to him for depression. True, he did over indulge in it, but who knows if he just thought if some were ok then more would be better? Heck, people are doing that with pain prescriptions all the time, even today, not heeding the dangers. I also think that he might have been bi-polar, a mental disease that was unheard of in his time. So I think the movie was too heavy handed trying to dismiss his death as being a result of this pleasure seeking, self indulgent young man who couldn't handle his sudden meteoric rise to fame instead of portraying him as a man with a lot of talent who never really grew up and never really got the help he needed. If it is any evidence for my opinion on this, Erik Estrada was supposed to play the part of Freddie in the movie, only to turn it down after reading the script because he thought it didn't accurately portray Freddie and would be a disservice to his memory and his mother. If you want a better look at who Freddie was, I would recommend reading his mother's book on his life than watch that movie.

[MariposaLKB]

Another point re the movie that has haunted me ever since: The circumstances of Freddie's suicide are better documented than most, cuz his manager was present. But in the movie he was alone in his bedroom (not his living room on the couch), staring into a mirror (not composing a note absolving everyone else of blame, on the coffee table). Granted, it was a completely undignified, frightening death any way you would address it, but the producers coulda at least made it accurate and shown the way Dusty (the manager) tried to reason with Freddie. I believe there was an actor cast in that role, so it was not for lack of someone to play him.

(On the other hand, it has been ever since that one time watching it with you, Lucky, since I have seen the movie, so I may be wrong. But it was just toooo painful and toooo inaccurate to bother again!)

[Luckymama58]

Originally Posted by MariposaLKB

(On the other hand, it has been ever since that one time watching it with you, Lucky, since I have seen the movie, so I may be wrong. But it was just toooo painful and toooo inaccurate to bother again!)

No you are remembering the ending correctly. It was not an accurate account of what happened, I dunno if they felt they were showing it with dramatic license or what, but it wasn't the way it happened in reality.

[Prince]

I have never watched the movie, but I did hear it was not an accurate portrayal. Besides I would rather focus all my energy on Freddie's enormous talent and what he gave to us rather than how he left us. I think there was a lot more going on than any of us will ever know. No wonder Maria worked so feverishly to make sure his death was listed as accidental....maybe she's knows more than any of us ever will.