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TV Deaths That Happened Because The Actor Really Died
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Apr 3, 2025
Even if a TV show seems like it's on top of the world, there are still outside factors that can affect its operation. If one of the stars of the show dies, the writers have to suddenly work around the tragedy while still handling things in a sensitive way. These days, shows usually respect their home audience too much to simply recast a character, so they will often choose to kill off the character on what is usually a sad but heartwarming episode. From that famous Sesame Street episode to the death right at the end of The West Wing, here are some TV deaths that happened because the actor really died.
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Death, an unfortunate, inescapable part of life, and it'll eventually come for everyone, even the famous
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So when actors in the middle of filming a TV hit series pass away, the cast, crew, and even audience are frequently left with a friend-shaped hole in their hearts
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But the show must go on, right? Here are some of TV's most memorable characters who were written off after the actors playing them passed away
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Beware of spoilers, and probably a couple of tears. Mr. Hooper My little beauty, I found you at last
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If you grew up in the 70s, chances are the quality of your childhood was directly proportionate to your familiarity with Mr. Hooper
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Here's a refresher. Mr. Hooper was the proprietor of Hooper Store, the preferred corner store and eatery for the denizens of Sesame Street
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Here they congregated, shared meals, and discussed which letters and numbers the show was being brought to you by
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Will Lee, the actor who played Mr. Hooper, suffered a fatal heart attack in 1982
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The producers considered writing Hooper out, sending the character off to Florida to retire
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But instead, they acknowledged that their audience was mature enough to understand mortality and made a whole episode about his passing
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It was a bold move by a children's show, and the episode won a Peabody for that season
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Coach As Sam's old baseball coach, Ernie Coach Pantuso could have easily fallen into the role of father
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figure for the Cheers protagonist. But instead, he was written as an almost childlike character
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He was warm and universally beloved. And the part garnered actor Nicholas Colasanto three Emmy nominations
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Ernie, you're all confused. My God, how did he find the doorbell
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Unfortunately, Colasanto died of a heart condition at age 61, before the show started filming its fourth season. The producers had no intention of
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recasting the role, but they needed another character to fill in the gap he'd left. It
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was explained that Coach had died, but not a lot of details were given
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I a friend of Coach Is he around sorry Woody I guess you hadn heard No uh Coach passed away a couple months ago But yeah I like to think he still around
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He was replaced by Woody Harrelson's character Woody, Coach's old pen pal, with whom he used
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to exchange pens in the mail. If you're looking for a few extra tears, check out the portrait of Geronimo that Sam
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straightens in the series finale. It belonged to Colasanto and used to hang in his dressing room
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Bill McNeil I'm your host, Bill McNeil, and you're probably wondering exactly what is the real deal today
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Hey, good question! Phil Hartman was an American treasure on the same scale as Yosemite, even if he was technically born in Canada
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Over a career spanning decades, Hartman played dozens of roles, including Ranger John Vicki
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Johnson in So I Married an Axe Murderer, Pee-wee's Playhouse Captain Carl, and countless
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characters on SNL. During the last few years of his life, Hartman played News Radio's Bill McNeil
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egotistical co-anchor of the show's WNYX newscast. In 1998, Hartman was fatally shot by his wife
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who then turned her gun on herself. Phil Hartman's tragic passing was addressed by
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news radio in a beautifully balanced manner. His character was laid to rest off-screen after having
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a heart attack, and the show managed to keep a sense of humor about his loss without being cruel
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The next week, Bill McNeil's role was filled in by Max Lewis, played by Hartman's fellow SNL alum
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John Lovitz. John Ritter John Ritter was a beloved television icon by the time he was 29, thanks to his role as Jack
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Tripper on the classic TV sitcom Three's Company. Small film parts and television appearances followed
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but his real return to the spotlight came in 2002 with the premiere of his hit show
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Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. Based on the book of the same name
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the show focused on Ritter's character, Paul Hennessy, and his attempts to maintain control over his daughter's dating lives
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Just so you know, Kyle, if you ever pull into my driveway and honk
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you better be delivering a package because you're sure as hell not picking anything up. The world was shocked by the sudden passing of John Ritter in 2003. He suffered an aortic
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dissection, a rare condition in which blood forces the layers of the aorta apart. Ritter
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had already finished shooting three episodes of the show's third season when he passed
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and they were shown after his passing, before the series went on hiatus. When it returned Hennessy death was addressed The program was retitled as Just Eight Simple Rules and the paternal void left by Ritter was filled in by James Garner who came on board as the
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grandfather of Ritter's kids. Leo McGarry Depending on who you ask, the entire ending of The West Wing was completely changed by the
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passing of John Spencer. For six seasons, Spencer played Leo McGarry, beloved chief of staff and
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later counselor to the president for the Bartlett administration. His character was so well-received
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Clinton-era Chief of Staff Leon Panetta once told Spencer, Any government would be lucky with Leo as Chief of Staff
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In Season 7, McGarry ran for Vice President alongside Jimmy Smith's Congressman Santos
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Sadly, John Spencer passed away as the result of a heart attack on December 16
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2005, and the series' creators were forced to figure out a way to resolve his story
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According to executive producer Lawrence O'Donnell, the writers had planned for Santos and McGarry
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to lose the election, but felt that writing in the death of a beloved character and the
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loss of the White House was too much for the viewers to take. Hey. He died
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Josh. Instead, they rewrote the ending with McGarry dying on election night and Santos becoming president
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Showrunner John Wells has contradicted O'Donnell's claims, but one thing they agree on is this
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they couldn't keep doing the show without Spencer. Owen Granger Miguel Ferrer had a long career, starting out as a TV actor, before breaking into the public
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eye with his role as the ill-fated vice president of OCP in 1987's RoboCop. He found success both
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in front of the camera, as shown by a six-year run on Crossing Jordan, and as a voice actor
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playing everything from villain Shan Yu in Disney's Mulan to death on Adventure Time
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What are you doing? Kiss of death, baby. Ferrer had been playing assistant director Owen Granger on NCIS Los Angeles for five years
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when he passed away due to throat cancer in 2017. A big loss for the CBS family
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Miguel Ferrer, who starred on NCIS Los Angeles, died today of throat cancer at the age of 61
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Within the show, it had already been revealed that his character was dying, potentially as
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a result of exposure to Agent Orange. Initially, his character was written out as having left
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the country to deal with unfinished business. However, later in the series, viewers were
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told that Granger had passed away, having died peacefully under a tree, after leaving
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to try to atone for his many missteps raising his daughter Finn Hudson Cory Monteith brief but astonishing career as an actor saw him appearing in shows like Supernatural before really hitting it big on Glee There he played Finn Hudson the star athlete who
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joined the Glee Club and did a whole heap of singing. Didn't see you at Glee Club today
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Is that still happening? I've taken over. Monteith's life was far more troubled than that of his beloved character. He had already
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checked into rehab by the time he was 19, and his struggles with chemical dependency
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were documented well before that. You know, you look, you see this young, all-American quarterback-looking dude on the show, and
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you just immediately make assumptions. And I think people started really identifying me
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with those assumptions." Then, in July 2013, Monteith was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room. An autopsy later
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revealed that the 31-year-old actor had passed away from overdosing on alcohol and heroin
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Monteith's passing, Finn Hudson was memorialized in the season 5 episode, The Quarterback, which
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paid tribute to the character without ever spelling out the circumstances surrounding
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his passing. Debbie Wolowitz Mrs. Wolowitz, are you okay
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Don't mind me. I just cry when I'm lonely and have nothing to live for
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Fans of CBS's The Big Bang Theory might not have been familiar with Carol Ann Susie's
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face, but they definitely know her voice. "'You're gonna have to play outside! I'm not dressed to recede!
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She played Debbie Wolowitz, the unseen but oft-heard mother of Howard. While this was
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probably Susie's most prolific role, she had a long, fascinating career as a television
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and movie actress, starting with a recurring role on Kolchak the Night Stalker all the
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way back in 1974. And if you haven't watched Kolchak, you've gotta watch Kolchak. It's
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some weird business. Sadly, in November 2014, Carol Ann Susie passed away at age 62 after
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a battle with cancer. Mrs. Wolowitz passed away in her sleep during the episode The Comic
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Book Story Regeneration, and several episodes were written around the character's death
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A funeral was held, her urn was lost in airline luggage, and the gang had one more of her
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enormous meals, thanks to a freezer full of leftovers
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