# Has the new Night Court series acknowledged the deaths of previous cast members? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 16, 2024, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640 "2024-02-16T03:31:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/1 "2024-02-16T03:31:14Z")
I know there’s a current revival version of the series _Night Court_ but I haven’t watched it. I do know that it stars John Larroquette from the original series and that Marsha Warfield has appeared as a guest star. But Larroquette and Warfield are the only two main cast members from the original series who are still alive. Has the new series ever acknowledged these deaths and are the characters these actors portrayed also dead in the series? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/2 "2024-02-16T03:46:09Z")
Harry is dead. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/3 "2024-02-16T04:08:20Z")
Ongoing thread on the series: > [@Night Court reboot (potential spoilers once the series is launched)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-court-reboot-potential-spoilers-once-the-series-is-launched/975297): > > For the fogies on the board. It has just come to my attention that the 1984 classic Night Court is going to be rebooted in Jan 2023. [IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13798316/) The unapologetic optimist judge Abby Stone (Rauch), the daughter of the late Harry Stone, follows in her father’s footsteps as she presides over the night shift of a Manhattan arraignment court and tries to bring order to its crew of oddballs and cynics, most notably former night court prosecutor Dan Fielding (Larroquette). Personally I am looking forwar… ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/4 "2024-02-16T04:56:37Z")
I had low expectations when I heard about this reboot, but I have been surprised how much I like it. Of course they reference Harry since the new judge is his daughter and Roz did make an appearance, but I don’t remember them mentioning any of the other former characters. I had not given a thought until now. For a bit of trivia, Marsha Warfield who plays Roz is now older than both the actors she replaced as bailiff. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/5 "2024-02-16T14:09:05Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Harry is dead. Harry Anderson is one actor I still can’t believe died. Then I remember that Meshach Taylor also died, both in Dave’s World, and it is very strange. Dave’s World is just a little bit like Babylon 5. A lot of deaths for a show whose cast was not all that old. Carp, Markie Post and Richard Moll are also dead? Yeesh, maybe Night Court is the one that has the Babylon 5 like curse. Look at Cheers. Whole cast alive except, of course, Coach. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/6 "2024-02-16T14:31:21Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Carp, Markie Post and Richard Moll are also dead? Yeesh, maybe Night Court is the one that has the Babylon 5 like curse. I don’t know… it _is_ 30-ish years later. I mean, Richard Moll was 80, Markie Post was 70, Charles Robinson was 75, and Harry Anderson was 65. So all senior citizens, with only two of them being on the young end of that age range. The Cheers cast was about 5 years younger or so on average, with most being 75 or 76 now. Kirstie Alley was 71 when she passed however. I think the thing with the Babylon 5 curse is that the _oldest_ one of the cast members who died was in their mid 60s, with Richard Biggs dying in his mid-40s. That’s more unusual than having cast members in their 70s and 80s passing away. It’s like if ALL of the cast members on Night Court had died earlier than Harry Anderson did. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/7 "2024-02-16T14:41:24Z")
> [@bump](#): > > The Cheers cast was about 5 years younger or so on average, with most being 75 or 76 now. Kirstie Alley was 71 when she passed however. Thanks, I actually forgot one main cast member had died since they went off the air. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/8 "2024-02-16T14:43:33Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I think the thing with the Babylon 5 curse is that the _oldest_ one of the cast members who died was in their mid 60s, with Richard Biggs dying in his mid-40s. That’s more unusual than having cast members in their 70s and 80s passing away. It’s like if ALL of the cast members on Night Court had died earlier than Harry Anderson did. Yep, you are right. Biggs was such a massive shock, I had no idea we’d lose Garibaldi, Vir, Zack, Delenn, Sinclair, and even poor Zathras. Biggs, Doyle, Furlan, O’hare were pretty big shocks, though I had no idea Michael O’Hare was having a lot of psychological problems in addition to any physical health issues. Edit: And G’Kar!!! ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/9 "2024-02-16T14:44:13Z")
To answer the OP, they haven’t mentioned the deaths of any of the past cast members that I can recall. They mention Harry frequently because the current judge is his daughter, but don’t talk about the way he departed this mortal sphere. It seems like there could be a joke about how his last trick didn’t go as planned, but they don’t really need to go there. I can see future episodes making references to past cast members, like maybe an indention in an upper door jamb being the result of a giant bailiff not ducking, but otherwise I don’t think they’re going to delve too much into the past. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/10 "2024-02-16T16:21:39Z")
I agree. With Dan Fielding as the only returning character, there’s no real reason for him to reference any of the other characters, as nobody else knew them anyway. If they choose to, it’ll be something like you say, where there’s a Bull-height dent in a door jamb that needs to be explained. They’ve already eliminated any sort of Dan pining for Christine, as they went into his having married someone named Sarah who was the actual love of his life. I don’t really see any sentimental ways that Mac, Christine, or Bull could really show up in the show at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/11 "2024-02-16T16:43:40Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I mean, Richard Moll was 80, Markie Post was 70, Charles Robinson was 75, and Harry Anderson was 65. So all senior citizens, with only two of them being on the young end of that age range. John Astin is still with us at 93. Mel Tormé was only 73 when he passed. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/12 "2024-02-16T17:04:51Z")
Richard Moll made it clear he had [no desire to appear](https://screenrant.com/will-richard-moll-return-night-court-2023/) in the Night Court reboot, so I can see the producers simply not mentioning the character at all. As long as they’re playing the nostalgia card, it would be nice to have some mention of what happened to Christine Sullivan, though. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/13 "2024-02-17T02:47:59Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Look at Cheers. Whole cast alive except, of course, Coach. And Rebecca. [Kirstie Alley January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirstie_Alley) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/14 "2024-02-17T03:35:17Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I don’t know… it _is_ 30-ish years later. It’s a movie not a TV series and I mentioned this in another thread. _Carnal Knowledge_ was released in 1971 - fifty-two years ago - and the entire cast is still alive, along with the script writer. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/15 "2024-02-17T04:03:52Z")
I want to like the reboot. I miss the slapstick writing that seemed tailored to the actors. Maybe that takes time. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/16 "2024-02-17T04:51:20Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I want to like the reboot. Me too but the canned laughter kills the mood for me. I dream of a glorious future where the laugh track is a separate audio track that can be shut off. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/17 "2024-02-17T04:55:13Z")
The Wheelers are returning for an episode. Perhaps they’ll ask about Mac and Bull? > **[Night Court to Bring Back Brent Spiner and Annie O’Donnell as the Wheelers,...](https://tvline.com/casting-news/night-court-wheelers-return-season-2-brent-spiner-kate-micucci-1235167906/)** > > Two of Night Court’s most memorable defendants are returning to the courtroom. Brent Spiner and Annie O’Donnell will reprise their roles as hard-luck couple Bob and June Wheeler later t… ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/18 "2024-02-17T05:41:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The Wheelers are returning for an episode. Perhaps they’ll ask about Mac and Bull? Yes! This was a discussion I had with another group about the Wheelers appearing. Glad to see they are coming back. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/19 "2024-02-17T15:21:20Z")
I didn’t recognize Brent Spinner of Start Trek fame until it was pointed out. I’m not sure why but that makes me smile when I see reruns of him on the show. I always loved the Wheelers anyway. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640/20 "2024-02-19T21:14:29Z")
All I’m saying is that everyone in that cast who has died was well into senior citizen-hood when they passed. Markie Post dying at 70 and Harry Anderson were earlier than I’d have expected, but not way outside the bounds of the usual range. Charles Robinson and Richard Moll were both right around the average life expectancy for men (77.5 years). B5 on the other hand had almost no one die within the usual old person range. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-new-night-court-series-acknowledged-the-deaths-of-previous-cast-members/997640.md?page=2)