# History of TV character deaths **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654 "2014-09-26T17:11:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/21 "2014-09-26T19:18:24Z")
Let’s see… we saw Denise Crosby killed off on\*\*\* Star Trek: TNG \*\*\*back in 1988. Keep going! ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/22 "2014-09-26T19:26:57Z")
I would think early soap operas would be rife with examples of all three situations. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/23 "2014-09-26T19:28:41Z")
For me, one of the most recent (and shocking) ones was Will on _The Good Wife_. I keep pretty up to date on entertainment news and hadn’t read anything about it! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/24 "2014-09-26T19:28:57Z")
“Chico” from _Chico And The Man_. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/25 "2014-09-26T19:30:47Z")
Not a “first” of any kind, but… Freddie Prinze killed himself in 1977. At the start of the 1977-78 season, \*\*\*Chico and the Man \*\*\*replaced him with a kid. Early in the season, it was revealed that Chico had died, though they never explained how. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/26 "2014-09-26T19:31:19Z")
According to the [A.V. Club](http://www.avclub.com/article/sudden-death-16-shows-where-actor-and-series-drama-202687) it was Dan Muldoon in _The Naked City_ in 1959. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/27 "2014-09-26T19:38:55Z")
Chicago Fire had a character die on its season premier on Tuesday. The Simpsons will have a character die on its season premier on Sunday. death it’s the new premier plot. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/28 "2014-09-26T19:41:32Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Did they ever explain Bub’s disappearance on _ **My Three Sons** _, or was his death just assumed/implied? > > According to Wiki, William Frawley was dropped from the series because the studio could no longer get insurance for him, and he died a year or two later. Bub went back to Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/29 "2014-09-26T19:55:30Z")
Not a death, but a stroke: During the filming of \*The Waltons, \*Ellen Corby, who played the Grandmother, had a stroke. The writers wrote the stroke into the part, and after Corby’s partial recovery, they brought back her character as a stroke survivor. But they had to limit her recovery to the stage possible back in the 30s. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/30 "2014-09-26T20:01:08Z")
How do the two _Darrens_ on Bewitched count? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/31 "2014-09-26T20:03:45Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > How do the two _Darrens_ on Bewitched count? They don’t. The character didn’t die, and the character wasn’t recast because of a death. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/32 "2014-09-26T20:15:38Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > They don’t. The character didn’t die, and the character wasn’t recast because of a death. I believe the character was recast because the first guy left the show for health reasons. I don’t recall any other instances in television of them all pretending the next actor was the same character. If there are, I’d like to know. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/33 "2014-09-26T20:30:17Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > According to Wiki, William Frawley was dropped from the series because the studio could no longer get insurance for him, and he died a year or two later. This is a weird statement to me. Studios get insurance on actors for their shows? Considering the fleeting nature of most shows, lasting only a few years, and the rarity of actors dying suddenly while working on a show, why would any studio bother to do that? Is this a normal thing? And even if it is, it seems weird that if you can’t get insurance, they decided not to get the actor rather than just take the risk. Just replace him, its not like it hasn’t happened before. Shows get canceled all the time. I doubt even half of the new fall schedule will make it to the end of the year, much less more than 3 years. There’s minimal risk. Who decided that life insurance for a couple of years was a good idea? If I were the studio, I’d balk at spending any money on this and if I were an insurance company, I wouldn’t take the risk of the (presumably) low premiums and pay out many more times what I got. But I guess that’s how insurance works ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/34 "2014-09-26T20:30:55Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I believe the character was recast because the first guy left the show for health reasons. I don’t recall any other instances in television of them all pretending the next actor was the same character. If there are, I’d like to know. Vivian Banks on Fresh Prince. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/35 "2014-09-26T20:32:17Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Vivian Banks on Fresh Prince. Becky on _Rosanne_. Twice. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/36 "2014-09-26T20:46:22Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I don’t recall any other instances in television of them all pretending the next actor was the same character. If there are, I’d like to know. Not surprisingly, TVTropes has a [page](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TheOtherDarrin/LiveActionTV) about this. Most of the examples they cite are recurring characters and so don’t really count. But among regulars, in addition to the already-mentioned Becky from \*Rosanne \*and Aunt Viv from _Fresh Prince_, there are also Justin Whalen replacing Michael Landes as Jimmy Olsen on _Lois and Clark_, and Sharon Gless replacing Meg Foster as Christine Cagney on _Cagney and Lacey_. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/37 "2014-09-26T20:51:47Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I believe the character was recast because the first guy left the show for health reasons. I don’t recall any other instances in television of them all pretending the next actor was the same character. If there are, I’d like to know. Dozens of characters on pretty much every daytime soap opera ever. Also, this is much more common in UK shows, such as _May to December_, _All Creatures Great and Small_ and _Inspector Lynley_. On preview I see that this has already been mentioned, but [TV Tropes](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TheOtherDarrin/LiveActionTV) has an extensive list of “other Darrins”, including: Chris, the youngest child on _The Partridge Family_ Jimmy Oleson on _Lois & Clark_ John Boy on _The Waltons_ ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/38 "2014-09-26T20:55:30Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > This is a weird statement to me. Studios get insurance on actors for their shows? Considering the fleeting nature of most shows, lasting only a few years, and the rarity of actors dying suddenly while working on a show, why would any studio bother to do that? Is this a normal thing? And even if it is, it seems weird that if you can’t get insurance, they decided not to get the actor rather than just take the risk. Just replace him, its not like it hasn’t happened before. I don’t know how it worked in the 50s, but probably much the same as now. In order to get liability and loss insurance a production will have to have all the cast and crew insured. The insurer and the producers don’t want to risk lawsuits over death or injury. I don’t know how prevalent insurance is for production losses due to the death of key personnel or Acts of God and the like, but nobody would ever get it without insuring those key personnel. ETA: I’m sure you can’t get a series picked up without that kind of insurance also because the networks will want to insure against their own losses. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/39 "2014-09-26T21:06:24Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I would think early soap operas would be rife with examples of all three situations. I think you’re right. Killing off characters must have happened. I found this British soap [Coronation Street](http://coronationstreet.wikia.com/wiki/Coronation_Street), and a list of [character deaths starting in 1960](http://coronationstreet.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_deaths). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/40 "2014-09-26T21:09:34Z")
Which soap opera character has been “killed” the most number of times? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654.md?page=3)