# 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:** 5
**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:** [October 1, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/81 "2014-10-01T00:59:34Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Weren’t the original Bud and Kelly both replaced after one episode of _ **Married … with Children** _? Doesn’t look like it - ["Married... with Children" Pilot (TV Episode 1987) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0642348/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm) ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/82 "2014-10-01T01:06:06Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > What oldest son from which show? 😕 oops sorry, typing in a hurry. The show was Eight is enough, the actor was Mark Hamill. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/83 "2014-10-01T01:11:59Z")
> [@adhemar](#): > > oops sorry, typing in a hurry. The show was Eight is enough, the actor was Mark Hamill. What was he thinking? Giving up Eight is Enough for Star Wars? WTF was he thinking?:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/84 "2014-10-01T01:21:08Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > No, they were always played by David Faustino and Christina Applegate. **GAME SHOW BUZZER:** **NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!** No, they weren’t: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kdAotCUyw0) I’ll take “Unaired TV Pilots” for $2000, Alex. And this time, let’s make it a true Daily Double! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/85 "2014-10-01T01:36:05Z")
Not a first, but there’s the infamous brouhaha of Valerie Harper being fired from her own show _Valerie_ following a contract dispute. They killed off her character and renamed it _Valerie’s Family_ and then later _The Hogan Family_. That was the late 80s. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/86 "2014-10-01T01:54:13Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > **West Wing** 2005 > > The character of Leo McGarry dies of a heart attack when when[John Spencer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Spencer_(actor)) did the same. His is an interesting case because there was a flash forward earlier in the series to a time after the Jed Bartlet presidency where his character Leo is still alive–so his (and Leo’s) subsequent death while Bartlet was still in office created a continuity contradiction. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/87 "2014-10-01T02:21:38Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Which soap opera character has been “killed” the most number of times? Probably Stefano DiMera on Days of Our Lives. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/88 "2014-10-01T04:58:26Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > **GAME SHOW BUZZER:** **NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!** No, they weren’t: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_kdAotCUyw0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kdAotCUyw0) > > I’ll take “Unaired TV Pilots” for $2000, Alex. And this time, let’s make it a true Daily Double! 😃 - BZZZZZZZT! \* I’m going to call foul. That was the unaired pilot. Producers almost always make changes to the cast of a show after viewing the pilot and before the first episode goes to air. If you’re going to cite that, I’m throwing in “All in the Family.” Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner weren’t the original daughter and son-in-law. In fact, the show was first called “Justice For All,” and then “Those Were the Days,” and Archie and Edith Bunker were originally called Archie and Edith Justice. In the first pilot, Carrol O’Connor and Jean Stapleton played Archie and Edith, and Kelly Jean Peters and Tim McIntire played Gloria and Richard, as Michael was originally called. In the second pilot, Candace Azzara played Gloria and Chip Oliver played Dickie, as Richard was renamed. > **[How the All in the Family Pilot Episodes Were Recovered - Television Obscurities](https://www.tvobscurities.com/2009/06/all-in-the-family-unsold-pilot-episodes/)** > > Two All in the Family pilot episodes were produced for ABC in the late 1960s but never aired. For decades, they were missing until recovered in the 1990s. Heck, I’ll even throw in the Flintstones. The original pilot was called the Flagstones and instead of Allan Reed and Mel Blanc as Fred and Barney, Daws Butler played both parts. June Foray played Betty and Jean Vander Pyl played Wilma and went on to play Wilma in the series. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mp03EEofu0o/hqdefault.jpg "The Flinstones pilot - The Flagstones") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp03EEofu0o) There are probably hundreds of examples of shows changing cast members between the pilot and airdate. I wouldn’t count any cast changes unless the pilot episode is also the first episode aired. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/89 "2014-10-01T14:05:59Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > - BZZZZZZZT! \* > > I’m going to call foul. That was the unaired pilot. Producers almost always make changes to the cast of a show after viewing the pilot and before the first episode goes to air. If you’re going to cite that, I’m throwing in “All in the Family.” Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner weren’t the original daughter and son-in-law. In fact, the show was first called “Justice For All,” and then “Those Were the Days,” and Archie and Edith Bunker were originally called Archie and Edith Justice. And I maintain “after one episode” is “after one episode.” Doesn’t matter if it was aired or not. Such changes are often (if not always) made after getting feedback from test audiences, so they don’t entirely result from the whim of the producer(s). ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/90 "2014-10-01T14:25:16Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Yes it was. I watched it live. I was too young to realize they could really do that on TV. I thought it was a joke and he was going to show back up. I remember my parents were stunned. He did-in a quick sketch for someone (one of the prime time variety shows of the era), waving frantically from his liferaft… ---
**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:** [October 1, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/91 "2014-10-01T14:42:35Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > And I maintain “after one episode” is “after one episode.” Doesn’t matter if it was aired or not. If it’s not aired, it’s not an episode. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/92 "2014-10-01T14:47:09Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > If it’s not aired, it’s not an episode. If it’s filmed/taped, it is. But you can believe whatever you want. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/93 "2014-10-01T17:43:00Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Well if you think about it, Dick _Sargent_ was the replacement for Dick _York_. Sargent . . . York. _Sergeant York_. But it goes deeper: George Tobias played Mr. Kravitz opposite both Dick York and Dick Sargent. And he appeared in the 1941 film “Sergeant York.” Sorry, still no point to this. ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/94 "2014-10-01T18:10:02Z")
You mean they **aren’t** all living on a nice Actor’s Union farm in the country upstate with lots of room to run and play?!? ---
**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:** [October 1, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/95 "2014-10-01T21:55:13Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > But it goes deeper: George Tobias played Mr. Kravitz opposite both Dick York and Dick Sargent. And he appeared in the 1941 film “Sergeant York.” And Elizabeth Montgomery, who played Samantha, was in the movie The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell, which starred Gary Cooper, who played Sergeant York. Not to mention that Dick York injured his back while working on the movie They Came to Cordura, which also starred Gary Cooper. Which all comes together to prove Nothing, really. ---
**Author:** ![from\_a\_to\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5fc32e/32.png) [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/96 "2014-10-01T22:57:56Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Sorry, I believe Mental Floss missed the boat on this one by at least 15 years. In 1957, [Lassie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lassie_(1954_TV_series)#Concept_and_development), then on CBS, starred Tommy Rettig as Jeff Miller, Jan Clayton as Jeff’s mother, Ellen, and veteran character actor George Cleveland as Jeff’s Grandpa, George. George Cleveland died unexpectedly in 1957. The new season opened with Gramps’ funeral and with Jeff and his mother selling the farm to Paul and Ruth Martin and moving away. It was the 13th episode, “Transition” (December 1, 1957), per [LASSIE Episode Guide](http://episodes.lassieweb.org/lassie04.htm) and per [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046617/episodes?season=4). During the 19 years of the show, Lassie was the one being replaced without anything being said. ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/97 "2014-10-01T22:59:35Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Well if you think about it, Dick _Sargent_ was the replacement for Dick _York_. Sargent . . . York. _Sergeant York_. Thank you, Wayne Campbell. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/98 "2014-10-01T23:12:54Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > He did-in a quick sketch for someone (one of the prime time variety shows of the era), waving frantically from his liferaft… I believe it was Dinah Shore. (Was before I was born, FWIW) BTW, if it didn’t air, it doesn’t count as an episode. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/99 "2014-10-01T23:56:37Z")
> [@from\_a\_to\_z](#): > > It was the 13th episode, “Transition” (December 1, 1957), per [LASSIE Episode Guide](http://episodes.lassieweb.org/lassie04.htm) and per [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046617/episodes?season=4). During the 19 years of the show, Lassie was the one being replaced without anything being said. I didn’t realize that so many episodes for that season were filmed before George Cleveland’s death since he died over the summer in July 1957. I was only a couple of months old so I don’t remember this, although I did see the episode in reruns. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654/100 "2014-10-02T00:10:59Z")
IIRC, the old _Dragnet_ series had to replace Joe Friday’s partner (Ben Smith, I think) because the actor Barton Yarborough died between seasons. The character was written as having died suddenly as well, and Friday is unusually emotional throughout the episode. This was parodied somewhat in the _Dragnet_ movie in which Harry Morgan tells Dan Aykroyd that “Frank isn’t coming in today.” “Twenty-four-hour flu?” “He’s not coming in tomorrow, either.” “…Forty-eight-hour flu?” In that case, the character just quit the force and bought a goat farm. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-tv-character-deaths/699654.md?page=6)