# Major characters killed off sitcoms but not because of the actor's death. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 27, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379 "2017-04-27T17:47:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/21 "2017-04-27T21:23:08Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Have any come back after being killed off? In fiction the classic example of someone who was apparently killed off is Sherlock Holmes. [Kenny McCormick](http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/southparkla/images/7/7f/Kenny-mccormick.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140522211520&path-prefix=es) answers both this question and the OP, I think. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/22 "2017-04-27T21:23:09Z")
The ratings for the first season of _Sledge Hammer!_ were so low that they didn’t expect the show to be renewed, so Inspector Hammer was killed in the season ending episode in a failed attempt to disarm a nuclear bomb. However, the show was in fact renewed, so the second season was said to consist of flashbacks to a five year earlier period in his life. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/23 "2017-04-27T22:10:44Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > - Susan Ross (Heidi Swedberg) on Seinfeld because, well, Seinfeld. Susan Ross was killed off because the principle players and writers just didn’t feel she and the character were working out with the rest of the show. It wasn’t anything against Heidi Swedberg, they just felt the dynamic was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/24 "2017-04-27T22:33:37Z")
Chevy Chase’s character Pierce Hawthorne was killed off on _Community_, mainly because everyone hated him. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/25 "2017-04-27T22:57:04Z")
I don’t think that any count as major characters, but _The Simpsons_ has killed off a few, like Bleeding Gums Murphy and Mrs. Flanders. ---
**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:** [April 27, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/26 "2017-04-27T23:02:32Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Coffey. Ed Coffey, I think. > > One of the truly shocking character deaths in TV drama. Done more or less in the episode tag, after the main stories. Joe Coffey. He was killed about 3/4 of the way through the episode; the last minute or so, Lucy Bates was looking at his corpse on the floor, just before they covered his face. His pointless death was indeed a shocker. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2017, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/27 "2017-04-28T02:22:59Z")
Marvin Erickson on\* How I Met Your Mother\*. Maybe not “major” but at least recurring and not a character who was brought in just to be killed off. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/28 "2017-04-28T03:50:19Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Have any come back after being killed off? In fiction the classic example of someone who was apparently killed off is Sherlock Holmes. Mrs Landingham appeared a few times in flashback scenes after her character died in the show. Kathryn Joosten, who is still alive, returned to play her. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/29 "2017-04-28T05:26:23Z")
Doctor (insert character name here) on _ER_? I mean, seriously, there was at least three of them, right? Also, if series finales count, Zeke on _Parenthood_. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/30 "2017-04-28T05:37:45Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > The entire cast of Blackadder II died at the end of the second series but were back as their descendants or isotopes of their old selves for Blackadder III. I suppose you could say the same for the end of Blackadder IV and the various specials since, too. To be fair, the entire cast of \*The Blackadder \*died to return as their descendants in _Black-adder II_, who in turn died to return as their descendants in _Black Adder the Third_ , who in turn died to return as their descendants in _Blackadder Goes Forth_. And if you’d like, you could squeeze in Blackadder’s Christmas Carol in between the Third & Goes Forth, assuming they all died to return in Goes Forth. That was the schtick of the series. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2017, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/31 "2017-04-28T10:41:27Z")
On _Seinfeld_, Kramer was killed off when his body was dumped in the East River. But he managed to escape. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/32 "2017-04-28T11:06:01Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > Doctor (insert character name here) on _ER_? I mean, seriously, there was at least three of them, right? I wouldn’t call “ER” a sitcom. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/33 "2017-04-28T12:45:50Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > I wouldn’t call “ER” a sitcom. Unless you’re talking about the 1984 short lived sitcom _“E/R”_ Though if memory serves, it wasn’t too funny.🙂 ---
**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:** [April 28, 2017, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/34 "2017-04-28T13:07:37Z")
> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > Unless you’re talking about the 1984 short lived sitcom _“E/R”_ > Though if memory serves, it wasn’t too funny.🙂 But it also had George Clooney, so there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/35 "2017-04-28T13:51:32Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Mrs Landingham appeared a few times in flashback scenes after her character died in the show. Kathryn Joosten, who is still alive, returned to play her. You’re obviously talking about The West Wing here (fantastic series, also not a sitcom). Mrs. Landingham’s most memorable return, of course, was in “Two Cathedrals,” not as a flashback, but as a kind of truthtelling vision to President Bartlet (“But if you don’t run because you think it’s gonna be too hard or you think you’re gonna lose, well, God, Jed, I don’t even want to know you.”). And unfortunately, Kathryn Joosten is no longer with us, having passed away in 2012. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/36 "2017-04-28T15:23:28Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > I wouldn’t call “ER” a sitcom. My bad. Reading fail. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/37 "2017-04-28T16:15:36Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > And unfortunately, Kathryn Joosten is no longer with us, having passed away in 2012. My mistake. I meant to write _“Kathryn Joosten, who was still alive, returned to play her.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/38 "2017-04-28T17:26:57Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > But it also had George Clooney, so there you go. In his “I’m nodding continuously because I’m a really really really nice guy” era. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/39 "2017-04-28T17:34:22Z")
On the original **One Day at a Time** Ann’s boyfriend Nick (played by the still alive Ron Rifkin) was killed between seasons 6 and 7 in a car accident. I don’t know why they killed the character. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379/40 "2017-04-28T17:37:55Z")
> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > To be fair, the entire cast of \*The Blackadder \*died to return as their descendants in > _Black-adder II_, who in turn died to return as their descendants in > _Black Adder the Third_ , who in turn died to return as their descendants in > _Blackadder Goes Forth_. > And if you’d like, you could squeeze in Blackadder’s Christmas Carol in between the Third & Goes Forth, assuming they all died to return in Goes Forth. > That was the schtick of the series. With the exception that most survive in Blackadder the Third and Blackadder Back & Forth (1999). And: In both that series and the tv movie: The dog, Blackadder, got his bone; and becomes king of England in the end. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-characters-killed-off-sitcoms-but-not-because-of-the-actors-death/785379.md?page=3)