What TV shows have been most impacted by a real life death of a major character?

[The Voice of Reason]

Re: What TV shows have been most impacted by a real life death of a major charac

...dare I bring up the passing of Will Lee (Mr. Hooper) and the effect on "Sesame Street"?...

Sesame Street did an excellent job in explaining Mr. Hooper's passing. Besides there is a different generation watching the show now who never knew who Mr. Hooper was.

Mr. Rogers meanwhile will remain with us forever because of reruns.

 

[BlueHen]

"Dennis The Menace" was never a huge hit, but it only lasted a year after Joseph Kearns, the guy who played Mr. Wilson, died. He was replaced by Gale Gordon, who played his "brother".

I was amazed to learn Joseph Kearns was only 55 when he died. I know he was an actor playing a part, but he always seemed so much older. Another one was Alice Pearce, the original Gladys Kravitz on Bewitched. I read she was only 48 when she died in 1966.

As for having an impact on their respective shows, I definitely think Kearns' death affected Dennis The Menace. Gale Gordon was fine in the part; in fact, he looks more like the Mr. Wilson of the Hank Ketcham comic strip, but Joseph Kearns was the quintessential harried neighbor. Gordon didn't seem as high-strung. Does anyone know if he had started playing Mr. Mooney yet on The Lucy Show at that time, or did Dennis The Menace end first?

Another example of a role going to the "brother" of a deceased actor's part was William Demarest as Uncle Charley, taking over for William Frawley as Bub on My Three Sons.

Although I thought Alice Pearce was the better hysterical Gladys Kravitz, she only had two years in the role, with Sandra Gould finishing out the show without much of an impact. That was probably because it was only a supporting role and not seen at all in a fair number of episodes.

 

[Mark Giardina]

Re: What TV shows have been most impacted by a real life death of a major charac

Does anyone know if he had started playing Mr. Mooney yet on The Lucy Show at that time, or did Dennis The Menace end first?

Gale Gordon played the principal on "Our Miss Brooks." He then took the part on "Dennis the Menace" following the death of Joseph Kearns.
Gordon's job with Lucille Ball came after Dennis went off the air. He played a variety of roles; first as Mr. Mooney, then Harry, Lucy's Brother-in-Law. Gordon also worked with Lucy on her short-lived ABC program.

 

[firepoint525]

Re: What TV shows have been most impacted by a real life death of a major charac

On the TV series, Dallas, Jim Davis, who portrayed Jock Ewing, the family patriarch, died in April 1981. He had been ill for most of the last season, and the writers of the show ended the season with his character and Miss Ellie leaving on an extended second honeymoon. The next season, instead of Jock coming back to the ranch with Miss Ellie, he went to South America to check on some oil properties and went missing. Thirteen episodes were written with him missing before he was confirmed killed in a helicopter crash. That episode in January 1982 ended with a memorial photograph of Davis.

I'm sure the Ewing kids were confused when they came back a season or two later, and their "parents" were now being played by Howard Keel and Donna Reed! ;D

That whole Donna Reed as Miss Ellie thing was actually a bigger stretch of the imagination than the whole "Bobby was dead" dream sequence a year or two after that. (Especially since Barbara Bel Geddes returned to the show after that year that Donna Reed was Miss Ellie!)

 

[Jimme]

Speaking of game shows:
1.) in the Bud Collyer version of To Tell The Truth, Kitty Carlisle left the show in the late 50's, intending to spend the rest of her life with husband, playwright Moss Hart, in a dream house they bought in California. (This is the time we got a lot of episodes with Dina Merrill, Betty White, and Gretchen Wyler in the fourth seat.) Moss Hart died a short time after making the move to California. Kitty returned with the kids to New York to make a life for them. She was invited back to TTTT and, after several months of mourning, returned. The night she returned the panel was introduced as normal. After he was introduced, host Bud Collyer looked over to her from his seated desk, extended his arm and politely said in a polite subdued tone with a warm smile, "Kitty - welcome back". The audience applauded and the show went on.
2.) After the 70's syndicated What's My Line stopped production, host Larry Blyden was chosen to host another Goodson-Todman game, the ABC show "Showoffs". a pantomime game. Blyden taped a pilot, but was killed in a car crash in Morocco before production of the show began. Dancer Bobby Van hosted the show. Experts say the show needed a more lively sort of host - one with a spark Blyden had. Had Larry Blyden lived, Showoffs may have had a longer run than 13 or 26 weeks. Bobby Van tried, but he wasn't a great host.
3.) Jack Barry died as host of The Joker's Wild in 1984, Bill Cullen hosted it for two more years. Cullen is a game show legend, but he just doesn't do a good job of this show. Cullen's slow paced chit-chat and joke around with the contestants didn't suit a show Jack Barry played at full throttle "come in - spin the wheel - and on to the next turn" style. Some say Cullen was just getting too old to actively manage a show, but I prefer the difference in style as the reason Joker slid fast in entertainment value once they changed hosts. Ratings were already low the year before Barry died. Indeed, it was said Barry decided to pull Joker from the next season's syndication offering right before he died (and the survivors at Barry & Enright said keep the show in production). Cullen didn't save it as they thought a big name would.
4.) The Price Is Right took a few hits when announcer died. Bob Barker was criticized for his lackluster on-air tribute to Rod. That took more luster off Barker's image. As you will recall, after working together over a decade, Barker aired a one or two sentence message in a near monotone, with very plain standard language that, paraphrasing, all of us are saddended by the death of Rod Roddy. Howard Stern quipped, "Please, whatever you do, don't let Bob Barker deliver the eulogy at my funeral!"

 

[WMC2006]

4.) The Price Is Right took a few hits when announcer died. Bob Barker was criticized for his lackluster on-air tribute to Rod. That took more luster off Barker's image. As you will recall, after working together over a decade, Barker aired a one or two sentence message in a near monotone, with very plain standard language that, paraphrasing, all of us are saddended by the death of Rod Roddy. Howard Stern quipped, "Please, whatever you do, don't let Bob Barker deliver the eulogy at my funeral!"

[/quote]

That could be because the production company (Fremantle??) doesn't showcase the announcer as much as the previous company did in Johnny Olsen's time. I vaguely recall some kind of on-air flashback episode of TPIR when they announced Johnny's death. And, at the time, Bob also announced on the air to Rod that they were very fortunate to get Rod. But that was under old "ownership". As far as I know, Rich Fields has been even less prominently featured than either Johnny or Rod combined. I think Barker's image might have taken a bigger hit with all those sexual harassment lawsuits he had to endure from the Beauties (Holly and Dian, notably).

Jack Clark died in 1988 while working as Wheel of Fortune's announcer. He didn't actually die WHILE working on the show...that was his job at the time. I don't know if they ever mentioned it on-air. Charlie O'Donnell eventually replaced him.

 

[formeraa]

CBS's "The District" never recovered after supporting actress Lynne Thigpen died. It seems like the cast couldn't past the death, constantly mentioning her character "Ella". It was amazing how a supporting character like Ella was really the heart and essence of the show.

 

[mleach]

Re: What TV shows have been most impacted by a real life death of a major charac

...dare I bring up the passing of Will Lee (Mr. Hooper) and the effect on "Sesame Street"?...

Sesame Street did an excellent job in explaining Mr. Hooper's passing. Besides there is a different generation watching the show now who never knew who Mr. Hooper was.

Mr. Rogers meanwhile will remain with us forever because of reruns.

While Sesame Street did a great job in dealing with Hooper's ( Will Lee ) passing in 1984, in 1990 I remember when some viewers felt Sesame Street had dropped the ball in not even mentioning the death of the actor who took over Hooper's store after Lee's death, Northern Calloway !! Even though IMDB says Calloway died from "stomach cancer", back in 1990 it was reported in a lot of the press that just hours before he died, Calloway was seen by police naked in a field, moo-ing like a cow and smearing feces all over himself. The police grabbed Calloway, put him into a straight jacket and as they were on the way to a mental hospital, Calloway died. OK..how would any TV show explain something like this to their viewers? Sesame Street did the right thing in "overlooking" Calloway's death.

Not long after Calloway's death, Jim Henson died. I don't remember what Sesame Street did to pay tribute to him since he was a big part of that show.

 

[Stanislav]

Re: What TV shows have been most impacted by a real life death of a major charac

Not long after Calloway's death, Jim Henson died. I don't remember what Sesame Street did to pay tribute to him since he was a big part of that show.

They did, however, do a prime-time tribute to Henson in which the various Muppet characters try to figure out who this Jim Henson dude is who died. Kermit appears at the very end, voiced for the first time not by Henson but by Steve Whitmire. At the time, I wasn't too impressed with his vocalization (he only had a few lines), but since then he has grown into the role and he does a pretty good clone of Henson's classic voice.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

Re: What TV shows have been most impacted by a real life death of a major charac

I know that the passing of Jerry Orbach has been mentioned on here, and even though Law and Order continues today, it's not the same without "Lenny."

 

[WMC2006]

Orbach had moved onto one of the L&O spinoffs, Trial By Jury, but died after filming just two episodes which aired after his death. Trial By Jury, itself, lasted just 3 months.

 

[Markxxx]

Re: What TV shows have been most impacted by a real life death of a major charac

Wasn't Rebecca Schaeffer acting on a TV show when she was mudered?

Actually the show had been cancelled. I remember it was being rerun on USA Network in the afteroons and I saw at the end it said "Dedicated to the memory of Rebecca Schaeffer," so I turned on the news and found out she'd been murdered.

There was a show, I can't recall the name though, where the guy shot himself, or maybe he was shot. I can't think of the name, but the TV show reminded me of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." It wasn't a TV remake of that movie, but it was similar in theme. I can't think of the name. Anyone know?

 

[WMC2006]

Brooke Shields' NBC show "Suddenly Susan" was hit by the suicide of actor David Strickland in 1999. The third season finale dealt with his death. The series itself lasted one more season but that was due to low ratings and not Strickland's death.

 

[mleach]

"Dennis The Menace" was never a huge hit, but it only lasted a year after Joseph Kearns, the guy who played Mr. Wilson, died. He was replaced by Gale Gordon, who played his "brother".

I was amazed to learn Joseph Kearns was only 55 when he died. I know he was an actor playing a part, but he always seemed so much older. Another one was Alice Pearce, the original Gladys Kravitz on Bewitched. I read she was only 48 when she died in 1966.

As for having an impact on their respective shows, I definitely think Kearns' death affected Dennis The Menace. Gale Gordon was fine in the part; in fact, he looks more like the Mr. Wilson of the Hank Ketcham comic strip, but Joseph Kearns was the quintessential harried neighbor. Gordon didn't seem as high-strung. Does anyone know if he had started playing Mr. Mooney yet on The Lucy Show at that time, or did Dennis The Menace end first?

Dennis The Menace ended in 1963 however later in that same year Gordon began his Mr. Mooney role on the Lucy Show. Interesting Jay North and Gale Gordon were reunited on a mid 60s episode of The Lucy Show when Jay appeard as a guest star and as I mentioned in another post, the parents of Dennis The Mennace, Herbert Anderson & Gloria Henry they had their own "reunion" as well. Those two appeared in a 1968 commerical for KOOL cigarettes playing another couple, not as Mr. & Mrs. Henry Mitchell.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

There was a show, I can't recall the name though, where the guy shot himself, or maybe he was shot. I can't think of the name, but the TV show reminded me of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." It wasn't a TV remake of that movie, but it was similar in theme. I can't think of the name. Anyone know?
This was mentioned upthread..."Alias Smith And Jones". The actor's name was Pete Duel, and he did indeed commit suicide.

Here are a couple I don't think have been mentioned...2 of the original "Hee Haw" castmembers, David "Stringbean" Akeman (he and his wife were murdered by intruders robbing their home), and Junior Samples, who I believe died of a heart attack.

 

[tlyle]

I read somewhere that Hee Haw's Stringbean did not trust banks as he had been raised during the depression. It was said he kept all his money at home, and that is why he was robbed.

 

[Jimme]

4.) The Price Is Right took a few hits when announcer died. Bob Barker was criticized for his lackluster on-air tribute to Rod. That took more luster off Barker's image. As you will recall, after working together over a decade, Barker aired a one or two sentence message in a near monotone, with very plain standard language that, paraphrasing, all of us are saddended by the death of Rod Roddy. Howard Stern quipped, "Please, whatever you do, don't let Bob Barker deliver the eulogy at my funeral!"

That could be because the production company (Fremantle??) doesn't showcase the announcer as much as the previous company did in Johnny Olsen's time. I vaguely recall some kind of on-air flashback episode of TPIR when they announced Johnny's death. And, at the time, Bob also announced on the air to Rod that they were very fortunate to get Rod. But that was under old "ownership". As far as I know, Rich Fields has been even less prominently featured than either Johnny or Rod combined. I think Barker's image might have taken a bigger hit with all those sexual harassment lawsuits he had to endure from the Beauties (Holly and Dian, notably).

Jack Clark died in 1988 while working as Wheel of Fortune's announcer. He didn't actually die WHILE working on the show...that was his job at the time. I don't know if they ever mentioned it on-air. Charlie O'Donnell eventually replaced him.
[/quote]

After Johnny Olsen's death, TPIR did air an on-air tribute. One day, after the show ended, and Bob waved goodbye and the audience was applauding as they went over to look at the showcase, there was a quick fade to black. A tape then appeared of Bob standing on the set announcing all of us are saddened by the death of Johnny Olsen, They aired some snipets of Johnny in costumes and Bob said some very nice things. I was sitting in the college student union having lunch when this came on. I still remember it.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

In the wake of Roger Ebert cutting off his remaining ties with "Ebert and Roeper At the Movies" last week, need I also bring up the passing of Gene Siskel in February 1999? IMO, "At the Movies"/"Siskel and Ebert and the Movies" basically died with Siskel's death.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

[Jack Clark died in 1988 while working as Wheel of Fortune's announcer. He didn't actually die WHILE working on the show...that was his job at the time. I don't know if they ever mentioned it on-air. Charlie O'Donnell eventually replaced him.

Pat Sajak did an on-air eulogy on the fall 1988 season premiere of WOF in memory of Jack Clark, who died during the summer hiatus:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55FfY1Tm7m8

 

[Corky Marlowe]

In the wake of Roger Ebert cutting off his remaining ties with "Ebert and Roeper At the Movies" last week, need I also bring up the passing of Gene Siskel in February 1999? IMO, "At the Movies"/"Siskel and Ebert and the Movies" basically died with Siskel's death.
How could we forget that? The real selling point of "Sneak Previews" when it first aired on WTTW in Chicago was that Siskel and Ebert worked at rival newspapers (Siskel at the old-line Tribune, and Ebert at the more tabloidy Sun-Times), and at first, anyway, they didn't care much for each other.