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 | This entry is trivia, which is cool and all, but not a trope. On a work, it goes on the Trivia tab. | |
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A sad form of Real Life Writes the Plot: a character is written out of the show or even (and usually) Killed Off for Real because the actor has left not the show, but the mortal coil itself.
In other words, the Grim Reaper himself arranges a (obviously long) bus trip. In these circumstances, don't expect the character to be Put on a Bus to Hell, but rather an episode directly (and often respectfully) dealing with the death and deceased.
This often causes major changes in the cast dynamic. If the character was a big enough part of the show, it could be derailed or even ended altogether. It's usually seen in Anime, Western Animation, and Live-Action TV, but this can happen in film as well if the movie is a series (see Indiana Jones below).
The inverse is Character Outlives Actor, when a character is taken out of a show and is still alive, but the actor has died.
This is a trope, as the event affects the narrative. Contrast Author Existence Failure which stops the narrative cold. However, outside of the narrative, it may prompt an episode or credits nod In Memoriam.
Examples:
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Film (Animated)
- Doc Hudson is the only character from the film Cars that did not appear in the film's sequel out of respect for the late Paul Newman. According to the writers of the film, Doc is the first character in the series to be killed off permanently as implied by the fact that his former medical clinic has been converted into a memorial museum dedicated to this character, as with the trophy Lightning McQueen won at the very beginning of this film. Fillmore however, was given a new voice actor for this film due to the death of George Carlin, and Red actually lost his voice altogether due to the death of Joe Ranft.
- Speaking of Joe Ranft, all the characters voiced by him in Toy Story have been "sold off" or "given away" in Toy Story 3.
- And speaking of Toy Story 3, it's averted in the case of Slinky whose original voice actor Jim Varney had passed away, and was replaced by Blake Clark. This is a popular theory as to why it took Pixar so long to begin work on the much anticipated final installment.
- Due to the death of actress Madge Sinclair, Sarabi is the only character that survived the events of The Lion King who did not appear in the sequel.
Film (Live Action)
- Indiana Jones: Marcus Brody, played by Denholm Elliott.
- Also strongly justified - both actor and character were quite old in The Last Crusade, and the Time Skip in real-life time was about 19 years, so it doesn't feel the least bit contrived.
- Sam Loomis dies offscreen at the end of Halloween The Curse Of Michael Myers movie due to Donald Pleasence's death.
- Colonel Sam Trautman from the Rambo series died off screen in the fourth movie because Sylvester Stallone felt it wouldn't feel right replacing the late Richard Crenna. As he himself put it: "Trautman died the day my friend Richard died."
- Cab Calloway and John Belushi both died (in 1994 and 1982, respectively), and their characters of Curtis and Jake Blues are said to have died offscreen in Blues Brothers 2000.
- Oliver Reed's character, Proximo, was meant to survive the entire Gladiator movie, but due to the actor's death during filming the character was killed off. Even so it cost the studio $3 million to recreate his face for the remaining scenes he "appeared" in.
- A complex subversion in Matrix trilogy: The directors had wanted to change the appearance of The Oracle for the third movie; but her existing actress, Gloria Foster, was so well-liked by cast and crew they were going to nix that particular change. Then she passed away, so they had to go with it anyway as a Hand Wave to cast Mary Alice in the role.
- James Bond's boss M is absent from For Your Eyes Only as Bernard Lee died before he could film any scenes. The script was re-written so that the character is said to be on leave, with his lines given to either his Chief of Staff Bill Tanner or the Minister of Defence, Sir Fredrick Gray. Then a new M appears in Octopussy.
- Heath Ledger's death put the kibosh on plans to include the Joker in the last installment(s) of The Dark Knight Saga (it wasn't clear at the time that there would be just three), as he played the character so iconically that neither Christopher Nolan nor the suits could justify bringing someone else in to replace him. In The Dark Knight Rises, the Joker not only does not appear, but is never even mentioned.
"The worst of the worst were sent [to Blackgate Prison], except for the Joker, who, rumor had it, was locked away as Arkham's sole remaining inmate.
Or perhaps he escaped. Nobody was really sure. Not even Selina."
Live Action TV
- When actor Will Lee (who played Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street) passed away, the producers were faced with the usual options for dealing with loss on a kids' show: cast a new actor or have the character simply leave the show without explanation. Instead, Sesame Street ran an episode where Big Bird learned that Mr. Hooper had died, it was okay to miss him, and that even though life would never be quite the same, it will get better. In tribute to him, the portrait Big Bird was going to give him still hangs in his nest to this day.
- One documentary said that the "Mr. Hooper's not coming back" scene was the only scene in Sesame Street history done in a single take because the cast just couldn't do it again. Also, the fact that the take captured genuine emotion and showed that grown-ups, too, feel sad and cry when people they love die, played a role in keeping the scene at one take.
- This episode is also notable for not using a Really Dead Montage. The producers thought that it would be too confusing to talk about Mr. Hooper being gone forever while still showing him on screen. (However, several years after Hooper's passing, a "Really Dead Montage" would be played, usually when a newcomer asks about the store or Hooper himself; it was probably determined that enough time had passed and that the audience generally understood that Hooper was no longer with his neighbors and friends.)
- Bonanza: When Dan Blocker unexpectedly died prior to the start of the 1972-1973 season, his character of Hoss Cartwright is never seen again. It is never stated outright, but it is strongly implied that Hoss, too, died ... particularly with Ben's comments in the episode "The Initiation," where he says, "I've already buried one son!" (Ben never explicitly states that Hoss was dead.)
- The producers of Bewitched knew that they could not properly replace Marion Lorne's portrayal of Aunt Clara once she died, so they didn't even bother trying.
- Of course it's never actually said that Aunt Clara died since she is supposedly immortal. She's just never mentioned again.
- Chico And The Man: Chico, although this was not stated until late in Season 4, more than a year after Freddie Prinze's death. Unlike the circumstances surrounding Prinze's death (suicide), Ed explains simply – to Raul, a character who had been brought in to replace Chico – that Chico had died, leaving the cause unknown. Earlier Season 4 episodes stated that Chico was "away."
- 8 Simple Rules' Paul Hennessy, played by John Ritter. Ritter suffered an apparent heart attack while on the set of the show rehearsing, and was rushed across the street to the hospital. Turned out he suffered an aortic dissection, and he died. The character was Killed Off for Real; no official reason given, he "collapsed while buying milk."
- Also, Ritter's character on Scrubs, Sam Dorian, main character J.D.'s father. The reason given for his death was a massive heart attack.
- The District: Ella Farmer, played by Lynne Thigpen, suddenly died of the cancer the character had been in remission from, when the actress passed away from a cerebral hemorage.
- Monk: Dr. Kroger, Monk's psychiatrist, died of a heart attack and was mourned in-show after Stanley Kamel, his actor, died of that on April 8, 2008 during the hiatus between the sixth and seventh seasons. A new role was created - Hector Elizondo as Dr. Bell.
- The West Wing: Leo McGarry, played by John Spencer, died shortly before the show's presidential election. One of the producers says that they changed the outcome of the election so it wouldn't be such a downer for Santos to both have his running mate die and lose the election.
- The Waltons: the characters mourned the death of Grandpa Zeb during the first episode of the 1978-79 season, after actor Will Geer died shortly after filming had completed for the previous season.
- Suddenly Susan: Todd Styles, played by David Strickland (the final episode of series 3 was turned into a tribute to the character (and actor)).
- Cheers: Ernie "Coach" Pantusso, played by Nicholas Colasanto. He was replaced by Woody.
- Widely (and erroneously) perceived to be the case for Irish-British Sitcom Father Ted, and thus the reason for its cancellation. In actual fact, the actor's death happened to coincide with the planned ending of the show. It did, however, change the last scene from Ted attempting suicide into a retrospective of the series.
- Livia Soprano on The Sopranos, who was Killed Off for Real after actress Nancy Marchand's death.
- NewsRadio: After Phil Hartman's death shortly after production wrapped on season 4, his character Bill McNeil suffered a fatal heart attack in the first episode of season 5.
- 1970s British kids' show Inigo Pipkin changed its name to Pipkins when the actor playing the title character died, and the character was killed off with him.
- Donna Noble's father on Doctor Who. As a dedication to the actor, the 10th Doctor in his final episode gives Donna's mother a lottery ticket bought with a quid the Doctor obtained by going back in time offscreen to borrow from "a really lovely man. Geoffrey Noble, his name was."
- Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, as stated in "The Wedding of River Song". In fact, by way of tribute to the only actor to in some form act alongside all eight original series Doctors, the fact that The Character Died with Him is a crucial plot point in the episode — it is the Brigadier's death that gets The Doctor to stop running and face his fate in Utah.
- Dr. Harry Sullivan, brief companion with the fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, when Sarah Jane mentions some of the Doctor's old companions' present exploits in Death of the Doctor. It isn't spelled out, but he is mentioned in the past tense while the rest of them are mentioned in the present. Averted with Barbara and Ben in the same speech, who are apparently alive and well in Cambridge and India respectively even though Jacqueline Hill and Michael Craze died in 1993 and 1998 respectively.
- Oddly enough, inverted by The Master. Before Roger Delgado's untimely death in a car accident, there were plans to have his character Killed Off for Real in a final showdown with the Doctor. He later reappeared as a withered husk (later acknowledged as the same incarnation) played by Peter Pratt and then Geoffrey Beevers, before taking over the body of Tremas of Traken, played by Anthony Ainley, who would portray him for the remainder of the original series' run.
- Barney Miller: When Jack Soo (who portrayed Nick Yemana) passed away, a Clip Show episode was made as a tribute to him (with the cast breaking character for this occasion). Some time later, it was mentioned that Nick had passed on and his desk had been removed.
- Last Of The Summer Wine:
- When Bill Owen died, the character of Compo also passed away, allowing for a funeral arc (and more than a little grieving for the country as a whole).
- Happened with most of the other characters as well. It would never be stated that they had died, but everyone else would start referring to them in the past tense.
- Gimme A Break: After Dolph Sweet (Chief Kanisky) died of cancer, the season five opener had the family dealing with the Chief's sudden death.
- Redd Foxx died after only seven episodes of The Royal Family, resulting in Al Royal's death and the introduction of their eldest daughter Coco (Jackée Harry) to help cope with the loss.
- Only Fools And Horses:
- When Lennard Pearce died, they decided to kill off his character, Grandad (off-screen, of course). Thus the first episode made after Pearce's death begins with Grandad's funeral.
- The same happened with Uncle Albert after the death of Buster Merryfield. Although Albert died during the episode, with the first scene explaining that he hadn't joined them in the Caribbean because it had turned out the great sailor didn't have a passport.
- Averted with Kenneth MacDonald, who played the Nag's Head landlord, Mike. In this case the Character Outlived The Actor because (MacDonald had put in his will that he didn't want Mike to die.
- The title character of Taggart.
- While Law & Order prime was not affected by Jerry Orbach's death, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, the show to which Lennie Briscoe was transplanted, was hit early by Briscoe's death (the main show did have a tribute episode).
- From The Wire, Detective Ray Cole was played by beloved producer Robert F. Colesberry, who passed away during the show's run. The character gets a meaningful funeral, which takes on a whole new level of depth when you know the Reality Subtext.
- The same thing was done after the death of Richard DeAngelis, who played Major Foerster.
- Hill Street Blues: When Michael Conrad died, his character of Sgt. Esterhaus was written as having died of a heart attack during sex.
- Don S. Davis, General Hammond on Stargate SG-1 for 7 seasons, died a few years after he officially retired from the show. In the series finale of Stargate Atlantis, which is dedicated to Davis' memory, Carter mentions that Hammond had died of a heart attack off-screen, directly referencing Davis' actual cause of death. She also mentions that Earth's newest interstellar warship, then under construction, would be renamed in his honor. The completed ship later appears in the premiere episode of Stargate Universe.
- Due to Colleen Dewhurst's death, Marilla Cuthbert dies near the end of the Road To Avonlea series.
- After her death, Dewhurst's character on Murphy Brown, Avery Brown, mother of Murphy, dies. It occured early in the season where Murphy becomes pregnant. Murphy's son was named Avery in her memory.
- A rare double case occurred on the series 15/Love, where two main characters were killed off in one heartbreaking episode because of the (very) young actors' deaths in the same car accident.
- 80's sitcom Night Court also had it twice: original cast member Selma Diamond, who played bailiff Selma, died after the first two seasons so her character was also written off as deceased. The succeeding bailiff was Florence, played by Florence Halop; but Halop passed away after one season and thus her character shared the same fate. Not surprising considering the ages of both actresses. In fact, there were whispers and jokes that both actresses had fallen prey to some sort of "Night Court curse" and this is said to be one of the reasons that series creator and executive producer Reinhold Weege decided not to bring in a third elderly actress and instead replaced Halop with Marsha Warfield, who was only 32 when she began playing Roz Russell.
- The producers knew Florence Halop would not be around for Season 4; the ep "Flo's Retirement" was their way of prepping viewers for this.
- In a soap opera this is one of the only occasions when you know a character is NOT coming back from the dead, regardless of whether they ever found the body, although this is usually reserved for elderly actors who have played the role for so long it would be impossible, if not outright disrespectful to re-cast the part.
- A very touching example on One Life to Live. NYPD officer John W. Perry had frequently appeared on the show as an extra before he was killed in the September 11th attacks. A year later, Commissioner Bo Buchanan was seen looking at John's picture and sadly musing, "I can't believe it's been a year" (it's not hard to believe that Robert Woods, who played Bo, didn't have to do much acting to convey his grief). The in-universe story was that Perry had been visiting New York on that day (the show is set in Pennsylvania), but had died as he had in Real Life—rushing down to the Trade Center to help, but killed when the South Tower collapsed. It was very well-handled, especially for an entertainment genre that had struggled over how or if to acknowledge the tragedy onscreen.
- In General Hospital, Anna Lee died in 2004. Her character. Lila Quartermaine, died in her sleep. In 2012, John Ingle died. Edward Quartermaine died of a heart condition. His last word before passing: The name of his beloved wife, Lila
- Speaking of soap operas, Coronation Street actress Betty Driver has died aged 91, so her character Betty Williams will now be killed off as well.
- This has happened several times in Coronation Street: Jack Walker, Jerry Booth, Albert Tatlock, Stan Ogden, Bert Tilsley, Blanche Hunt. Elsie Tanner and Christine Hardman were both mentioned as having died several years after they left the show and Annie Walker is talked about in the past tense.
- This was done on Days of Our Lives when the last remaining original cast member, Frances Reid (who played matriarch Alice Horton), passed away.
- Defied within the Muppets franchise, particularly their movies and Muppets Tonight. New Muppeteers, such as Steve Whitmire as Kermit, often took up the characters of their deceased operators in order to keep the legacy going.
- Played straight for a long time with Rowlf the Dog, who would not be voiced until the Muppets started putting out webisodes of Waldorf and Statler around 2005.
- Love and War: John Hancock, who played bartender Ike Johnson, died halfway through the first season. The other characters are shown attending Ike's funeral. Ike was replaced by his brother Abe, played by Charlie Robinson, who inherited Ike's share of the bar.
- Joan, the first wife/biological mom of the kids in Eight Is Enough. Actress Diana Hyland appeared only in four episodes before being diagnosed with breast cancer. Joan was written out of the rest of the season and the Hyland died twelve days after the first episode aired. When season two aired, it was revealed that Joan had died.
- Highlander: The Series: Werner Stocker, the German actor who played the monk Darius, died of cancer. This resulted in Darius being murdered. The episode dealing with Darius' murder was filmed after his death, but used some of the footage of the character that the studio had available spliced in. This also radically changed the direction of the entire show as both the "Watchers" and "Hunters" were created as writers scrambled to re-write the first season finale wihout him.
- Unlike All in the Family, on the original British show Till Death Us Do Part the demise of the protagonist's wife Elsie - when it transformed into In Sickness And In Health - was due to the genuine demise of actress Dandy Nicholls.
- When long-running soap As the World Turns was canceled in 2010, writers had planned to have the show's matriarch, Nancy Hughes — who had spoken the show's first line when it debuted in 1956 — also speak the final lines. However when 91-year old actress Helen Wagner, who'd played Nancy from the beginning, died a few weeks before the final episode was scheduled to be filmed, the plan was scrapped, and Nancy was said to have died, with other characters memorializing her onscreen.
- When Norman Beaton died, the show Desmond's was replaced by a Spin-Off about secondary character Porkpie. The first episode begins with him consoling Desmond's widow.
- Angel - The series ended a bit before Andy Hallet's death, but his character of Lorne was retired in the comics.
- In a strange view of this trope, the character Doyle was supposed to come Back from the Dead but this became impossible when the actor playing him died of a drug overdose.
- Aunt Ginny in The Middle died along with Frances Bay, the actress ("The Map", an episode that began with the Hecks coming home from Ginny's funeral, ended with an In Memoriam to her).
- Too Close for Comfort (at the time, titled The Ted Knight Show) did not continue production after the death of Knight from colon cancer in August 1986. The ten episodes of the series that had yet to be broadcast prior to Knight's passing aired in the six months after his death.
- The early seasons of Smallville had Dr. Virgil Swann, played by Christopher Reeve. After Reeve's death in 2004, Swann was mentioned as dying sometime in between the events of the show's third and fourth seasons.
- This will be the most likely outcome for the next season of Dallas, after the death of Larry Hagman. It was done in the original series with the death of Jim Davis.
- It did, he was shot off screen. Second to last episode of season 2 was more or less a tribute to JR.
- The first episode of the UK version of Fraggle Rock after the death of Fulton Mackay opened with the Captain's nephew PK taking responsibility for the lighthouse and Sprocket after his uncle's death.
- Production of The Sarah Jane Adventures was halted after Elisabeth Sladen's death, and the show was quickly cancelled (though the finished episodes were aired).
Music
- The heavy metal band GWAR retired the character Flattus Maximus after his most recent portrayer, Cory Smoot, was found dead.
Newspaper Comics
- A rare non-actor version of this once occured in the classic adventure strip Terry and the Pirates. The wisecracking Ace Pilot Dude Hennick was based on a Real Life friend of Terry's creator, Milton Caniff, named Frank Higgs. Higgs, like Dude, flew on relief efforts for wartorn China in the years leading up America's entry into World War II. Dude had not been seen on the strip in years, when, on a Chrstmas Day, 1945 strip, Caniff spoke directly to the reader, revealing Dude had been based on Higgs...and that Higgs died in a plane crash. "I know today you're probably thinking of your own 'good Joe' who didn't get to see this Christmas, but if you liked Dude, I hope you'll spare a thought for Higgs. Dude died when he did."
Radio
- This has happened numerous times on The Archers, as it is such a Long Runner that actors are often in it for long enough to become elderly. Usually the death is offstage, but relatively soon after the actor's own death; a notable exception was Nelson Gabriel's death, which occurred after the character had been a tax exile for some time, still talked about by the other characters but not appearing. (Similar to the Ballykissangel example under TV; the BBC clearly likes this trope.)
- After Barton Yarborough died of a heart attack, his characters on Dragnet and One Man's Family were written out of their respective stories (Dragnet's Romero even dying of an offscreen heart attack).
Video Games
- The actor who voiced Zato-1 in Guilty Gear died after the second game. As a result, Milia canonically killed Zato-1. While the character technically stayed in the series, it was now Zato-1's corpse possessed by the parasite that gave him his powers, Eddie (under which name the character has appeared since), voiced by Takehito Koyasu.
- This also happened with Hyo of Rival Schools, who was also voiced by Shiozawa.
- Following the death of voice actor Takeshi Aono, Hideo Kojima said
 that Col. Roy Campbell wouldn't appear in any future Metal Gear Solid games out of respect for Aono.
Web Original
- ASDF Movie: Most likely out of respect for Edd Gould, the "I Like Trains" Kid does not appear in the fifth movie.
- However, he does get a non-speaking cameo in the Mine Turtle song, and the sixth movie introduces a baby with a striking resemblance to him.
- Eddsworld notably subverts this. Even though Edd's dead, his character lives on, with Tim Hautekiet (better known as Tim H) voicing him.
Western Animation
- On The Simpsons, Phil Hartman's characters were effectively retired after his death. After Doris Grau's death in 1995, Lunchlady Doris also became a mute background character, until 2006 when she returned, voiced by Tress MacNeille.
- Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz both continue to appear regularly in the comics, since a voice actor is not necessary.
- Although he actually survived the events of Transformers: The Movie, the character of Jazz was dropped from the third season of The Transformers shortly after the five part premiere Five Faces of Darkness where Jazz made his final appearance was recorded, due to the death of actor Scatman Crothers. Jazz has since returned in other incarnations of the franchise, such as the toys and the more recent feature film (where he was killed off by Megatron), however, and he remains a perennial fan favorite of many G1 fans.
- The As Told By Ginger episode "No Hope for Courtney'' was rewritten mid-production after the death of Kathleen Freeman so that her character Ms. Gordon would be dead as well.
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