14 Actors Who Were Written Off TV Shows
14.
Will Lee- The actor and comedian is best remembered for playing Mr. Harold Hooper on the beloved
children’s show “Sesame Street.”
On the show, he was originally one of the first four humans to appear in the series
and the original owner of Hooper’s Store.
Loved by kids and Muppets, his unexpected death in 1982 became a turning point for writers
and producers.
Rather than write Lee out of the show by saying he retired, moved or quit, they decided to
create an episode which taught children about the difficult topic of death.
Child psychologists and child developmental experts gave advice on how to talk about the
subject, and the cast and crew recalled filming the episode was a touching and emotional experience;
citing it as one of the proudest moments in the show’s history.
13.
Lisa Robin Kelly- Best known for playing Eric’s hot sister on the successful comedy show “That
70’s show.
Her character was hit among fans for her sleazy remarks and dumb blonde antics.
However, by the fourth season of the show, Kelly started to go into a downward spiral.
She was arrested for drinking and driving, and tv show executives and producers were
forced to write her off the series.
Christina Moore eventually replaced her during the sixth season before the show ended just
two seasons later.
After leaving “That 70’s Show,” she barely worked in the business again and admitted
that her actions were the cause of her worn down career.
She also admitting that her drinking problem was the result of a failed pregnancy.
Unfortunately, she passed away in her sleep, just days after she checked into Pax Rehab
House in California.
12.
Dominic Monaghan- With so much action and suspense in the hit television series “Lost,”
Monaghan’s departure left even more unanswered questions to the fate of the remaining survivors.
Back in 2007, during the show’s third season finale, the actor admitted that he was talking
about being killed off months prior.
Even though there are huge positives in starring in a big show, he felt that he was limiting
himself and wanted to explore other opportunities that allowed him to grow.
Even though Charlie was killed off, Monaghan felt that his character’s death is the beginning
of the end and leaves wanting more in his journey and exploring Hollywood.
11.
Yvette Nicole Brown- Anyone who loves watching Community, enjoys watching Yvette Nicole Brown.
She played Shirley Bennett, as a single mother and also acts as the mother of her group of
friends.
She quickly rose to become a fan favorite but suddenly departed the series after five
seasons.
In an interview with TV Guide Magazine, she actually requested to be released from her
contract to take care of her sick father.
The actress said her dad needed all around care and while it was a difficult move to
leave the show, she couldn’t leave her dad behind.
She went on to say that she’s still the show’s biggest fan and live tweets every
chance she gets as she doesn’t want the fans to worry!
Awh, even more of a reason to love her!
10.
Jeffrey DeMunn- In a zombie apocalypse, you can expect many people to die along the way.
Buts fans were dumbfounded at Dale’s gruesome and unsuspecting death.
Just when DeMunn’s character was becoming a fan favorite on AMC’s The Walking Dead,
his death happened when Frank Darabont was fired from the show during the middle of season
two.
But loyalty goes a long way, and it was actually DeMunn’s choice to leave when Darabont was
let go, so they killed his character.
Not only was DeMunn a collaborator with Darabont, but he was a good friend, so he took the issue
personally.
9.
Ryan Cooley- Best known for playing the funny and quirky J.T.
Yorke on the first six seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation, he played a central character
that was popular among teen fans.
So his unexpected death in the show shocked viewers around the world.
Don’t worry; the writers made sure that J.T.
went out in a memorable way.
After encountering two rival boys at a party, they taunt and stab him, which leaves his
character helpless and eventually succumbing to his wounds.
Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t Cooley’s choice to exit the show willingly.
The actor revealed in an interview that around the time his character was going to be written
around the time that he thought of enrolling into college.
It looks the timing was just right.
8.
Steve Burns-Famous for playing himself on the hit Nickelodeon children’s show Blue's
Clues, he was a natural on screen and a favorite among children of all ages.
But after seven years of hosting the popular kid's show, Steve skidooed out there and left
the show for good in 2002 after six years.
Before his departure, he introduced his younger brother Joe played by Donovan Patton, who
would watch over Blue while he was away at college.
After he had left, the rumor mill spewed out several reasons for his retreat, that he was
pursuing a career in music, abusing drugs or that he had died.
But Burns admitted that although he loved working with kids, he couldn’t make a career
out of being a children’s host.
In addition, he was getting older and losing his hair meaning it time to go.
7.
Lily Nicksay- During the first two seasons of “Boy Meets World,” Cory was the middle
child and had an older brother named Eric played by Will Friedle and a little sister
named Morgan played by Lily Nicksay.
But at the start of season three, she was nowhere to be found and was suddenly replaced
by a much older actress a few seasons in.
They welcomed her character’s return by hinting she in a very long time out session.
While the reason for her departure was never addressed, Nicksay didn’t hesitate to reprise
her role in the finale of the show’s sequel “Girl Meets World.”
Since then, Nicksay has gone on to star in a variety of shows that include The Mentalist
and 8 Simple Rules, plus she spent eight years living in Scotland, so I don’t think she
feels too bad about being let go.
6.
Kal Penn- If you’re a fan of the medical drama tv show “House,” then you know how
shocking it was when Dr. Lawrence Kutner killed himself in season five.
But when one door closes, another one opens, and despite a shocking death, Penn’s career
was actually going down a different path.
With rumors swirling of a retirement from the actor, Penn revealed that he was written
out of House to work for another house!
The White House that is.
During his employment at the White House, Penn also revealed that he would not take
on any acting roles until he left and resigned as Barack Obama’s Associate Director of
Public Engagement to film the third installment of Harold and Kumar.
After the movie had wrapped, he returned to the White House, before leaving for good that
following year.
5.
Jaimee Foxworth- From 1989 to 1993, Foxworth played Judy Winslow, the youngest daughter
on the American sitcom “Family Matters.”
However, during the show’s fourth season, she disappeared from the show with no explanation.
The Winslow family acted as though Judy never existed and it was like Foxworth was never
part of the show.
Executive producer William Bickley stated a combination of budget cuts and no character
development were the main reasons why Foxworth was abruptly cut.
During this time, Jaleel White’s character Steve Urkel became a fan favorite and was
cast as a regular cast member on the show.
Many wondered what happened to Foxworth, but she suddenly resurfaced on an episode of The
Oprah Winfrey show titled, “Former Child TV Star Reveals the Biggest Mistake of Her
Life.” which covered her transition from actress to starring in pornographic films
under the “Crave.”
4.
Michael O’Hare- Famous for playing Jeffrey Sinclair in science fiction television series
Babylon 5, O’Hare started to experience paranoid delusions during the show’s first
season.
Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski claimed O’Hare’s hallucinations only worsened
and his behavior became erratic.
They offered to stop the show’s productions for a couple of months to accommodate treatment
for O’Hare but the actor persuaded the series continuation, not wanting to jeopardize other
people's’ jobs.
During this time, O’Hare’s condition was kept a secret, and he finished filming the
first season and agreed to be written out in order to seek treatment.
Even though his departure was never explained, he did manage to make a few guest appearances.
O’Hare mental illness was never revealed to the public until after he passed away and
hoped that his passing could raise awareness for those who suffered from the same mental
illness.
3.
Janet Hubert- It’s no secret that the actress and Will Smith experienced some disagreements
while on the set of Fresh Prince.
In fact, their decade-long feud was a big factor as to why Hubert was written off the
show as Will’s beloved aunt, Viv.
The bad blood all started in 1993, after three seasons.
Their creative differences went back and forth in which the two made it evident that they
clearly did not like each other.
Eventually, Hubert was subsequently replaced by Daphne Reid.
Other reasons cited for her departure includes no outside work while in contract with NBC
and salary negotiations.
Even today, it is still unclear if she and Smith ever patched things up as they continually
take jabs at each other from time to time.
2.
Chris Meloni- Best known for playing Detective Elliot Stabler on the hit drama series “Law
and Order: SVU.”
Since 1999, Meloni played the lead alongside Mariska Hargitay.
But unfortunately, Meloni and NBC executives were unable to come to an agreement on a new
contract and decided he would leave the series.
The actor’s sudden departure occurred after twelve seasons and left many fans unhappy
as his character was resigned from the police force off screen during the show’s thirteenth
season premiere.
Since Meloni left the series, there have been ongoing rumors of a guest appearance in the
near future, but producers or Meloni have yet to make a confirmation.
But I’m sure hopeful fans are still clinging to that idea.
1.
Charlie Sheen- It’s no secret that Charlie Sheen was fired from the hit show Two and
a Half Men back in 2011.
Despite playing a primary role and being the highest paid actor on US television, Warner
Bros made the decision to let him after a series of public meltdowns, drug/ alcohol
abuse and bad mouthing the show’s creator Chuck Lorre.
After Sheen’s dismissal during the show’s eighth season, the show’s writers took out
the character in the most epic way possible.
Charlie Harper died when he fell off a Metro platform while visiting in Paris and exploded
like a balloon full of meat.
Following the character’s death, he is still frequently mentioned, and a funeral is held
in his honor, and his ghost even appears to Alan as Kathy Bates.
As for Sheen, he landed the lead in his own show called “Anger Management,” which
ran from 2012 to 2014 and I think the title suited him quite nicely.