Death is never easy . That ’s especially honest in boob tube , where the demise of popular characters can alien audiences and send a series into a tailspin . Sometimes histrion want out to research other opportunities . Other times , something happened off - camera that propel writers and producers to hasten their fictional dying , often in a way that make it clear that the parting was n’t amicable . Take a flavor at seven notable casing of character who met an untimely end for reason other than originative necessity .
1. EDDIE LEBEC //CHEERS
2. MAUDE FLANDERS //THE SIMPSONS
From 1989 to 2000 , voice actor Maggie Roswell portrayed the prim and right married woman of devout family man Ned Flanders on Fox’sThe Simpsons . Then , in a highly advertize episode , Maude was killed when a T - shirt triggerman propelled her off a set of bleacher and to her death . According to theLos Angeles Times , Roswell claimed she was fire from the show for demand for a lift , from her typical $ 1500 to $ 2000 per instalment to $ 6000 ; Fox argued she quit because she no longer want to permute from her home in Denver to the voiceover session in Los Angeles .
3. VALERIE HOGAN //VALERIE
It ’s strange for a web to kill off the titular character of a series , but NBC apparently feel it had justification when negotiations withValeriestar Valerie Harper broke down in 1987 . Having completed two seasons of the sitcom about a put - upon female parent with a pilot hubby who ’s invariably out of the picture , Harper tried to talk terms fresh terms to her contract . NBC and production company Lorimar claimed she wanted too much money ; Harper tell she was merely assay profit participation that had been call to her . The party subsequently ended up in tourist court , andValeriewas renamedValerie ’s Familybefore root onThe Hogan Family . sandlike Duncan stepped in for Harper ’s character , who was killed off in a car stroke in the third - season premiere . “ It was really weird that the web would kill off a mother in a prime - clip comedy with a mickle of fry watching , ” Harpersaidin 1988 . She wouldwinher beseem that same yr , collecting $ 1.8 million in compensatory damages .
4. JAMES EVANS //GOOD TIMES
Like a lot of sitcoms , Good Timesboth benefited and suffered from the popularity of what was intended to be an incidental character . Jimmie “ J.J. ” Walker ’s “ dy - no - mite ” catchphrase and physical comedy did n’t sit well with John Amos , who played the patriarch of the Evans family . He voiced his concerns repeatedly to producer andlater recalledit was n’t in the most diplomatical of ways ; Amos claimed he was fired as a result . When the show returned for its fall premiere in 1976 , his onscreen wife , Florida Evans , show a letter out loud inform her that James was killed in an auto stroke .
Esther Rolle , who played Florida , also began to share criticisms over the show ’s direction , especially now that there was no male persona model in the series . She resign . This time , producer Norman Lear dealt with the situation by having Floridamove awayto be with her new hubby .
5. CHEF //SOUTH PARK
The school cook ofSouth Parkhung in for nearly 10 seasons before vocalization actor Isaac Hayes begin to have a job with the show ’s trademark satiric bite . It had been slant heavily into criticisms of Scientology , the religion founded by L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 : Hayes , a Scientologist , asked to be releasedfrom his contract after one instalment give to the subject proved too loathsome to him . He was released ; the show soon aired anepisodewhere Chef fall from a bridge , was impaled by a tree , dismembered by animals , and implicated in minor harassment . The serial used snipping of Hayes ’s prior recordings to complete the scenes .
6. STEVE CROSETTI //HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET
A critical striking when it premier in 1993 , NBC’sHomicide — a gritty depiction of life-time as a Baltimore detective — fight to find an consultation . After two seasons , the connection agreed to renew the show for a third , but wanted to bring in actors they thought might be more appealing to a younger audience . Showrunner Tom Fontana tell serial regular Jon Polito , who portray middle - aged cop Steve Crosetti , that they ’d betemporarilywriting him out of the show — but that Fontana would institute him back when thing settled down . By his own accession , the late Polito said he reacted in choler , lashing out at NBC and producer in the press . Instead of being land back , Crosetti wound up floating in the bay , dead of a ego - inflicted gunfire wound .
7. TED HOFFMAN //MURDER ONE
Trial lawyer Ted Hoffman did n’t decease , but the setting surrounding the character ’s departure from ABC’sMurder Onein 1996 are too bizarre to go unnoticed . harmonise to series Godhead Steven Bochco in hisautobiography , Truth is a Total Defense , champion Daniel Benzali was dismissed from the show after one season because he was an hour late to process each day . The rationality , Bochcotoldbroadcaster Rich Eisen , was that Benzali only feel comfortable having his daybreak intestine front at his home in Malibu and could n’t forget until he had his a.m. coffee - fueled emptying . Bochco offered to rent an apartment for Benzali during the week , but Benzali defy . He was replaced by Anthony LaPaglia in the 2d season .
