- 6 months ago
These 10 brave actors gave unforgettable performances on television while secretly or publicly battling terminal illnesses. Despite knowing their time was limited, they showed incredible dedication, professionalism, and love for their craft by continuing to work until the very end.
This video highlights their inspiring stories, their iconic roles, and the legacy they left behind in the world of entertainment. A heartfelt tribute to their courage and passion for acting.
📺 Watch until the end to discover how these stars left a lasting mark on TV history.
👉 Like, comment, and follow for more inspiring entertainment stories.
This video highlights their inspiring stories, their iconic roles, and the legacy they left behind in the world of entertainment. A heartfelt tribute to their courage and passion for acting.
📺 Watch until the end to discover how these stars left a lasting mark on TV history.
👉 Like, comment, and follow for more inspiring entertainment stories.
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TVTranscript
00:00It's a little makeover. Can I buy you a drink?
00:01No.
00:02Are you sure? I know I hate being alone when I'm on the rebounds.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at actors who worked on TV shows
00:09knowing they had illnesses that turned fatal.
00:11Since some actors' fates are tied to their fictional characters, a few spoilers will follow.
00:15I don't like that kind of talk. Now just stop it, it upsets me.
00:22Larry Hagman, Dallas
00:23Larry Hagman created a TV icon in J.R. Ewing.
00:26I'm gonna hold off on telling him I'm giving you the corner office.
00:29I want you to be here to see the look on their faces when I do.
00:31Wouldn't miss it.
00:32You coming back from Abu Dhabi soon?
00:34Just gotta take care of something first.
00:36The primetime soap opera was revived over 20 years after Dallas finished its initial run.
00:41Hagman came along for the ride despite being diagnosed with throat cancer in 2011.
00:45It wasn't the first time Hagman had faced a life-threatening illness,
00:48overcoming liver cancer in the 90s.
00:50By the time the Dallas revival premiered in June 2012, Hagman was in remission.
00:54Thank you, Daddy.
00:55That means a whole lot for me to hear you say that.
00:59J.R.?
01:03Hello?
01:06Dad!
01:08Only a month later though, Hagman learned that he had developed MDS.
01:11This progressed to leukemia, which claimed his life the following November.
01:15He had already filmed a few episodes for season two, which worked Hagman's cancer diagnosis
01:19into the plot while revisiting the classic Who Shot J.R? storyline.
01:22Larry's family and close friends had joined him in Dallas for the Thanksgiving holiday.
01:27When he passed, he was surrounded by loved ones.
01:30It was a peaceful passing, just as he had wished for.
01:34While making Eraserhead, David Lynch envisioned Kathryn Coulson holding a log.
01:40This provided the basis for one of Twin Peaks' fan favorite characters, Margaret Lanterman,
01:44aka the Log Lady.
01:46Deliver the message.
01:51Do you understand?
01:53Years later, at her 50th college reunion, Coulson announced that she had lung cancer.
01:58This didn't stop Coulson from appearing in the long-overdue Twin Peaks revival.
02:01Four days after wrapping her scenes, Coulson passed away.
02:04I'm dying.
02:08I'm sorry, Margaret.
02:12The revival wouldn't air for another two years, with the premiere dedicated to Coulson.
02:17Echoing Coulson's uncurable condition, the Log Lady accepts her fate and dies off-screen.
02:21Good night, Haw.
02:23Co-star Miguel Ferrer also died before the revival debut.
02:27Although Ferrer received a fatal throat cancer diagnosis,
02:30he filmed several Twin Peaks episodes while still working on NCIS.
02:33The veteran actor died peacefully in his home Thursday morning after a long battle with cancer.
02:39He was surrounded by friends and family.
02:42Kathryn Joosten, Desperate Housewives.
02:44But for the first time in her life, she found herself thinking about such things.
02:54Because she knew that her life was coming to an end.
02:58Kathryn Joosten worked as a nurse before appearing as a guest star in numerous shows.
03:02Her most acclaimed role would be as Karen McCluskey on Desperate Housewives.
03:05Joosten won two Emmys for playing the cranky yet lovable neighbor.
03:08As the series entered its sixth season in 2009, Joosten was diagnosed with lung cancer.
03:13It would be Joosten's second round against the disease, having her right lung removed several years earlier.
03:18Although her health declined, she continued to play Mrs. McCluskey until the final episode.
03:22Joosten and the show's producers saw eye to eye on how her character's journey should end.
03:38Lung cancer claims Karen's life, but not before she takes the stand in a crucial trial.
03:4220 days after the finale aired, Joosten passed away.
03:46Your honor, this is preposterous. There's no way that frail woman could have committed this crime.
03:50Adrenaline? Fear? You'd be surprised what people can do.
03:56Christopher Evan Welch, Silicon Valley.
03:58Go work at Burger King. Go into the woods and forage for nuts and berries. Do not go back to college.
04:03I think I have been played. Fine. Go ahead and pitch. You have until I fasten the seatbelt in my car.
04:14Christopher Evan Welch's scene-stealing turn as the quirky billionaire Peter Gregory should have been a major turning point for his career.
04:20The role would instead be a bookend Welch didn't live to see. Welch received his lung cancer diagnosis around 2010, about three years before he started shooting his scenes for Silicon Valley.
04:30I'm paying you $200,000 for 5%, yet you're giving this man twice that in exchange for a futon and some sandwiches?
04:40After learning his cancer had spread to his brain, Welch reportedly told his wife and doctor, I have to go shoot this pilot.
04:46Although Welch underwent surgery following the first episode's taping, his co-workers were led to believe he would pull through.
04:52It came as a shock to them when Welch died mid-production, only filming five episodes.
04:56Rather than recast, Peter Gregory canonically died the following season in an absurdly tragic way.
05:02He hadn't run in a long time, maybe ever. And, you know, he just...that was it.
05:15Rock Hudson, Dynasty
05:17This legendary actor closed out his career with a recurring role on Dynasty.
05:21Pull!
05:25Only a few months before Rock Hudson debuted as Daniel Reese, he was diagnosed with AIDS.
05:30Hudson kept his condition private for over a year, making a public announcement on July 25th, 1985.
05:36By this point, he'd already finished his arc on Dynasty, which wrapped early due to his declining health.
05:40You deserve crystal. I told you once I'd fight to the death for her. I know. To both of you.
05:49Hudson was aware of his diagnosis during a scene when he kissed Linda Evans.
05:53Still keeping his secret, Hudson was reportedly terrified that he might give AIDS to Evans.
05:57Widespread misinformation about AIDS was still common back then.
06:00It would be years later that the revelation he had AIDS also exposed his homosexuality.
06:06Hudson had successfully hidden it, even had a brief studio-arranged marriage when a magazine threatened to expose him.
06:12Despite his best efforts to keep working, Hudson continued to struggle and died three months after disclosing his illness to the world.
06:18Patrick Swayze, The Beast
06:20One of the most popular film stars throughout the 80s and 90s, Patrick Swayze finished the 2000s as the lead on A&E's The Beast.
06:27You were outside, so how the hell could you know how much we were liked? Unless you were FBI.
06:32I shot you in the best sun to keep you from getting killed. Maybe next time I don't.
06:37Breathe shallow, it won't hurt so bad, now get in the car.
06:40Playing morally gray FBI agent Charles Barker, Swayze shot the pilot shortly before learning he had pancreatic cancer.
06:46Swayze nonetheless remained committed to the role, filming the season over five months.
06:51All the while, Swayze underwent treatment without taking painkillers.
06:54Uh, yeah. Uh, hold on. I got things to do. You got, uh, 90 minutes on my delivery. Don't be late.
07:03During this difficult period, he only missed a day and a half from the shoot.
07:07Although The Beast received positive reviews, it wasn't renewed due to low ratings.
07:11Even if the series had gotten a second season, Swayze wouldn't have been able to reprise his role.
07:16Barely two months after its cancellation, Swayze would sadly succumb to his disease.
07:20Patrick was a really good man, a funny man, and one to whom I owe much that I can never repay.
07:26Alice Pearce, Bewitched
07:28This actress is best remembered for playing the definitive nosy neighbor, Gladys Kravitz from Bewitched.
07:33Gladys, I worked like a dog for 32 years.
07:36After the house across the street has got a lawn, and after there are trees and flowers.
07:41So what do you want from me?
07:43In the series, Gladys was always suspicious of the hocus-pocus occurring at the Stevens household.
07:48Behind the scenes, Alice Pearce had a secret of her own.
07:51Pearce was living with terminal cancer, which she chose to keep thriving.
07:54The showrunners might not have been aware of Pearce's diagnosis, but her condition would start to take a noticeable physical toll.
08:00Regardless, Pearce kept audiences laughing well into season two.
08:03There's a room full of poles and reels and fish!
08:07There's sailfish this big! And rubber boots!
08:09Baby's first paragraph was the last episode Pearce filmed before taking a turn for the worse six weeks later.
08:15While Sandra Gould inherited the role of Gladys, Pearce won a posthumous Emmy for her swan song season.
08:20We got a call from some lady that says you got a talking baby.
08:25Yes, that was me. Mrs. Kravitz with a K. R-A-V-I-T-Z.
08:31Nicholas Colasanto – Cheers
08:33Developing heart disease in the 70s, Nicholas Colasanto had trouble finding work over the next few years.
08:38He was prepared to call it quits when a career-defining role came his way.
08:41Colasanto's heartfelt performance as coach Ernie Pentuso was integral throughout the early seasons of Cheers.
08:47I have been chosen to be this year's visiting scholar at the University of Bologna.
08:52Oh, Fraser, that's wonderful!
08:55The University of Bologna? I can't believe they need a university for a thing like that.
09:02I know it's a complicated meet, but…
09:06Although Colasanto's heart condition wasn't a secret, few realized how serious it was until season three.
09:12As Colasanto started losing significant weight and forgetting his lines, some suspected he didn't have much time left.
09:18We'd sit on the porch, listen to the ball game. I'd bounce your kids on my knee. God, it was gonna be a happy house.
09:27Well, I guess that's gonna be Fraser's house now, coach.
09:31Well, you can come by anytime soon.
09:33It still caught many off guard when Colasanto died from a heart attack in February 1985, two months after being hospitalized for water in his lungs.
09:40While Cheers would go strong for another eight seasons, Coach and Colasanto were never forgotten.
09:45I'm a friend of Coach's. Is he around?
09:48I'm sorry, Woody. I guess you hadn't heard. No, uh, Coach passed away a couple months ago. But yeah, I'd like to think he's still around.
09:57Helen McCrory, Peaky Blinders.
09:59I don't doubt you, Severus. You should be honored, Sissy. Asher Draco.
10:08He's just a boy.
10:09From Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies to Madame Callie in Penny Dreadful, this British actress had several memorable roles.
10:16I sense something of the old days in it. The old days. The days before now.
10:25Peaky Blinders fans will recognize her as Polly Gray, the Shelby family's tough-as-nails matriarch.
10:30Although death was commonplace on Peaky Blinders, Aunt Polly's perhaps hit us the hardest.
10:35That's because Helen McCrory died from breast cancer between the fifth and sixth series.
10:38McCrory had sworn her friends and family to secrecy as she privately went through treatment.
10:43To almost everyone else, her death seemingly came out of the blue.
10:46Actress Helen McCrory has died. She was 52 years old.
10:50With the final episodes of Peaky Blinders entering production, the showrunners suddenly had to rethink certain elements.
10:56This included Polly's fate with the character dying in the series' sixth premiere.
11:00I'm heartbroken to announce that after a heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home.
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11:24Nancy Marchand, The Sopranos.
11:27Did you lock the door after you?
11:29Yeah, I did.
11:30You know, somebody called you last night. After dark.
11:34Oh.
11:35You think I'd answer? It was dark out.
11:37When Nancy Marchand was cast as Tony's reprehensible mother, Livia Soprano, producers knew they might be taking a risk.
11:43In addition to emphysema and COPD, Marchand had been facing lung cancer for the past few years.
11:49Marchand's agent was up front with The Sopranos showrunners, but they still wanted her.
11:53While Livia wasn't supposed to live long, Marchand's Golden Globe winning performance convinced the team to keep her around into the second season.
12:00That beautiful plate that Aunt Satimia took from that restaurant in Rome, it's gone.
12:07I don't know, Mom. She seems like a nice person.
12:10She doesn't fool me for a second.
12:12Marchand said shortly before her death in June 2000,
12:15If I die, it's not my problem. It's David Chase left holding the bag.
12:19Although Chase had big plans for Livia, Marchand's passing forced the series to give her a send-off in Season 3, using archival footage and CGI.
12:26I never stated those tickets were stolen, capiche?
12:29Now, Barb will testify I didn't say it, but you gotta back her up.
12:32I suppose I should have just kept my mouth shut, like a mute.
12:36Which TV actors do you miss the most? Let us know in the comments.
12:39You know as well as I, no treasure is worth as much as the good that can be done with it.
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