10 Actors Who Made TV Shows When They Knew They Were Dying

These actors gave it their all until the very end. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at actors who worked on TV shows, knowing they had illnesses that turned fatal. Our countdown of actors who made TV shows when they knew they were dying includes Christopher Evan Welch, Helen McCrory, Patrick Swayze, and more! Which TV actors do you miss the most? Let us know in the comments.

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#TV
#Actor
#Acting
#Celebrity
#Celeb
#Dying
#Death
#Tragedy

[WatchMojo]

Which TV actors do you miss the most? Let us know in the comments.

[amandabeaty]

Jerry Orbach. He played one of the greatest tv detectives of all time for 12 seasons on Law & Order. Lenny Brisco left the 27th prescient for part time work with the DAs office. He was in two episodes of Trial by Jury before dying of cancer.

[jtshark]

Night Court in the 80s had two co-stars who died from cancer and they knew they had while filming. Selma Diamond and Florance Halop. Hill Street Blues had MIchael Conrad

[maxmazzotti]

Don't Forget Andy Whitfield of Spartacus, he fought hard to fight cancer and before he passed, he allowed the creators to recast his role

[markbayer]

Ted Knight was fighting cancer while making Too Close for Comfort, which ended abruptly. In fact, he was dealing with it while filming Caddyshack.😊

[frankieseward]

Don't forget Jack Soo from Barney Miller. Had cancer but still worked til his passing.

[trinaq]

Rest in Peace to all of these celebrities, who continued working on their respective projects, despite their declining health.

[leoprince]

Michelle Thomas on Family Matters. She was battling cancer that whole last season. She kind of knew she wasn't gonna make it. It was a good thing the show ended that season because it gave her a chance to finish the show knowing she was very ill and she would sadly pass away a few months after the last episode.

[ImmaculateKahnception]

Madeline Kahn died while filming the series Cosby. They dedicated a whole episode to her in season 4 after her passing, where the rest of the cast sat around and talked about what it was like to work with her, as well as showing “best of Madeline” clips from previous episodes.

[Jeremiah_Rivers]

_Cheers_ wasn’t the same after Nicholas Colosanto’s death, and I miss his performance as Ernie “Coach” Pantuso.

[marystaggs]

Phil Hartman. He was one of my favorite actors and the way he died was so horrible. I miss him alot.

[shaliseshaw]

Ron Cephus Jones, Andy Whitfield, Jerry Orbach, Jack Soo, Chadwick Boseman, Jim Davis, and other actors who died should've been on the list. 📺📺📺📺📺📺📺📺

[Jamal-blyh]

Charlie Murphy Black Jesus (2014-2019) The Chappelle's Show (2003-2006) Actor was battling Lukiemia for the latter half of his life while being Involved with Projects like The Boondocks (2005-2014) his last role was In Starz Crime Epic Series Power (2016-2021) he died of the deadly Disease In 2018 RIP

[RichLegnini]

You missed Michael Conrad from Hill Street Blues ("Let's be Careful Out There").

[jhcali]

Kathryn Joosten was fantastic on the West Wing. Never saw Desperate Housewives. Glad to hear she had such a great role!

[postalsaint]

Jim Davis who played Jock Ewing, J.R.'s father on Dallas. Knew he was dying of cancer. His character was killed off on the show.

[TheLanard]

Zara Cully who played “Mother Jefferson” on The Jeffersons worked on the show until her death. You could see she was ill during her last episode on the show. She hung in there like the trooper she was.

[Christeenia]

Ok, so you need to do a part 2 please! Where is Chadwick Boseman, Charlie Murphy and the others that others mention???

[SSpooner]

How do you make this list and not include John Spencer as Leo McGarry on the West Wing!?

[mgmvtnq]

Robert Urich, probably best known for starring on VEGA$, later had a supporting role on the sitcom Emeril (does anyone remember when network TV gave Emeril Legasse the chance to act?), even though he'd been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that ultimately killed him.