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| David Strickland | |
| Born | David Gordon Strickland Jr. October 14, 1969 Glen Cove, Long Island, New York |
|---|---|
| Died | March 22, 1999 (aged 29) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Occupation | Actor |
David Gordon Strickland Jr. (October 14, 1969 – March 22, 1999) was an American actor, best known for his role as the boyish rock music reporter Todd Styles in the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan.
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Early life
Strickland was born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York. He moved to Princeton, New Jersey, with his family, before relocating to California.
Career
His earlier TV roles during the 1990s included Dave's World, Roseanne, Sister, Sister, and Mad About You. He also co-starred in the film Forces of Nature (starring Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock), which had just opened in U.S. cinemas at the time of his death. Strickland suffered from bipolar disorder[citation needed] and had a history of drug and
News reports of events leading up to his death suggest that he had chosen to stop taking the lithium he was prescribed to control his bipolar disorder.
Strickland checked in to the Oasis Motel in Las Vegas during the early hours of March 22, 1999. He consumed several bottles of beer and then hanged himself with a bed sheet over the ceiling beam. His body was discovered by a hotel desk clerk.[1] Strickland was 29 years old.
He left no note, and evidence of drugs was found in the room. The Clark County coroner's report stated that his body bore the marks of a previous suicide attempt. At the time of his death, he was romantically linked with actress Tiffani-Amber Thiessen.
After much discussion, the producers of Suddenly Susan decided to deal with Strickland's death rather simply. Todd simply did not show up to work one day. When Susan, played by Brooke Shields, called him regarding tickets to a show, his pager vibrated on his desk. Susan spends the day searching for Todd, finding out about a number of good deeds he did throughout his life that Susan had no idea about. As the episode comes to an end, the police visit Susan and the office staff as she asks hopefully if they know where Todd is. The exact details of Todd's fate are left ambiguous.
The entire episode was interspersed with out-of-character interviews of Shields as well as fellow Susan costars Judd Nelson, Kathy Griffin, Barbara Barrie, Nestor Carbonell and Andrea Bendewald.
References
- ^ Gliatto, Tom (April 05, 1999). "Dark Forces: Brooke Shields's TV Sitcom Costar David Strickland Takes His Own Troubled Life". People. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20127872,00.html. Retrieved on 2 May 2009.
External links
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