The 13 Glee cast members who have died as Ryan Murphy issues reboot update
It’s hard to believe that the first-ever episode of Glee aired on May 19, 2009, and 17 years later, creator Ryan Murphy has plans to revive his uber-successful singing show.
But sadly, if you were to cast the original actors back once again, you’d find that out of all who appeared in any one of its 121 episodes, 13 actors couldn’t come back due to having passed away.
Because of just how many stars have died after appearing in the show, there became a fan-theory known as the ‘Glee curse’.
There, people believed that celebrities were being sacrificed for the success of the show.
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As for where the show stands currently, "Well, funny you ask, because I just finished the script an hour ago," he told Entertainment Tonight. "So, we have a script. Brad [Falchuk], Ian [Brennan] and I, who wrote all the first two seasons, have written something."
"I've been in touch with around 10 of the original cast members. It's very sweet, and they all had a lot of questions, but they all were very enthusiastic about the idea," added Murphy
But sadly you won't see many characters who made the show what it was. They include the likes of:
Robin Trocki
You might remember Robin Trocki from the hit singing show, who played Jean Sylvester, Sue Sylvester’s sister with Down syndrome.
She was a special character who showed Sue could be human, and provided a much-needed dose of real life among the show.
Trocki died at the age of 63 after complications with Alzheimer’s in 2019.
Olivia Newton-John
If you missed this feature starring Grease’s Olivia Newton-John, then you need to go back a give it a watch.
That’s because she played herself in two episodes, where she was Sue's nemesis.
However, a few years later, she died following a battle with cancer in 2022 at age 73.
Michael Lerner
Rachel Berry’s Empire State of mind wouldn’t have been possible had not Lerner’s character, Funny Girl’s Broadway producer, Sidney Greene, allowed the hopeful actress to shine.
Lerner played the character for five episodes in total, and later passed away on April 8, 2023, at the age of 81.
Jane Galloway Heitz
Jane Galloway Heitz played a staple on the hit show; however, you wouldn't have seen her acting chops in the series.
Instead, you’ll know her from her portrait on the Glee club’s wall, as she was cast as the founder of Glee Club, Lillian Adler.
Heitz died in 2019 at the age of 78.
Barbara Tarbuck
Glee featured many small parts that stole the scene away from mainstays in the cast, and Tarbuck’s Nancy Bletheim, was a great example.
She played the angry geometry teacher who constantly had her lesson interrupted in The Purple Piano Project episode. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actress passed away in 2016 from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Phyllis Applegate
Applegate’s Birdie Lawrence character appeared in season four, episode ‘Makeover’, which saw her cast as a member of the Show Choir Rules Committee.
Sadly, she passed in January 13, 2023, at the age of 92.
Patty Duke
Another member of season four was Duke, who featured in the ‘All or Nothing’ episode, playing one-half of a lesbian pairing named Jan.
There, she helps Blaine Anderson pick out a ring for Kurt Hummel.
According to online reports, she died in 2016 at the age of 69.
Jean Sincere
There’s no such thing as a happy librarian, and Jean Sincere proved that.
In the hit show, Sincere played the angry librarian and passed away on April 3, 2013, from natural causes, per her obituary.
Tim Conway
One of the episodes in season five that focused on Kurt, saw him stage a production of Peter Pan...where he obviously played Pan.
However, comedian Conway played Marty Rogers, a member of the retirement community Kurt was performing for.
Per reports, He died in 2019 at the age of 85 due to complications of normal pressure hydrocephalus.
Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf, aka Michael Lee Aday, was a fantastic surprise on the show, and his role was pretty iconic.
That’s because he was cast as the manager of a local news station who wanted the Glee club’s rendition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show to be stopped.
Which is funny, because he was in the original flick with Tim Curry.
Sadly, Meat Loaf passed away in January 2022, at the age of 74, but no cause of death was released.
Mark Salling
Salling played Noah Puckerman on the show and was part of the main cast until he was arrested in 2015 on charges of possessing child pornography.
He died by suicide in 2018 while awaiting his sentence.
Naya Rivera
Rivera’s death caused shockwaves in 2020, as she tragically died after going missing from a boat on Lake Piru in California whilst swimming with her four-year-old son, Josey.
It’s believed Rivera used what was left of her strength to save her son before failing to resurface.
The 33-year-old's body was recovered several days later after members of the cast gathered at the site of her drowning.
It also came on the anniversary of co-star, Cory Monteith’s death.
She’ll forever be Santana Lopez to fans.
Cory Monteith
Cory Monteith played quarterback Finn Hudson, who was blackmailed into the club by the Glee teacher, Mr Schuester.
He was dating Lea Michele at the time of his death, who played Berry.
Monteith died at the age of 31 in 2013 from a heroin and alcohol overdose.
Topics: Disney, Ryan Murphy, Film and TV
Britt Jones