Additionally, Strickland, real-life boyfriend of Beverly Hills 90210 vixen Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, had recently stopped taking doctor-prescribed lithium to control his "wild" mood swings, according to the magazine. Your source for entertainment news, celebrities, celeb news, and ​celebrity gossip. 51,117, This story has been shared 46,740 times. It really was a very deceptive period … almost like the disease had gone into remission.”. Checkered off-screen life or no, crew members say he didn't bring his troubles to work. Strickland reportedly was also depressed that his Forces role had been significantly trimmed. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. “His mother says that much of David’s behavior was a detective story for her in terms of his life,” Sawyer told The Post. He had appeared for three years in Suddenly Susan, the Tuesday-night NBC sitcom starring tabloid-magnet Brooke Shields. Suddenly Susan was one of those great shows. 109,438, This story has been shared 51,117 times. For now, neither do Strickland’s costars. Dick and Strickland flew into Las Vegas together the next day, attending strip clubs and guzzling alcohol, reports say. 46,740, © 2020 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved In both his regular gig on NBC’s Suddenly Susan and his costarring role in DreamWorks’ Forces of Nature, David Strickland played sweet and off-centered but good-natured goofs. Strickland's death came as his first major movie role was being spotlighted in the Ben Affleck-Sandra Bullock comedy, Forces of Nature. Which is why his death in a seedy Las Vegas motel was such a shock, to both the public and his friends in Hollywood. TONIGHT’S “20/20” reveals the tragic secret behind the suicide of “Suddenly Susan” co-star David Strickland, who killed himself in a seedy Las Vegas motel room last March. (Dick was unreachable for comment. Strickland, 29, was remembered last week in a special Suddenly Susan tribute episode. ), Production on Susan has been shut down through at least March 26; a spokesman for Warner Bros., the show’s studio, says it’s unclear when filming will resume. “NewsRadio” star Andy Dick, who admitted to being with Strickland in his final hours, wasn’t interviewed for the piece. This story has been shared 109,438 times. ”I pray to God David’s pure heart is now at peace.”, With reporting by Tricia Johnson, Dan Snierson, and Karen Zekan. Dick's camp has long confirmed the Vegas trip, but has not commented on the nitty-gritty details (i.e., the two men "drank a lot and talked to all the girls and ran up a big tab") in the new magazine article. Strickland's death came just when his career was taking off, exactly the kind of conundrum that TV reporters couldn't fathom. He was best known for his role as the boyish rock music reporter Todd Stities in the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan. His social life appeared stable as well: He had recently begun dating former Beverly Hills 90210 star Tiffani-Amber Thiessen. Diane Sawyer reveals that Strickland was a manic-depressive who had attempted suicide in 1998 – and had gone off his Lithium medication before living his final days in a suicidal haze of booze, drugs and sex. "He was just nice and sweet and funny.". David Strickland found dead -- Suicide is suspected in the death of the ''Suddenly Susan'' star. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, Your California Privacy Rights In addition to the loss of Strickland, Susan also is suddenly Judd Nelson-less. “Suddenly Susan” stars Brooke Shields and Nestor Carbonell also speak out tonight for the first time about the events leading up to Strickland’s suicide. Jared and Ivanka threaten to sue Lincoln Project over Times Square ads, ‘Bachelorette’ star Hannah Brown shares nude pic taken during skinny dip, Busta Rhymes shocks fans with major body transformation, Female-focused co-working spot The Wing considering Chapter 11 bankruptcy, © 2020 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Hunter Biden venture eyed Cuomo, Schumer for deals: documents, KitchenAid cooking tools 40% off for Amazon flash sale, Saks Off 5th takes up to 60 percent off outerwear, accessories and more, Put your best foot forward on Zoom with this Logitech professional webcam, The best holiday gifts you can buy on Zulily right now, Coach gives away free card case for orders over $250, Adele shows off slimmed-down look in 'SNL' teaser. They’re speaking out because they want people to know that you’ve got to watch every moment of someone suffering from this disease,” Sawyer said. This story has been shared 109,438 times. Privacy Notice Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Checkered off-screen life or no, crew members say he didn't bring his troubles to work. The gumshoe quickly tracked down Strickland to the Vegas motel room. The season’s final two episodes are being rescripted, though the producers are not yet sure how they’ll deal with the actor’s death. “And unfortunately, it proved to be the calm before the storm. David Gordon Strickland, Jr. (October 14, 1969 – March 22, 1999) was an American actor. 10 funny mockumentaries to remind us about the absurdity of life, Family-friendly Halloween films for boos big and small. He seemed like he had a great perspective on things. 1 at the box office. And according to police, after checking in to the Oasis, the actor, a recovering alcoholic, purchased a six-pack of beer and drank it in his room. In a statement after Strickland's death, Dick said he knew Strickland for a "brief time" and "looked forward to a new friendship. The 29-year-old Suddenly Susan costar was found dead Monday from an apparent suicide. Andy Dick, now in rehab himself, was contacted by authorities to help ID the body, via a photograph. Why he was in Vegas is unclear, though there were reports that Strickland was in town with actor Andy Dick. ", But TV Guide says--in its June 5 issue--the brief relationship was intense. Set in the offices of a glossy San Francisco magazine, Strickland played Todd, its man-child of a music McConnell mum on mangled face and hands, Ex-flight attendant gets ridiculously light sentence after sex with 15-year-old, Mitch McConnell's weird purple hands may have an easy explanation, NFL stars join in as social media explodes over Daniel Jones trip. “There’s rarely a minute in any day that I don’t have [David] in my mind,” says Shields. In both his regular gig on NBC’s Suddenly Susan and his costarring role in DreamWorks’ Forces of Nature, David Strickland played sweet and off-centered but good-natured goofs.Which is … Strickland, 29, was remembered last week in a special Suddenly Susan tribute episode. © Copyright 2020 Meredith Corporation. Offers may be subject to change without notice. TONIGHT’S “20/20” reveals the tragic secret behind the suicide of “Suddenly Susan” co-star David Strickland, who killed himself in a seedy Las Vegas motel room last March. All rights reserved. Raised in Princeton, New Jersey, he never thought about an acting career until moving to the LA suburb of Pacific Palisades while in high school. David Strickland, Actor: Forces of Nature. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Check out the hottest fashion, photos, movies and TV shows! This is how actor David Strickland spent his final hours, new reports say. ". The New York Post says the NBC sitcom, renewed for a fourth season, is currently casting about for two new male characters--a twentysomething sports reporter and a middle-aged boss. But unfortunately he didn’t.”, Indeed, there were clues to Strickland’s unhappiness. Sitemap (DreamWorks has no comment.) Entertainment Television, LLC A Division of NBCUniversal. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! "He wasn't the cast member anybody worried about--the one who was late, or difficult, or who had problems and got special treatment," an unnamed director tells TV Guide. We've received your submission. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Says a source close to the actor: ”He was smart and funny and had a good head on his shoulders. Your Ad Choices Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Teen equestrian kills self near stable after mom tells her to ride slower, What's wrong with Mitch? On Susan, Strickland played Todd Stites, the nice-guy music critic. “I think they were all there for [Strickland] in every way they knew how. ”I am devastated by the loss of my best friend,” said Susan star Brooke Shields in a statement. Police ruled the death a suicide. But instead of being buoyed by the film's opening-weekend success, Strickland was "distraught" that his supporting role, as the ex-boyfriend of Affleck's fiancée, had been trimmed considerably, the report says. But after getting moved around in the schedule, it quickly fell out of the top five and moved down in the ratings. “I was really comforted by the fact that everything was going so well,” Carbonell says. “We’re calling to get a statement from him,” Sawyer said. On the Saturday before his death, Strickland, in the company of Dick and Hogan Family alum Jason Bateman, attended a Los Angeles dance club where witnesses told the magazine the actor had been "smoking crack, snorting cocaine and drinking large quantities of tequila and beer.". Your California Privacy Rights When it started in 1996, it became one of the top rated shows.