David Strickland
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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) Oasis Motel, Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1996–1999 |
| Notable work(s) | Todd Stites in Suddenly Susan |
David Gordon Strickland, Jr. (October 14, 1969 – March 22, 1999) was an American television actor best known for playing the boyish rock music reporter Todd Stites in the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan before committing suicide on March 22, 1999.
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[edit] Life
Strickland was born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, and moved to Princeton, New Jersey with his family, before relocating to California. His earlier television roles before Suddenly Susan included Dave's World, Roseanne, Sister, Sister, and Mad About You. He had suffered from bipolar disorder and had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. He was arrested in October 1998 for the possession of cocaine, pleaded no contest in December and was sentenced to 36 months probation and ordered into rehabilitation. He was due in court on the day of his death for a progress report. 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.
[edit] Death
Strickland died during the morning hours of March 22, 1999. After checking in at the Oasis Motel at 1731 Las Vegas Boulevard South in Las Vegas, Strickland consumed several bottles of beer and later hanged himself with a bed sheet over the ceiling beam. His body was discovered by a hotel desk clerk.[1] He left no note, and evidence of drug usage was found in his room. The Clark County Coroner ruled Strickland's body bore the marks of a previous suicide attempt.
After much discussion, the writers of Suddenly Susan decided to deal with Strickland's death directly. In the show's third season finale, Todd simply did not show up to work one day. When Susan (Brooke Shields) called Todd regarding tickets to a show, his pager vibrated on his desk. She spent the day searching for Todd, finding out about a number of good deeds he did throughout his life that she had no idea about. The episode ends when the police visited Susan and her office staff as she asked hopefully if they know where Todd was. The exact details of Todd's fate were left ambiguous. The entire episode was interspersed with out-of-character interviews of Shields and the supporting cast including Judd Nelson, Kathy Griffin, Barbara Barrie, Nestor Carbonell, and Andrea Bendewald.
[edit] References
- ^ Gliatto, Tom (April 5, 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 2 May 2009.
