Who Died On The Set Of 'The Conners'? - Soap Dirt

Who died on the set of The Conners? With the season finale days from airing, and a fifth season teased, everyone’s curious about changes on the ABS sitcom. Here’s the update on the tragedies and deaths from the set.

Who Died on the Set of The Conners?

Crew member Terrel Richmond worked on both Roseanne and the sequel show, The Conners. He was a sound engineer and boom operator. He was up on a catwalk above the sound stage when tragedy struck.

Terrel Richmond died on the set of The Conners on March 18, 2021. The production company, Werner Entertainment, confirmed to Deadline that Richmond suffered “a fatal medical event”. He’d worked on the two series for over 25 years.

Paramedics were called to The Conners set but could not revive him. Terrel Richmond was pronounced dead at the scene on Stage 22. The next day, the show taped its season 3 finale and dedicated it to Mr. Richmond.

Who Else “Passed Away” from the ABC Show?

Richmond was the only on-set crew member’s death. However, there were actors and fictional characters that passed away.

The first casualty from the sitcom reboot was the namesake of the original show, Roseanne Barr.

She was canceled over tweets aimed at Obama aide Valerie Jarrett. Rosanne Barr said she was on Ambien at the time of her late night tweet.

After ABC pushed Roseanne Barr out, they changed the show title from Roseanne to The Conners. And they said that her title character died from an accidental overdose.

In the first episode of the name changed series, they find out three weeks after knee surgery that she had overdoesed on opioids. The family then finds out she was swapping pills with neighbors in secret.

How Did Mark Die on Roseanne?

That same season, they revealed an off-screen death of character Mark Healy (played by Glenn Quinn).

The character Mark was an original character on the original Roseanne show decades ago. Mark Healy’s character was the boyfriend (and later husband) of the character Becky Conner (played by Lecy Goranson).

According to TVline.com, Darlene Conner (Sara Gilbert) revealed his death on The Conners.  On the show, his death was attributed to a motorcycle accident.

Actor Glenn Quinn Passes Away

Glenn Quinn, the actor who played Mark Healy, passed away on December 3rd, 2002. According to his obituary on Legacy.com, he was 32.  This was five years after Roseanne had stopped filming, and 20 years before the reboot.

After Roseanne ended, Glenn continued his success on the popular WB show Angel. He played Allen Francis Doyle, a demon.

Quinn had struggled with substance abuse since his teenage years.  After his role on Angel ended, he went to Ireland to live with family and seek rehab.  He later returned to Los Angeles to resume his acting a career.

Reports indicate that Glenn Quinn died from an accidental heroin overdose. He was found dead at a friend’s house in North Hollywood.

Other Deaths from The Conners

In season 2 of The Conners, Dan Conner (John Goodman) finds out his father died. It’s another offscreen death as Dan reads about it in a newspaper obituary.

Ed Conner (Ned Beatty) appeared on the original series back in the late 80s and 90s. The character death reveal aired on February 18, 2020. According to the New York Times, Ned Beatty died in real life a year later on June 13, 2021, of natural causes.

A more recent character death on The Conners is Molly Tilden (Danielle Harris). She was also on the original series, Roseanne, as a family neighbor.

In the reboot, Molly has a fun outing with Darlene. Then, after a short two-episode return, she has a seizure that kills her as a result of brain cancer.

According to CinemaBlend.com, showrunner Bruce Helford said that Molly’s death was written in to highlight Darlene’s relationship with Ben. The passing away of Tilden was designed to push Darlene’s character to a new dimension.

Norm MacDonald Dies on the Conners

One more poignant death tied to the series is that of beloved comedian Norm McDonald.

According to the New Yorker, Norm MacDonald got his start writing for Roseanne – that’s where Lorne Michaels discovered him and cast him on Saturday Night Live.

When Norm passed after a long private battle with leukemia on September 14, 2021, The Conners dedicated their season 4 opener to him.

Now, there’s more to come from the ABC show, reportedly. Meanwhile, Season 4 is still airing. But word leaked of season 5 renewal already.

The actors playing Dan, Darlene, Jackie, and Becky all inked new deals. That’s a promising sign that The Conners will return for another run next year.

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