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This is a trope, as the event affects the narrative. Contrast [[Author Existence Failure]] which stops the narrative cold. However, outside of the narrative, it may prompt an episode or credits nod [[In Memoriam]].
{{deathtrope}}
{{examples}}
▲== Film (Animated) ==
* Doc Hudson is the only character from the film ''[[Cars]]'' that did not appear in the film's sequel out of respect for the late Paul Newman. According to the writers of the film, Doc is the first character in the series to be killed off permanently as implied by the fact that his former medical clinic has been converted into a memorial museum dedicated to this character, as with the trophy Lightning McQueen won at the very beginning of this film. Fillmore however, was [[The Other Darrin|given a new voice actor]] for this film due to the death of [[George Carlin]], and Red actually lost his voice altogether due to the death of [[Pixar Regulars|Joe Ranft]].
* Due to the death of actress Madge Sinclair, Sarabi is the only character that survived the events of ''[[The Lion King]]'' who did not appear in the sequel.
* ''[[Indiana Jones]]'': Marcus Brody, played by Denholm Elliott.
* Sam Loomis dies offscreen at the end of the sixth ''[[Halloween (film)|Halloween]]'' movie due to Donald Pleasence's death.
* Colonel Sam Trautman from the ''[[Rambo]]'' series died off screen in the fourth movie because the director felt it wouldn't feel right replacing the late Richard Crenna.
* Cab Calloway and John Belushi both died (in 1994 and 1982, respectively), and their characters of Curtis and Jake Blues are said to have died offscreen in ''[[The Blues Brothers|Blues Brothers 2000]]''.
* [[Heath Ledger]] died during the filming of ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]''. Because Ledger had already filmed all scenes set in the real world, the script was rewritten such that Ledger's character changed appearance inside the titular "imaginarium" and was played by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell.
* Ledger's death also put the kibosh on plans to include the Joker in the last installment(s) of ''[[The Dark Knight Saga]]'' (it wasn't clear at the time that there would be just three), as he played the character so iconically that neither [[Christopher Nolan]] nor the suits could justify bringing someone else in to replace him.
* Oliver Reed's character, Proximo, was meant to survive the entire ''[[Gladiator (film)|Gladiator]]'' movie, but due to the actor's death during filming the character was killed off. Even so it cost the studio $3 million to recreate his face for the remaining scenes he "appeared" in.
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* ''[[8 Simple Rules]]''' Paul Hennessy, played by John Ritter. Ritter suffered an apparent heart attack while on the set of the show rehearsing, and was rushed across the street to the hospital. Turned out he suffered an aortic dissection, and he died. The character was [[Killed Off for Real]]; no official reason given, he "collapsed while buying milk."
** Also, Ritter's character on ''[[Scrubs]]'', Sam Dorian, main character J.D.'s father. The reason given for his death was a massive heart attack.
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* ''[[Suddenly Susan]]'': Todd Styles, played by David Strickland (the final episode of series 3 was turned into a tribute to the character (and actor)).
* ''[[Cheers]]'': Ernie "Coach" Pantusso, played by Nicholas Colasanto. He was [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute|replaced]] by Woody.
* Widely (and erroneously) perceived to be the case for British Sitcom ''[[Father Ted]]'', and thus the reason for its cancellation. In actual fact, the actor's death happened to coincide with the planned ending of the show.
* Stanley Kamel played Dr. Kroeger on ''[[Monk]]''. When he died in real life, he was killed off in the show.
* Livia Soprano on ''[[The Sopranos]]'', who was [[Killed Off for Real]] after actress Nancy Marchand's death.
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** As a dedication to the actor, the 10th Doctor in his final episode gives Donna's mother a lottery ticket bought with a quid the Doctor obtained by going back in time offscreen to borrow from "a really lovely man. Geoffrey Noble, his name was."
** Also Harry Sullivan, brief companion with the fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, when Sarah Jane mentions some of the Doctor's old companions' present exploits in ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures|Death of the Doctor]]''. It isn't spelled out, but he is mentioned in the past tense while the rest of them are mentioned in the present. Averted with Barbara in the same speech, who is apparently alive and well in Cambridge even though Jacqueline Hill died in 1993.
** Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, as stated in "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S32
** Oddly enough, ''inverted'' by The Master. Before Roger Delgado's untimely death in a car accident, there were plans to have his character [[Killed Off for Real]] in a final showdown with the Doctor. He later reappeared as a withered husk (later acknowledged as the same incarnation) played by Peter Pratt and then Geoffrey Beevors, before taking over the body of the Keeper of Traken, played by Anthony Ainley, who would portray him for the remainder of the original series' run.
* In ''[[Last of the Summer Wine]]'', when Bill Owen died the character of Compo also passed away, allowing for a funeral arc (and more than a little grieving for the country as a whole).
** Happened with most of the other characters as well. It would never be stated that they had died, but everyone else would start referring to them in the past tense.
* ''Gimme a Break'': After Dolph Sweet (Chief Kanisky) died of cancer, the season five opener had the family dealing with the Chief's sudden death.
* Redd Foxx died after only seven episodes of ''The Royal Family'', resulting in Al Royal's death and the introduction of their eldest daughter Coco (Jackée Harry) to help cope with the loss.
* ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'': When Lennard Pierce died, they decided to kill off his character, Grandad (off-screen, of course). Thus the first episode made after Pierce's death begins with Grandad's funeral.
** The same happened with Uncle Albert after the death of Buster Merryfield. Although Albert died ''during'' the episode, with the first scene explaining that he hadn't joined them in the Carribean because it had turned out the great sailor didn't have a passport.
** Kenneth MacDonald, who played the [[My Local|Nag's Head]] landlord, Mike, had also died prior to "If They Could See Us Now". Rather than killing Mike, he was said to be in prison, having lost all his money in one of Del's schemes, and been forced to embezzle from the brewery. (MacDonald had put in his will that he didn't want Mike to die.)
* The title character of ''[[Taggart]]''.
* While ''[[Law
* From ''[[The Wire]]'', Detective Ray Cole was played by beloved producer Robert F. Colesbury, who passed away during the show's run. The character gets a meaningful funeral, which takes on a whole new level of depth when you know the [[Reality Subtext]].
** The same thing was done after the death of Richard DeAngelis, who played Major Foerster.
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** After her death, Dewhurst's character on ''[[Murphy Brown]]'', Avery Brown, mother of Murphy, dies. It occured early in the season where Murphy becomes pregnant. Murphy's son was named Avery in her memory.
* A rare double case occurred on the series ''[[15/Love]]'', where two main characters were killed off in one heartbreaking episode because of the (very) young actors' deaths in the same car accident.
*
** The producers knew Florence Halop would not be around for Season 4; the ep "Flo's Retirement" was their way of prepping viewers for this.
* In [[Soap Opera|a soap opera]] this is one of the only occasions when you know a character is
* Speaking of soap operas, ''[[Coronation Street]]'' actress Betty Driver has died aged 91, so her character [[The Danza|Betty Williams]] will now be killed off as well.
** This has happened several times in ''Coronation Street'': Jack Walker, Jerry Booth, Albert Tatlock, Stan Ogden, Bert Tilsley, Blanche Hunt. Elsie Tanner and Christine Hardman were both mentioned as having died several years after they left the show and Annie Walker is talked about in the past tense.
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** One documentary said that the cast said that the "Mr. Hooper's not coming back" scene was the only scene in ''Sesame Street'' history done in a single take because the cast just couldn't do it again.
* ''Love and War'': John Hancock, who played bartender Ike Johnson, died halfway through the first season. The other characters are shown attending Ike's funeral. Ike was replaced by his brother Abe, played by Charlie Robinson, who inherited Ike's share of the bar.
* Joan, the first wife/biological mom of the kids in ''[[Eight Is Enough]]''. Her actress was only in four episodes before she fell ill. Joan was written out of the rest of the season and the actress died twelve days after the first episode aired. When season two aired, it was revealed that Joan had died.
* ''[[Highlander the Series]]'': Werner Stocker, the German actor who played the monk Darius, died of cancer. This resulted in Darius being murdered. The episode dealing with Darius' murder was filmed after his death, but used some of the footage of the character that the studio had available spliced in.
* Unlike ''[[All in The Family]]'', on the original British show ''Till Death Do Us Part'' the demise of the protagonist's wife Elsie - when it transformed into ''In Sickness And In Health'' - was due to the genuine demise of actress Dandy Nicholls.
* When long-running soap ''[[As the World Turns]]'' was canceled in 2010, writers had planned to have the show's matriarch, Nancy
* ''[[Rentaghost]]'': Michael Darbyshire, who played Hubert Davenport, died between seasons. Davenport (and Mumford, whose actor did not want to continue in the show with Darbyshire) were written out by having them score permanent jobs haunting a stately home.
* When Norman Beaton died, the show ''[[Desmonds]]'' was replaced by a [[Spin-Off]] about secondary character Porkpie. The first episode begins with him consoling Desmond's widow.
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* South African [[Prime Time Soap]] Isidingo retired character Leonie Haines after her actress [[Wikipedia:Ashley Callie|Ashley Callie]] died from injuries sustained in a car accident at age 31. This became (even more of) a real life [[Tear Jerker]] when she won the Best Actress Mzanzi Star Award just two weeks after her death.
== [[Music]] ==
* The heavy metal band GWAR retired the character Flattus Maximus after his most recent portrayer, Cory Smoot, was found dead.
== [[Radio]] ==▼
* This has happened numerous times on ''[[The Archers]]'', as it is such a [[Long Runner]] that actors are often in it for long enough to become elderly. Usually the death is offstage, but relatively soon after the actor's own death; a notable exception was Nelson Gabriel's death, which occurred after the character had been a tax exile for some time, still talked about by the other characters but not appearing. (Similar to the [[Ballykissangel]] example under TV; the BBC clearly likes this trope.)▼
▲== Radio ==
▲* This has happened numerous times on [[The Archers]], as it is such a [[Long Runner]] that actors are often in it for long enough to become elderly. Usually the death is offstage, but relatively soon after the actor's own death; a notable exception was Nelson Gabriel's death, which occurred after the character had been a tax exile for some time, still talked about by the other characters but not appearing. (Similar to the [[Ballykissangel]] example under TV; the BBC clearly likes this trope.)
== [[Video Games]] ==
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* Following the death of voice actor [[Takeshi Aono]], [[Hideo Kojima]] [https://twitter.com/#!/sdatcher/status/189744782438969345 said] that Col. Roy Campbell wouldn't appear in any future ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' games out of respect for Aono.
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
* On ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', Phil Hartman's characters were effectively retired after his
▲== Western Animation ==
▲* On ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Phil Hartman's characters were effectively retired after his death, only appearing as [[The Voiceless|background characters]]. After Doris Grau's death in 1995, Lunchlady Doris also became a mute background character, until 2006 when she returned, voiced by Tress MacNeille.
** Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz both continue to appear regularly in [[Simpsons Comics|the comics]], since a voice actor is not necessary.
** Presumably happened to Edna Krabappel after Marcia Wallace died in 2013, due to pneumonia-related breast cancer. In the episode "Holidays of Future Past", Ned claims Edna's death was Homer's fault, but that episode is considered non-canon, and thus the cause of Edna's death has not yet been determined nor revealed.
* Although he actually survived the events of ''[[Transformers: The Movie]]'', the character of Jazz was dropped from the third season of ''[[The Transformers (animation)|The Transformers]]'' due to the death of actor Scatman Crothers.
* The ''[[As Told by Ginger]]'' episode "No Hope for Courtney
* ''[[Family Guy]]'' had two of these:
** Happened to Peter's boss Angela from the Pawtucket Brewery. When her voice actor [[Carrie Fisher]] passed away, Angela died offscreen, drowning after getting a cramp while swimming. Peter's touching eulogy at Angela's funeral seemed to have been a [[Homage]] to Fisher herself; unfortunately, it seems he got lost and made it at the wrong funeral.
** Mayor Adam West was a caricature of the real Adam West, playing the role himself as an [[Ink Suit Actor]]. When West passed away, his character died offscreen via unstated means; five pre-recorded episodes featuring the character still aired, after which, "Adam West High" was produced [[In Memoriam]].
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Death Tropes]]
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[[Category:Characters and Casting]]
[[Category:The Character Died with Him]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Character Died with Him, The}}
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