Most television series going for laughs or drama — or for realism — portray characters with scripted problems in scripted situations.
Sometimes those scripted lines blur into reality.
In the 75-year history of television, many actors have been involved in personal dramas that played out in public. Sometimes, more than one cast member from a given show gets into trouble … or worse. When that happens, a series earns the dreaded “Cursed” label for its cast’s run of bad luck, either while it’s airing or in the years to follow.
Here are four TV shows (and one honorary series) from different eras that are considered “cursed”:
7 Cory Monteith, Diana Agron and Mark Salling in the Season 4 Thanksgiving episode (2008). ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
Glee (2009-2015 on Fox)
Ryan Murphy’s feel-good scripted musical series experienced its share of tragedies with the deaths of three of its stars — Cory Monteith, Mark Salling and Naya Rivera — and some controversial on-set behavior from Lea Michelle.
Monteith, who played Finn Hudson for four seasons, admitted himself into a treatment facility for substance abuse in March 2013 and, on July 13, 2013, died in a Vancouver hotel room at the age of 31. His death was ruled an accidental overdose (heroin and alcohol).
Salling, who played Stuart “Puck” Puckerman, was accused of sexual battery in 2011 by an ex-girlfriend and counter-sued for defamation. He eventually settled out of court and agreed to pay his ex, Roxanne Gorzela, $2.7 million. Then, in December 2015, Salling was arrested at his Los Angeles home on suspicion of possessing child pornography. He was charged in May 2016, pleading guilty in September 2017. In January 2018, he died by suicide when he hanged himself near his home.
Rivera, who played plucky Santana Lopez — and dated Salling from 2008 to 2010 — was 33 on July 8, 2020, when she accidentally drowned in Lake Piru, a reservoir in the Los Padres National Forest in California. Her 4-year-old son, Josey, was found alone (and asleep) in her rented boat and told investigators his mother was not wearing a life jacket; Rivera’s body was discovered five days later. There was no evidence she had been intoxicated.
7 Lea Michelle and Naya Rivera as Rachel and Santana in “Glee,” Season 2 (2010). ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
Michele, 37, played female lead Rachel Berry and had been dating Monteith at the time of his death. In June 2020, onetime co-star Samantha Marie Ware accused Michele of bullying on the set during Season 6 of “Glee” — claims that were backed up by co-stars Heather Morris, Alex Newell, Amber Riley and Lindsay Pearce. Michele apologized and said her actions were “insensitive or inappropriate” and that she was “unnecessarily difficult” to the people with whom she worked. In 2022, she took over from Beanie Feldstein to star on Broadway in “Funny Girl” and played the lead role of Fanny Brice until the show closed in early September.
7 The cast of “Diff’rent Strokes” (from left): Todd Bridges, Conrad Bain, Dana Plato and Gary Coleman. ©Columbia Tristar/Courtesy Everett Collection
Diff’rent Strokes (1978-1985 on NBC; 1985-1986 on ABC)
The popular sitcom about two kids from Harlem (Todd Bridges, Gary Coleman) taken in by a wealthy businessman (Conrad Bain) and his daughter (Dana Plato) generated its share of tragedy following its cancellation after eight years on the air.
Bridges, who played Willis Jackson, began smoking pot while starring in the series and, in his 20s, descended into crack cocaine and meth addictions. In 1989, when he was 24, Bridges was arrested and charged with the attempted murder of a Los Angeles drug dealer — he was acquitted after it was proven he was not at the scene of the crime — and, in 1992, he was arrested by Burbank, California, police, who discovered methamphetamines and a loaded gun in his car. He was released on bail and stopped using drugs the following year. He wrote a tell-all memoir in 2008.
Plato, who was fired from “Diff’rent Strokes” in 1984 after giving birth to a son, Tyler, at the age of 20 — she also battled personal issues — was welcomed back in a recurring role. She found trouble finding work post-“Diff’rent Strokes” and, in 1989, posed for Playboy and subsequently appeared in a string of B-movies. Her troubles continued throughout the 1990s — she robbed a video store in 1991 and, the following year, forged a prescription for diazepam. In May 1999, she died in her Winnebago in Oklahoma (parked outside her fiancé’s mother’s house) after taking hydrocodone and a muscle relaxant. Her death, at the age of 34, was ruled a suicide due to her history of drug abuse — though some of her friends, including Bridges, disagreed.
Coleman, who suffered from kidney disease which stunted his growth, played diminutive Arnold Jackson who coined the catchphrase “Whatcha talking ’bout, Willis?!” In 1998 he was charged with assaulting a fan at a California mall and filed for bankruptcy in 1999. In 2009, Coleman underwent heart surgery at the age of 31. In May 2010, he fell down a flight of stairs at his home in Utah and hit his head, suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was taken to the hospital and appeared to be recovering, but his condition worsened and he was put on life support. He died on May 27, 2010, at the age of 42.
7 “Family Affair”: Cathy Garver (from left), Brian Keith, Sebastian Cabot, Johnny Whitaker and Anissa Jones. Courtesy Everett Collection
Family Affair (1966-1971 on CBS)
The sitcom followed genial bachelor Bill Davis (Brian Keith), tasked with caring for his brother’s orphaned children — 15-year-old Cissy (Kathy Garver) and 6-year-old-twins Buffy and Jody (Anissa Jones, Johnnie Whitaker) in his luxurious New York City apartment, where he was helped by his jovial, British Man Friday, Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot). “Family Affair” hummed along for five seasons (138 episodes) as viewers watched Buffy and Jody grow into tweens.
In 1976, Jones was found dead at age 18 in an upstairs bedroom of a friend’s home after a party in Oceanside, California. Her death was listed as an accidental overdose from cocaine, PCP, Quaaludes and Seconal. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.
Keith, who suffered from emphysema and lung cancer, died by suicide in 1997 at the age of 75 — two months after the suicide of his daughter, Daisy.
7 George Reeves in “Adventures of Superman.” He died a year after the show was canceled. Courtesy Everett Collection
Adventures of Superman (1952-1958 in syndication)
George Reeves, a moderately successful Hollywood actor (“Gone With the Wind”), starred in the titular role of a series aimed primarily at kids (about which he was reportedly none too pleased). The show proved popular — it was one of TV’s early syndicated hits — but was canceled in 1958 and did not make Reeves a rich man. His death is, to this day, shrouded in mystery: he died at the age of 45 from a gunshot wound to his head in the upstairs bedroom of his home in Benedict Canyon, sometime between 1:30 and 2:30 a.m. while there was a party going on downstairs. Details were murky and his death was ruled a suicide, which was disputed by many people, some of whom suspected his fiancée, Leonore Lemmon. Reeves’ life — and murky death — inspired the 2006 movie “Hollywoodland” starring Ben Affleck.
7 “Our Gang” (left to right): Mickey Gubitosi (Mickey), Billie Thomas (Buckwheat), William Laughlin (Froggy) and George McFarland (Spanky). Courtesy Everett Collection
Our Gang (“The Little Rascals,” 1922-1944)
To be sure, this series was not actually produced for television, but generations of fans know “The Little Rascals” only from watching the series on their local TV stations. The series of shorts, filmed over 22 years, featured a large cast of child actors, primarily Carl Switzer as the freckle-faced Alfalfa, George McFarland as Spanky, Matthew Beard as Stymie, Norman Chaney as Chubby, Darla Hood as Darla and Billie Thomas as Buckwheat.
(Mickey Gubitosi, later to morph into “Baretta” star Robert Blake — and acquitted of murdering his wife in 2001 — was also a cast member.)
Switzer, who was 12 when his time on “The Little Rascals” ended, bounced around Hollywood in the intervening years, appearing in small roles in movies and on television. He married and divorced; in 1958 he was shot in the arm while getting into his car outside a bar (the gunman was never caught) and, later that year, was arrested in Sequoia National Forest for illegally cutting down 15 pine trees and sentenced to one year’s probation.
In 1959, Switzer, who also trained dogs, was hired by friend Bud Stiltz to train his Treeing Walker Coonhound, who eventually went missing. The dog was located, but it caused friction between Switzer and Stiltz over money. When Switzer drove to Stiltz’s house for a confrontation, he was shot in the groin by Stiltz and died on the way to a hospital. He was 31. The shooting was determined to be self-defense.
7 Carl Switzer as Alfalfa in “The Little Rascals.” Courtesy Everett Collection
Tragedy also befell Norman Chaney (Chubby), who moved back to Baltimore after leaving “The Little Rascals.” He continued to gain weight and eventually reached 300 pounds despite a normal diet and regular exercise. It was discovered that he had a glandular condition and he underwent treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital, dropping down to less than 140 pounds. The rapid weight loss put stress on his body and he died from a heart ailment in 1936 at the age of 21. He was the first “Our Gang” alum to pass away.
Matthew Beard (Stymie) left “The Little Rascals” at the age of 10 and retired from acting when he entered high school. He descended into drug use, became addicted to heroin, lived on the streets for a while and was in and out of jail. He entered a drug rehab program in Los Angeles in the early 1960s and kicked his drug habit, then appeared in small roles on TV shows including “Sanford and Son,” “Maude” and “The Jeffersons.” He suffered a stroke and fell down a flight of stairs just before his 56th birthday and died of pneumonia in January 1981.
There were other tragic deaths, among them:
Robert Hutchins, who played Weezer, was in the Army Air Corps in 1945 when he died trying to land his plane during a training exercise. He was 19.
William Laughlin (the scratchy-voiced Froggy) was rear-ended and killed by a truck while delivering newspapers on his motor scooter. He was 16.
Scott Becket (Scotty) descended into alcohol and drug abuse, had two failed marriages, a history of violence and many run-ins with the law. In 1968, he checked into a Hollywood nursing home after getting beaten up and died two days later at the age of 38. A suicide note and a bottle of pills were found by his bedside, but his cause of death was never officially confirmed.