Isaac Hayes was the iconic voice of Chef on Comedy Central’s animated classic, South Park, for years. The show is famous for holding nothing sacred and manages to offend a lot of people in the process. On one occasion, the creators went too far, according to Hayes, and the actor got so offended that he decided to quit the show.
He did not approve of the way the show poked fun at the religion of Scientology. It seems like Hayes and South Park’s creators did not have an amicable parting because his character was killed off in an extremely gruesome way.
Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros, Lost
Hawaii is a magical place, with sea and sun and little drinks with umbrellas in them. It’s easy to start thinking you are on vacation and not focus on your acting work. During the shooting of Lost, Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros did too much partying and both received DUIs.
The creators and producers of Lost were mortified by the bad publicity and decided the actresses were too big of a liability. Soon after, both their characters, police officer Ana Lucia Cortez and Libby Smith, met their untimely end on the show.
Dominic Monaghan, Lost
Dominic Monaghan played the role of the complex character, Charlie Pace, on the series Lost. Charlie died a hero’s death, choosing to sacrifice himself for the other survivors on the island at the end of season 3. Charlie may have died for a reason, but the reasoning behind the decision may have not been as inspiring.
Monaghan did not get along with fellow castmate Matthew Fox and openly shared his opinions about the direction he believed his character should go. The actor has stated that he was relieved to hear about his character’s death, because he was unhappy playing a small role in a large cast.
Jay Thomas, Cheers
Jay Thomas played hockey star Eddie Lebec on legendary sitcom Cheers from 1982 to 1993. Eddie was an actor but also worked as a morning DJ for KPWR-Power 106 in Los Angeles. One day he was questioned about his role on Cheers while on the air and he replied with a complaint about having to kiss fellow cast member Rhea Perlman, who played his wife Carla Tortelli.
Allegedly, Perlman heard what he said on the radio and Eddie Lebec never entered the Cheers bar again. Turns out that he died on the ice in some kind of freak Zamboni accident. Guess that’s what happens when you disrespect your wife.
Mandy Patinkin, Criminal Minds
Veteran actor Mandy Patinkin played Special Agent Jason Gideon in the successful CBS crime drama, Criminal Minds. The actor was with the show from the very beginning, but he was killed off after only two seasons for a couple of reasons. He talked about his feelings with New York Magazine, saying: “I thought [Criminal Minds] was different. I never thought they were going to kill and rape all these women every night, every day, week after week, year after year. It was very destructive to my soul and my personality.”
His unhappiness affected his work and he began missing shoots, so the producers decided to kill him off, which worked out well for everyone.