Lawrence Kutner (born Lawrence Choudhary),

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

''. He is played by

Kal Penn Kalpen Suresh Modi (born April 23, 1977), known professionally as Kal Penn, is an American actor, author, academic lecturer, and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration. As an actor, he is known for his role portrayin ...

. He becomes a member of

's new diagnostic team in "Games", the ninth episode of the fourth season. He dies from suicide in season 5, episode 20, "Simple Explanation"; he makes a further appearance as a hallucination in season eight.

Characterization

Kutner is shown to be open-minded about any new experience which is the reason he wants to join House's new team. He is originally #6 during the games, but is fired in his first appearance for reporting

Amber Volakis This page is a comprehensive list and description of the various characters who appear, from time to time, in the television series '' House''. The list is divided episode-wise, as well as character-wise, and includes recurring characters, such a ...

's recording of patient information. He continues to work even after being "fired" by House by flipping his #6 into a #9 and refusing to leave, and then coming up with a clever stress test for a patient's liver, using alcohol to intoxicate the patient, which impresses House enough to keep him on, much to Amber's dismay. Of all the new fellows, Kutner is the most enthusiastic and the one most likely to go along with House in taking risks, including illegal activities. When House is finally forced to pick his new team, Dr. Cuddy suggests he hire Kutner because Kutner "shares ouse'sphilosophy of medicine." He first gets approval from House after successfully reviving a patient with a

defibrillator Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a ''coun ...

while in a

hyperbaric chamber A diving chamber is a vessel for human occupation, which may have an entrance that can be sealed to hold an internal pressure significantly higher than ambient pressure, a pressurised gas system to control the internal pressure, and a supply of ...

, despite also setting her clothing on fire due to the high-oxygen atmosphere. Similarly, in " Mirror Mirror", he resuscitates a patient using a defibrillator while the patient's skin is wet, inadvertently shocking himself into unconsciousness at the same time. Defibrillators and Kutner become a

running joke A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...

for House, who, in " Ugly", appoints him the "professional defibrillist", a title of which Kutner seems rather proud. Kutner is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

fan and seems to be easily distracted by pretty women, having asked out Amber Volakis at the end of the contest. However, at the end of " Wilson's Heart", while other characters are shown to be visibly upset over Amber's death, he spends the night after her death eating cornflakes while watching television. He tends to share a great deal of trivial personal details with others (Taub mentions in "

Let Them Eat Cake "Let them eat cake" is the traditional translation of the French phrase "'", said to have been spoken in the 17th or 18th century by "a great princess" upon being told that the peasants had no bread. The French phrase mentions brioche, a bread e ...

" that he had informed the team of his subscription renewal to ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'').

Early life

Kutner was born in

Fremont, California Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...

to Karamchand and Niki Baidwan. He reveals that his biological parents ran a small store and he used to help them as a young child. They were killed in an incidence of armed robbery in their store. He further claims that he accepted their deaths after a period of agony, and therefore he is not overly anxious about death. It is not confirmed in the show whether his revelation about his parents and their death is true or if it is a lie he told others. He became a foster child for several years, where Julia and Richard Kutner adopted him.

Education

Kutner received a scholarship from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and graduated with a degree in Physics. He later joined

Sackler Faculty of Medicine Sackler Faculty of Medicine is a medical school affiliated with Tel Aviv University, located in Tel Aviv, Israel. History The Sackler School of Medicine was named for Arthur, Mortimer and Raymond Sackler, and was founded and named prior to the ...

, and then the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

Death

Kutner is found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his apartment by Thirteen and Foreman in "

Simple Explanation "Simple Explanation" is the 20th episode of the fifth season of ''House''. It first aired on April 6, 2009. Plot As Eddie Novack ( Meat Loaf) lies on his deathbed, his wife Charlotte is stricken with respiratory failure. The team takes Charlotte ...

". House's inability to diagnose Kutner's depression causes House to suspect foul play. The show's producers confirmed that his death was indeed a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

.Hinckley, David
"Actor Kal Penn's death as 'House' character Dr. Lawrence Kutner shocks fans"

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

, April 7, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-04-08. In "

Both Sides Now "Both Sides, Now" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. First recorded by Judy Collins, it appeared on the US singles chart during the fall of 1968. The next year it was included on Mitchell's album '' Clouds'', and became one ...

", Kutner appears briefly in one of House's hallucinations, along with

(who had previously died in Wilson's Heart). In " Everybody Dies", the series' final episode, Kutner once again appears in House's hallucinations.

Production

Actor

had accepted a job at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

as "a liaison connecting the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

with arts and entertainment groups, as well as with the

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

and

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

communities."CBC News
"Actor Kal Penn to join Obama administration"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

, April 7, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-04-08.

David Shore David Shore (born July 3, 1959) is a Canadian television writer. Shore worked on ''Family Law'', ''NYPD Blue'' and '' Due South'', also producing many episodes of the latter. He created the critically acclaimed series '' House'' and more recentl ...

, producer of the show, stressed the importance of the unknown reasons behind Kutner's suicide. He successfully intended it to become a mystery, due to his personality.

Reception

Kutner's death was criticized in ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...

'', with columnist Alan Sepinwall arguing that the death was pointless, and seemingly written only to create a "

Very Special Episode "Very special episode" is an advertising term originally used in American television promos to refer to an episode of a sitcom or drama series which deals with a difficult or controversial social issue. The usage of the term peaked in the 1980s. ...

" and/or to write Kutner out of the series so that Kal Penn could accept a job as the Principal Associate Director in the

White House Office of Public Engagement The White House Office of Public Engagement is a unit of the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Under the administration of President Barack Obama, it was called the White House Office of Public ...

. However, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' commended the show's handling of the death, believing that it was presented in a dramatically effective and realistic manner.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kutner, Lawrence Adoptee characters in television House (TV series) characters Fictional physicians Television characters introduced in 2007 Fictional suicides