David Gordon Strickland, Jr. (October 14, 1969 – March 22, 1999) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the boyish rock music reporter Todd Stites in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

sitcom ''

Suddenly Susan ''Suddenly Susan'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from September 19, 1996, to December 26, 2000. The series was created by Clyde Phillips and starred Brooke Shields in her first regular series. Shields played Susan Keane, ...

''.

Life

David Gordon Strickland, Jr., was born on October 14, 1969, in

Glen Cove, Long Island, New York Glen Cove is a city in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island. At the 2020 United States Census, the city population was 28,365 as of the 2020 census. The city was considered part of the early 20th century ...

. His parents, David Gordon Sr. and Karen, both worked as executives. Strickland moved with his family to

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, and later to Los Angeles, where he became an actor. Strickland guest starred in the television series ''

Dave's World ''Dave's World'' is an American sitcom television series, created by Fred Barron, that aired on CBS from September 20, 1993, to June 20, 1997. The series is based on the writing of ''Miami Herald'' columnist Dave Barry. Plot The show focuses on ...

'', '' Roseanne'', ''

Mad About You ''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City. It initially aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 24, 1999, winning numerous awards including four Golden Glob ...

'', and '' Sister, Sister'', until he landed his role on ''

'' in 1996. In his personal life, Strickland suffered from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

and had a long and troubled history of drug and alcohol abuse. Five months before his death, Strickland was arrested for cocaine possession, pleaded no contest, and was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered into drug rehabilitation. He was due in court for a progress report on the day of his death. News reports of events leading up to Strickland's death suggest that he had chosen to stop taking the

lithium Lithium (from el, λίθος, lithos, lit=stone) is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid ...

he was prescribed to control his bipolar disorder.

Death

On March 20, 1999, Strickland and comedian

Andy Dick Andrew Roane Dick (born Andrew Thomlinson; December 21, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, musician, and television and film producer. Known professionally as a comic, his first regular television role was on the short-lived but influential ...

flew from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and spent three days partying in strip clubs. After checking into a motel, Strickland spent time with a sex worker, consumed six bottles of beer, and then hanged himself with a bed sheet over the ceiling beam. He died during the morning hours of March 22, 1999, at the age of 29. His body was discovered by a private investigator hired by his friend and co-star Brooke Shields when Strickland missed his appearance in Los Angeles Municipal Court for cocaine possession. Evidence of drug use was found in his room. The Clark County Coroner concluded that Strickland's body bore the marks of a previous suicide attempt. After much discussion, the writers of ''Suddenly Susan'' decided to deal with Strickland's death directly by killing off his character, Todd Stites. In the show's third season finale, Todd fails to appear at work one day. When Susan calls Todd regarding tickets to a show, his pager vibrates on his desk. After learning for the first time about a number of good deeds he had done throughout his life, Susan spends the day searching for Todd. The episode ends when the police call Jack's phone, and Susan and her coworkers are gathered in a prayer circle, and the details of Todd's fate are left ambiguous. The episode is interspersed with out-of-character interviews with Shields and the show's supporting cast.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strickland, David 1969 births 1999 suicides Male actors from New Jersey Male actors from New York (state) American male film actors American male television actors People from Glen Cove, New York People with bipolar disorder Suicides by hanging in Nevada 20th-century American male actors People from Princeton, New Jersey 1999 deaths