Another one of television's familiar faces has left the earthly plane this week, as Babylon 5 actor and radio personality Jerry Doyle passed away. He was 60 years old.
At this time, details surrounding the death of Jerry Doyle are few and far between, and the cause of death is unknown. According to TMZ, he was found unresponsive inside of his home in Las Vegas yesterday, but beyond that, not much is known. It appears as if no foul play is suspected, which is a good sign, and an autopsy will reportedly be performed to determine the reason.
Though he had a handful of early television roles on shows like Moonlighting and Homefront, Jerry Doyle was without a doubt most celebrated on the small screen for his performances as the security officer Michael Garibaldi on the sci-fi hit Babylon 5, created by J. Michael Straczynski. Doyle was on the show for all five seasons and appeared in every episode, not that he stayed the same throughout its run, since Garibaldi was put in danger quite a lot and later took on different duties outside of the security sector. And he may or may not have had alcohol on his breath at the time.
Outside of Babylon 5, Doyle's acting career was fairly limited, especially for a genre star. He took on roles in Sliders, Beverly Hills 90210 and NYPD Blue, to name a few, and his last appearance was on the Canadian caper comedy Republic of Doyle. (No relation.) His last feature role was in the 2004 musical Open House. And no one should forget that Doyle also took part in a McDonald's commercial as a cab driving dad.
Not that Doyle was only known for his adventures in entertainment, space-based or otherwise. His political beliefs soon took hold as he started appearing as a guest on shows such as Fox & Friends, and he soon became an extremely successful radio show host with The Jerry Doyle Show, one of the most popular talk radio broadcasts in the country. As well, he launched the news site and podcast network EpicTimes in 2013, which also became quite popular in the last few years. That's also where J. Michael Straczynski shared a touching and extremely genuine tribute to Doyle, though you can find more of them from his former co-stars and current friends on Twitter.
We here at Cinema Blend send our thoughts and condolences to the family and friends of Jerry Doyle in their time of mourning. If that Babylon 5 movie ever actually happens, it will be a little sadder now.
