Every Scrubs actor who has died as reboot confirmed after 15 years

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Every Scrubs actor who has died as reboot confirmed after 15 years

The show is returning after 15 years, however some actors involved in the show have tragically died

After 15 years, Scrubs is officially coming back for another season of TV.

The hit TV show ran for nine years, ending with a critically panned final season in 2010, in which much of the main cast left at the end of the season prior.

Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, and Donald Faison have all been confirmed to return with Bill Lawrence having previously hinted as to how long the reboot show could potentially go on for.

Scrubs fans will still be hopeful that several of the most important names on the show are still set to return for the reboot, with Variety promising that more are likely to come back for the reboot.

Sadly however a few key characters will not be returning because the actors who played them have since passed away.

Sam Lloyd – Ted Buckland

Sam Lloyd died of cancer (NBC)
Sam Lloyd died of cancer (NBC)

Sam Lloyd is undeniably the biggest part of the show that will not be returning as he played the beloved character of Ted.

Ted was the Sacred Heart hospital’s lawyer who was frequently abused by Dr Kelso, the hospital’s Chief of Medicine.

Lloyd was an integral part of the show, appearing in 95 episodes, roughly half of the show’s 182 episode run. He announced his health issues publicly when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2019, passing away in April of 2020.

The actor was just 56 when he died.

Zach Braff paid tribute to the actor on Twitter, calling him one of the funniest actors he ever worked with.

He went on to say: “Sam Lloyd made me crack up and break character every single time we did a scene together. He could not have been a kinder man. I will forever cherish the time I had with you, Sammy.”

John Ritter – Sam Dorian

Ritter's death was incorporated into the show (NBC)
Ritter's death was incorporated into the show (NBC)

Ritter played JD’s Dad Sam in the show with whom the main character had a tumultuous relationship.

His character passed away following Ritter’s real-life death leading to the season four episode My Cake revolving around it. This saw JD’s brother Dan show up at his door with a cake, a sign of bad news in their family, and tell him their Dad was dead.

Ritter died in 2003 of Aortic Dissection with his family suing the doctors involved and the hospital. The suits were settled out of court for a total of £14 million.

Braff described the famous comedy actor as his ‘comic hero’ and recalled how he had convinced Bill Lawrence to try and cast him as his father in the show.

Matthew Perry and other actors who played small roles on the show

Perry appeared in one episode of Scrubs (NBC)
Perry appeared in one episode of Scrubs (NBC)

Friend star Matthew Perry was a number of comedy icons to appear on the show, starring for one episode as a man who is tracked down when his father needs a kidney transplant.

The actor died of a Ketamine overdose following a relapse, leading to a trial involving several of those who supplied him with the drug.

Lee Thompson Young is another actor who starred on Scrubs and has since passed away. The actor played a young intern in the later seasons of the show, being the character with the fewest episodes to perform the voice over for an episode.

He committed suicide in 2013.

Featured Image Credit: NBC

Topics: Zach Braff, Matthew Perry