JMS speaks out on Michael O'Hare

[Jan]

Reposting my report on JMS' special panel at Phoenix Comicon and adding a link to a report that has audio of the part pertaining to Michael. This is powerful and moving.

I'm lucky enough to be at the big Babylon 5 20th anniversary celebration at the Phoenix Comicon this weekend. One of the many B5 related panels was a special one that JMS requested and asked all the fans to attend. He didn't say why, but said we would be helping him keep a many years promise.

The first part of the panel was...stupid. A mod who wasn't a fan asked JMS a few generic questions and then let fans ask questions (that wasn't stupid, just the first guy) for a while.

For the second half of the panel, JMS shooed to 'moderator' off and talked about Rick Biggs, Andreas Katsulas, Jeff Conaway and Michael O'Hare. It was a true tribute to their courage and grace in ways that inspired him. Rick's love of life, Jeff's courage at beginning his career again with B5 and Andreas' courage and grace at facing terminal cancer. Then he told us about Michael O'Hare.

Toward the last third of season one, both JMS and Michael realized that Michael had a problem of increasingly delusional episodes, typified by paranoia. This can be helped with medication but that takes time and there really wasn't time while the show was shooting. JMS was even willing to shut down production for Michael to be able to get the help he needed but Michael didn't want to be responsible for the show shutting down and asked JMS to let him try to complete shooting. JMS did, and admired Michael was he struggled every day.

After shooting was done, they all knew that Michael couldn't carry on so JMS let him know that when the time came, Michael could come back to complete Sinclair's arc. Thanks to friends, JMS knew when Michael was able to come back and perform in "War Without End". Afterward, JMS promised Michael that he'd 'keep the secret to his grave' but Michael asked him to keep the secret to *his* (Michael's) grave instead. And so...JMS told the story of Michael's struggle today. And he told us how there were times when the fans really helped Michael keep. going.

JMS' admiration for the courage that each man showed was obviously deeply felt and sincere and the entire room (which was full to capacity) gave him a standing ovation and thanked him for what he'd said. It was an amazing experience and, I think an important moment in B5 history.

Here's another report with audio of the part where JMS talks about Michael:
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollyw...Promise-To-Late-Star-At-Phoenix-ComiCon-Panel

Jan

 

[Sinclair]

Thanks for sharing that. It's nice finally having some more insight as to what exactly happened.

 

[Demonn]

I always wondered why I didn't see him in other stuff...

 

[Jan]

Just posted this link on the new thread by accident. This video doesn't have a great view of JMS at all but it's probably got the best audio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yjOsaa7XL4

For those interested in audio only of the entire panel, there's this. The part where JMS pays tribute to 'absent friends' starts about the 26:30 point:
https://soundcloud.com/janmschroeder/pcc-promise-panel

Jan

 

[Republibot 3.0]

I just found out about this today. I'm staggered.

Like the rest of you, I've heard all the stories about him being an out-of-control drug addict, and I've heard Jerry Doyle talk about his inappropriate behavior on the set. I heard JMS say variations on 'It was a mutual decision,' which, like pretty much everyone else, I just assumed was a politely noncomittal thing to say.

Over the years I made some efforts to find out what became of him.

There was an interview in Starlog, I think, a couple years after he left B5. He'd adopted a son, and there were pictures of the two of them together on the rocket jets at Disneyworld. He was really fat when he returned to B5, which I assumed was trading a drug addiciton for a food one. Not uncommon. Now I know it was the meds. He did a radio play or two after leaving. He did some cons initially. I'd heard rumors that he'd gone back to stage acting and was living in London. The last persistent rumor I heard was that he'd given up acting entirely and was now a stockbroker in Chicago, and was doing ok for himself.

The thought that he spent the last decade of his life houseridden makes me very sad. Makes me feel bad about myself, too, as I swallowed the uncharitable things said about him. I wonder what became of his son? I wonder why the hell he didn't want people to know. I can understand WHILE he was still on the show, but after? When the stigma of being mentally ill is greater than the stigma of being a substance abuser, it's a pretty f'ed up world.

So does anyone actually know what he had?

 

[Jan]

There were some lovely posts from Michael's brother and his son Ben on JMS' Facebook page when Michael died. You can find where I copied them over on the JMSnews thread about his passing: http://jmsnews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5279

Jan

 

[RW7427]

Thanks for posting this for us, Jan!

 

[Republibot 3.0]

Read the whole thing. It answered a lot of questions I had, like about the son he adopted (According to Starlog, back in the day) and how, exactly, he passed. I didn't realize he'd recently had a daughter.

Sad. I'm somber this time of year. I hate the holidays. Bad stuff always happens, so perhaps that's the best mood to read this kind of thing. I don't know.

So does anyone know if Jerry Doyle or anyone else ever addressed all the bad stuff he said about O'Hare in the years between Season 2 and the actor's death? I mean, he accused him of being out of control on drugs, physically and sexually abusive, etc. If all that can be attributed to mental illness, it would seem the honorable thing to do would be to say something like, "I said a lot of bad things about him becuase I didn't know what was going on, and now that I do, I take it all back and I'm sorry," or something like that.

So has he?

 

[JonFrain]

Read the whole thing. It answered a lot of questions I had, like about the son he adopted (According to Starlog, back in the day) and how, exactly, he passed. I didn't realize he'd recently had a daughter.

Sad. I'm somber this time of year. I hate the holidays. Bad stuff always happens, so perhaps that's the best mood to read this kind of thing. I don't know.

So does anyone know if Jerry Doyle or anyone else ever addressed all the bad stuff he said about O'Hare in the years between Season 2 and the actor's death? I mean, he accused him of being out of control on drugs, physically and sexually abusive, etc. If all that can be attributed to mental illness, it would seem the honorable thing to do would be to say something like, "I said a lot of bad things about him becuase I didn't know what was going on, and now that I do, I take it all back and I'm sorry," or something like that.

So has he?

Jerry's a loudmouth jerk. I wouldn't believe he was sincere if he apologized.

 

[Republibot 3.0]

Read the whole thing. It answered a lot of questions I had, like about the son he adopted (According to Starlog, back in the day) and how, exactly, he passed. I didn't realize he'd recently had a daughter.

Sad. I'm somber this time of year. I hate the holidays. Bad stuff always happens, so perhaps that's the best mood to read this kind of thing. I don't know.

So does anyone know if Jerry Doyle or anyone else ever addressed all the bad stuff he said about O'Hare in the years between Season 2 and the actor's death? I mean, he accused him of being out of control on drugs, physically and sexually abusive, etc. If all that can be attributed to mental illness, it would seem the honorable thing to do would be to say something like, "I said a lot of bad things about him becuase I didn't know what was going on, and now that I do, I take it all back and I'm sorry," or something like that.

So has he?

Jerry's a loudmouth jerk. I wouldn't believe he was sincere if he apologized.

Even an insincere apology would be a nice gesture.

Any way to contact him? Fan club? Blog? Personal secretary? Website?

 

[Jan]

Even an insincere apology would be a nice gesture.

Any way to contact him? Fan club? Blog? Personal secretary? Website?

That's filed under 'don't hold your breath'. After the Phoenix con, I made a point to write to the email address posted for his radio show (where I'd gotten an answer from JD previously) and let him know about what JMS said, linking to one of the videos that had cropped up.

The silence was deafening.

Jan

 

[Republibot 3.0]

That's filed under 'don't hold your breath'. After the Phoenix con, I made a point to write to the email address posted for his radio show (where I'd gotten an answer from JD previously) and let him know about what JMS said, linking to one of the videos that had cropped up.

The silence was deafening.

Jan

Maaaaaaaaaaaaan, that's uncool. It's about what I expected, but it's still disappointing.