Ed Flanders of ‘St. Elsewhere’ a Suicide
Ed Flanders, known for his role in the “St. Elsewhere” television series, committed suicide, authorities said.
Flanders, 60, died Feb. 22 of a gunshot wound in the head at his home in Denny, 280 miles north of San Francisco, authorities said.
The death certificate lists suicide, Deputy County Coroner William Fischer said.
Initial reports of Flanders’ death did not include a cause and his family had asked that details of the death not be disclosed.
The actor played the kindhearted Dr. Donald Westphall on NBC’s “St. Elsewhere” from 1982 to 1987, then returned in 1988 for the farewell episode.
He was supposed to talk about beginnings and endings at St. Eligius Hospital, but instead delivered an unscripted soliloquy on death, which was left in the episode.
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