Prinze had risen to fame as a noted young comedian. In 1974, Prinze was cast as the lead role of Chico in the NBC series Chico and the Man. An immediate hit, Chico and the Man was the first series to be set in a Mexican-American neighborhood and one of the first to star a Chicano actor.
Sadly, fame was an enemy to Freddie Prinze. With popularity in Hollywood comes increased exposure, extra-long hours, folks coming out of the wood-work to latch on to your fame, parties, and the inevitable drugs and alcohol.
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| Jack Albertson (Right) played Ed AKA The Man. His character was apprehensive to the ethnic change of his East LA neighborhood. |
In 1976, Freddie and his wife welcomed a baby boy, Freddie Jr. (Fred of Scooby-Doo live-action film fame.) But as Freddie Sr's addiction got worse, his wife took their child and filed for divorce. A DUI while under the influence of Quaaludes was the last straw.
Prinze did try to clean himself up. He took up karate as an outlet for his addiction. However, depression over his failing marriage, along with an intense daily schedule that took him from the Hollywood set of Chico to Las Vegas for a nightly stand-up routine was too much for the comedian.
On the night of January 28, after talking with his estranged wife over the telephone, Prinze in front of his business manager put a gun to his head...
The next day, at UCLA Medical Center, his family removed life support.
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| Prinze was good friends with singer Tony Orlando, singing background on several songs. Orlando repaid the favor by appearing on Chico and the Man. |
According to friends, Prinze had a history of faking out friends with a Russian Roulette routine and believe that the incident was accidental. However, investigator's found a suicide note nearby. The star was also found to have drugs in his system and after several years of litigation, a judge ruled his death accidental, freeing up some insurance policies.
Prinze's legacy lives on in many ways. His son is an accomplished actor and currently is the voice of Kanan on Star Wars Rebels. Prinze is also used as an example of dangers of fast fame amongst the Hollywood elite and his ground breaking series is seen as a cultural benchmark in Mexican-American Civil Rights and culture.
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| Freddie Prinze Jr, circa 2015. |
Freddie Prinze's death hits me hard for another reason. My wife is my best friend but my best guy friend decided about 6 years ago to end his life by a self-inflicted gun shot wound. I don't remember very many things completely, but I remember every minute of the day I got the phone call from his wife.
Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. We all reach lows and there have been times I wish I could take a permanent nap. I wish I had better sign of troubles with my friend or was more aware of problems...
If you are reading this post and you feel like giving up and you need help or you have a friend that needs help, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. It's completely confidential. But more importantly, it just might save your life.
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