RIP Michael O'Hare (Babylon 5's Commander Sinclair)
#1
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
RIP Michael O'Hare (Babylon 5's Commander Sinclair)
From JMS's Facebook page:
I regret that I must convey the sad news that Michael O'Hare passed away today. He suffered a heart attack on Sunday and was in a coma until his passing this afternoon. This is a terrible loss for all B5 fans and everyone involved with the show wishes to convey their condolences to the O'Hare family. He was an amazing man.
He got some flak for his acting being wooden, but I thought he portrayed a pretty interesting conflicted, almost pained soul. I preferred Boxleitner as the lead, but O'Hare really brought something to his part. RIP.
I regret that I must convey the sad news that Michael O'Hare passed away today. He suffered a heart attack on Sunday and was in a coma until his passing this afternoon. This is a terrible loss for all B5 fans and everyone involved with the show wishes to convey their condolences to the O'Hare family. He was an amazing man.
He got some flak for his acting being wooden, but I thought he portrayed a pretty interesting conflicted, almost pained soul. I preferred Boxleitner as the lead, but O'Hare really brought something to his part. RIP.
#2
DVD Talk Hero
Re: RIP Michael O'Hare (Babylon 5's Commander Sinclair)
Sometimes I think Babylon 5 is cursed. A lot of actors from it have died relatively young... Richard Biggs, Tim Choate, Andreas Katsulas, Jeff Conaway, and now O'Hare...
I was one of the few who never had a problem with Sinclair or O'Hare's portrayal of him. Yes, Sinclair was reserved and conflicted and pained, and he was about to embark on a five year journey. I would have liked to have seen where he went and who he became by the end of it.
I always found Michael O'Hare to be rather enigmatic. He left Babylon 5 under... mysterious... circumstances. Depending on who you ask, he was either fired or left to pursue other projects or was written out for story reasons. And after his final appearance on Babylon 5, he seemingly fell off the face of the Earth. Even a year or so ago, JMS publicly asked if anyone knew how to contact him. And when JMS did get in touch with him, his public response was rather cryptic and foreboding. Sounds like he might have had some health issues?
I was one of the few who never had a problem with Sinclair or O'Hare's portrayal of him. Yes, Sinclair was reserved and conflicted and pained, and he was about to embark on a five year journey. I would have liked to have seen where he went and who he became by the end of it.
I always found Michael O'Hare to be rather enigmatic. He left Babylon 5 under... mysterious... circumstances. Depending on who you ask, he was either fired or left to pursue other projects or was written out for story reasons. And after his final appearance on Babylon 5, he seemingly fell off the face of the Earth. Even a year or so ago, JMS publicly asked if anyone knew how to contact him. And when JMS did get in touch with him, his public response was rather cryptic and foreboding. Sounds like he might have had some health issues?
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 795
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: RIP Michael O'Hare (Babylon 5's Commander Sinclair)
He did fall off the face of the Earth, TV and movie-wise. He's only had two roles, both guest appearances, since B5, and hasn't worked at all since 2000. I suppose he could have been working on Broadway, but if so he never appeared in a major production.
#4
Member
Re: RIP Michael O'Hare (Babylon 5's Commander Sinclair)
Sad to think that Babylon 5 was only made in the mid 1990s but most of cast are already gone. G'Kar, Dr Franklin, Zach Allen, the two NaToth's and Sinclair now all gone. Compare this to Star Trek: The Next Generation which is a decade older and where all the main cast are still alive - or even the original Trek where only two of the major cast have died.
Best wishes to all of O'Hare's family.
Best wishes to all of O'Hare's family.
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 795
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
#7
Enormous Genitals
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: a small cottage on a cul de sac in the lower pits of hell.
Posts: 37,221
Received 583 Likes
on
335 Posts
Re: RIP Michael O'Hare (Babylon 5's Commander Sinclair)
Apparently he was a strange guy. A quote from the Jerry Doyle show (he Garibaldi)
My first season of Babylon 5 working with Michael O'Hare, he's a whack-job a complete lunatic. He flies out from New York, he gets the gig, we're doing our rehearsels he says to me one day "Uh can you give me a ride out the the set?" yeah sure! "Wanna stop and have breakfeast?" yeah good! He gets in the car and he's playing with the buttons in my car trying to turn the radio off and I'm like what are you doing? And he goes "I don't want any sound" and I go well why dont you just ask me to turn it off? And he goes "I dont want to talk today!" And I say well why do you want to go to breakfeast and he goes "you talk, I'll listen!" so obviously we hurry through breakfeast, we go out to the set and I realise I'm dealing with a complete nut-job here.
After we finished that first Friday night we go to this bar in Santa Clarita and I'm off in one corner talking to this actress Pat Tallman..just chatting her up having drinks we just got done shooting. He comes over and sits between us and I go oh ok...he was number 1 on the call sheet, he was the lead. He was the guy that got all the media interviews..because he was the lead on the show, and the face and voice on Babylon 5. So he's chatting her up and I'm like "Oh..ok..I'll just talk to the bartender here..." and order 3 more drinks. He turns around, looks at the 3 drinks and says "What is that?" and I say "umm...I'm buying a round..", and he says "Dont try to control me!!" and I went "oh..o...k..." this guy is a complete lunatic!
Now outside of the fact that he sexually harrassed an 18 year old makeup artist and hair gal because he's talking about how its lonely to be on the road and well he did certain things at night with her in mind I thought thats a very nice thing to address to an 18 year old that was interning on a show, not making any money trying to work her way up in the union.
He punches a female actress on the set. He comes after me we have the big meeting. Finally I say to him "Michael is there an Indian behind every tree?" and he says "maybe..you and I will settle this May 26 after we wrap production" And at the end of all this I went back to the guys and said you know what? I don't need this crap..I dont need the money
After we finished that first Friday night we go to this bar in Santa Clarita and I'm off in one corner talking to this actress Pat Tallman..just chatting her up having drinks we just got done shooting. He comes over and sits between us and I go oh ok...he was number 1 on the call sheet, he was the lead. He was the guy that got all the media interviews..because he was the lead on the show, and the face and voice on Babylon 5. So he's chatting her up and I'm like "Oh..ok..I'll just talk to the bartender here..." and order 3 more drinks. He turns around, looks at the 3 drinks and says "What is that?" and I say "umm...I'm buying a round..", and he says "Dont try to control me!!" and I went "oh..o...k..." this guy is a complete lunatic!
Now outside of the fact that he sexually harrassed an 18 year old makeup artist and hair gal because he's talking about how its lonely to be on the road and well he did certain things at night with her in mind I thought thats a very nice thing to address to an 18 year old that was interning on a show, not making any money trying to work her way up in the union.
He punches a female actress on the set. He comes after me we have the big meeting. Finally I say to him "Michael is there an Indian behind every tree?" and he says "maybe..you and I will settle this May 26 after we wrap production" And at the end of all this I went back to the guys and said you know what? I don't need this crap..I dont need the money
#8
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Re: RIP Michael O'Hare (Babylon 5's Commander Sinclair)
From what I've read, many of those claims have been refuted, several by JMS himself. There was the rumor going around that was spread by a convention promoter (proven entirely false) that O'Hare had a coke problem and that got him kicked off Babylon 5 (after the promoter refused to pay O'Hare for an appearance and O'Hare threatened him with legal action).
#10
Member
Re: RIP Michael O'Hare (Babylon 5's Commander Sinclair)
Perhaps I was wrong about the NaToth's but I seem to remember a story years ago that they had died within weeks of each other and noting at that time the creepy coincidence of it.
#11
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 2,897
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: RIP Michael O'Hare (Babylon 5's Commander Sinclair)