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Andreas Katsulas Dies

I knew of him fighting a difficult illness, but hoped it wouldn't end this way. :(

It is sad to hear of anyone having to go.

It becomes especially sad when it's someone who you regard well, who told you a beautiful story, perhaps helped you learn something. I'll miss him. I wish life wasn't like this (but my wishes are worth little).
 
When I'd heard he'd been diagnosed I figured it was in the early stages.

The passing of another great one. He impressed so many people, fellow actors especially.
 
:'( Absolutely gutted, I was just thinking of him the other day. Awesome actor - thank god that TV/DVD is such a medium where he can live on forever. Thanks to him and we will never forgot him.
 
It has been known for sometime within the Babylon 5 family that Andreas was fighting a very serious illness, and specifics "leaked" more than once from fellow cast members. At the time time Andreas himself was trying to keep the news quiet a) so that it would not prevent his working while he still could, which he needed to do lest his SAG health insurance lapse and b) because he was an intensely private and dignified man who found it painful to have details of his personal life discussed and speculated upon in public. For this reason JMS quietly put out the word to certain fans including our own Amy Guskin and asked them to do what they could to keep any posts relating to his illness of the websites and groups that they frequented. Amy contacted both Antony and myself as moderators at this board and well-known names at other sites and we did what we could to honor Andreas's request. I'd like to publicly thank Antony for his efforts in that regard, and also several members of this board (I'm sorry I don't remember the names after all this time) who understood when threads were deleted or posts edited during that time.

Since then I've also wondered how Andreas was doing - but couldn't ask anyone in a position to know without violating the request for privacy that I had tried so hard to honor on the 'web. So I learned the sad news from this thread.

I'm sure JMS or someone else who is asked to act as spokesman for the family will make an official statement soon, and provide details of memorial services, requests for charitable contributions and similar things. I'm leaving it to JMS to post the news to the moderated newsgroup, and hope others will as well. If I hear any news I'll post it here.

A very sad day indeed. But we do have his work and our memories.

Regards,

Joe
 
This is very sad news. He was a tremendous actor and added more than we'll ever know to the story of Babylon 5. Until we meet him again in the place where no shadows fall, let us always remember him with fondness.
 
Oh dear... :(

He will be missed. He was a great actor.

But as others have said, thanks to the medium of DVD, Ambassador G'Kar will continue to live on to share the story of B5 with new generations. (I have not seen his other work, but his role as G'kar was an intensely engaging one, which enriched the story in a multitude of ways.)
 
By all means, see The Fugitive. A great film in its own right (Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Joe Pantoliano and Julie Ann Moore stealing a scene in one of her first appearances in a major motion picture) and Andreas playing a character as far from G'Kar as you can imagine. Another fun movie (but a sheer popcorn flick, park your brain at the door) is Executive Decision. A much smaller part for Andreas, but it does have Halle Berry in it. :)

Regards,

Joe
 
He shall be missed. RIP.

ETA: (Seemed appropriate)

G'Kar: I believe that when we leave a place a part of it goes with us and part of us remains. Go anywhere in these halls, when it is quiet and just listen. After a while you will hear the echoes of all of our conversations, every thought and word we've exchanged. Long after we are gone, our voices will linger in these walls for as long as this place remains. But I will admit that the part of me that going will very much miss the part of you that is staying.
 
It has been known for sometime within the Babylon 5 family that Andreas was fighting a very serious illness, and specifics "leaked" more than once from fellow cast members. At the time time Andreas himself was trying to keep the news quiet a) so that it would not prevent his working while he still could, which he needed to do lest his SAG health insurance lapse and b) because he was an intensely private and dignified man who found it painful to have details of his personal life discussed and speculated upon in public. For this reason JMS quietly put out the word to certain fans including our own Amy Guskin and asked them to do what they could to keep any posts relating to his illness of the websites and groups that they frequented. Amy contacted both Antony and myself as moderators at this board and well-known names at other sites and we did what we could to honor Andreas's request. I'd like to publicly thank Antony for his efforts in that regard, and also several members of this board (I'm sorry I don't remember the names after all this time) who understood when threads were deleted or posts edited during that time.

Since then I've also wondered how Andreas was doing - but couldn't ask anyone in a position to know without violating the request for privacy that I had tried so hard to honor on the 'web. So I learned the sad news from this thread.

I'm sure JMS or someone else who is asked to act as spokesman for the family will make an official statement soon, and provide details of memorial services, requests for charitable contributions and similar things. I'm leaving it to JMS to post the news to the moderated newsgroup, and hope others will as well. If I hear any news I'll post it here.

A very sad day indeed. But we do have his work and our memories.

Regards,

Joe

It really shows how much Andreas is respected when people don't spread news about him all over the internet. Usually, rumors spread like wildfire over the internet. I honored his request, too. I didn't mention it anywhere on the internet after I found out he was ill.

Anyway, I think I am still in shock at this point. I found out maybe a couple of hours ago after I came home from work. I used to post here as "gkarfan", so people know how much I like Andreas. I even met Andreas once. He was such a sweet person. Like I said, I am in total shock. I don't know what else to say at this point. I do think that B5 is truly over now, though. I just don't know how it could continue without the character of G'Kar, & no one else but Andreas could ever play that part. I know that Andreas once said at AgamemCon that anyone could have played G'Kar, but I disagree. That's how good he was.

Oh, geez, this is just so sad. :( :( :(

Tammy
 
Very sad news, hope his family is doing ok.

So am I the only one that gets a bit of a weird/sad feeling everytime I watch an episode and G'Kar or Dr. Franklin come onscreen?
 
I know that Andreas once said at AgamemCon that anyone could have played G'Kar, but I disagree. That's how good he was.

Oh, I so agree with you. Andreas is G'Kar.

So am I the only one that gets a bit of a weird/sad feeling everytime I watch an episode and G'Kar or Dr. Franklin come onscreen?

No, you're not the only one. I'm not a fan of the episode "Soul Hunter," but I get so I can't breathe when I watch the scene between Franklin and Ivanova when Franklin talks about life and death when they're shooting off the body of the dead lurker into the sun. I imagine I'll be having many similar reactions to all of G'Kar's great moments now.
 
My father died of Camels, my Mother died of Chesterfields, and my step-mother died of Pall Malls. I wonder what brand Andreas died of?

I agree with Tammy. Andreas was G'Kar. It's so sad to see them go.
 
G'Quon wrote, "There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. The war we fight is not against powers and principalities, it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender. The future is all around us, waiting, in moments of transition, to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of that future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain."

Andreas' work has given us many "moments of transition" and "moments of revelation". He shall be missed in more ways than I can imagine at this point.

May he know peace and may his family endure this pain.
 

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