Cheers and Murphy Brown actor Jay Thomas dies aged just 69

Actor and writer Jay Thomas has sadly died aged just 69 with his Wife, Sally, and three sons by his side. 

The star of many classic shows including Cheers, Murphy Brown, and Mork and Mindy passed away following a battle with cancer, with his death reported to the New York Daily News by his friend and agent, Don Buchwald. 

“Jay was one of a kind, never at a loss for words and filled with so much fun and wonderfully whacky thoughts and behaviour,” wrote Buchwald. 

Thomas got his big break into acting in 1979 on hit show Mork and Mindy, where he played the part of Remo DaVinci opposite Robin Williams and Pam Dawber.

Thomas played the role of Eddie LeBec in Cheers, the boyfriend of Rhea Perlman’s character Carla. After two years on the hit series, his character was killed off after Perlman overheard him insulting her on a phone call to someone asking what it’s like to work on the show. 

“It’s brutal. I have to kiss Rhea Perlman,” he is alleged to have said. 

He’s also well known for playing Murphy Brown’s on-again, off-again love interest for almost 10 years alongside Candice Bergen, and won two Emmy Awards for the role. 

Celebrities have paid touching tributes to the actor on Twitter including Rob Lowe, who described him as “underrated”. 

Had the pleasure of casting and directing Jay Thomas many years ago. He was fantastic, an underrated dramatic actor. And a great guy.

— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) August 24, 2017

I love Jay Thomas. Many unscripted inappropriate laughs everytime we worked together. My thoughts today are with his beloved family. #RIP https://t.co/esTcaRPRZQ

— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) August 24, 2017

Were you a fan of any of these shows?