Stars From The Office You Didn't Know Died
"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me" is one of many beloved, iconic quotes from everyone's favorite "Netflix and chill" television show "The Office." Even though the show moved to NBC Universal's Peacock streaming service at the beginning of 2021, it continues to be a fan-favorite with viewers quoting Michael Scott's best one-liners and having a good laugh at Jim Halpert's legendary office pranks on Assistant (to the) Regional Manager Dwight Shrute.
Every character on the show has given viewers some of the best moments on television whether it was from cannot-stop-talking Customer Service Representative Kelly Kapoor, fiery Supplier Relations Meredith Palmer (after all she did catch her hair on fire during a Moroccan-themed Christmas party), and grumpy salesman Stanley Hudson who would just rather be left alone with his puzzles and pretzels.
"The Office" is made up of several characters besides those who sit in Dunder Mifflin's office having to listen to how Michael Scott's "Prison Mike" survived the dementors. Over nine seasons, viewers have gotten familiar with Dunder Mifflin's warehouse workers, old bosses, and characters who only appeared in just a couple of episodes. But, with the show's final season ending back in 2013, a few of the actors who portrayed these memorable characters have sadly died. Here are the actors from "The Office" fans may not have realized aren't with us anymore.
Patrice O'Neal
Comedian and actor Patrice O'Neal portrayed the no-filter warehouse worker Lonny Collins on "The Office." His character easily intimidated Michael Scott and he wasn't afraid to voice his opinions. His catchy one-liners including, "I'd bet you'd like to swim with this sea monster" when addressing Kelly Kapoor in Season 3's "Safety Meeting" and telling Michael Scott that heart disease is really, in fact, "fat butt disease." Ultimately, he gave viewers a good laugh and a few memorable moments on the show.
O'Neal appeared in the first three seasons of "The Office," but he's also best known for his stand-up comedy acts. The New York Times stated that O'Neal "commanded the stage" and it wasn't because of his large stature. Like his brazen character in "The Office," O'Neal had a "reputation for brash honesty" and would "alienate audiences and celebrities alike, both of whom he mocked relentlessly." The comic was regularly seen on Comedy Central and was in several television shows and movies including Dave Chappelle's "Chappelle's Show" and Spike Lee's 2002's film "25th Hour."
Living with diabetes and being the brutally honest comic he was, O'Neal would often make fun of himself stating in one act on Comedy Central (per The New York Times), "See, I've got to lose weight now to stay alive, and that's not enough motivation for me." TMZ reported that the comic died in 2011 at the age of 41 following complications from a stroke.
Ken Howard
In Season 2's episode "The Carpet," Michael Scott lures his old boss Ed Truck, played by actor Ken Howard, to the office looking for advice on how to befriend his employees. It was the only episode in which viewers got to see the character on "The Office" until his death was confirmed in Season 3's "Grief Counseling" when Creed Bratton informed his colleagues that Truck was tragically decapitated while driving down U.S. Route 6. While Scott didn't get his robot statue of Truck, he did get his employers to attend a funeral for a dead bird.
Howard may have only appeared in one episode of the show, but he has worked in Hollywood for years. According to The New York Times, Howard was best known for portraying Thomas Jefferson in the musical drama "1776" and starring as a basketball coach in the late '70s television show "The White Shadow." He is a winner of a Tony Award and an Emmy while his memorable film roles included 2007's "Michael Clayton" and 2008's "Rambo."
Besides Howard's many roles, he was also the first president of SAG-AFTRA, the largest union of actors in Hollywood. The New York Times reported that his union confirmed he had died in March 2016 at the age of 71 and did not disclose how. However, The Hollywood Reporter noted that Howard was "diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in 2007 and was recently hospitalized with a case of shingles."
Hugh Dane
In a Season 4 episode of "The Office" titled "Night Out," Dunder Mifflin's security guard Hank Doyle, comes to the rescue of the office workers when they stay late on a Friday and are locked in. Doyle, the security guard who couldn't care less about what Michael Scott was up to (or the rest of the gang) was portrayed by actor Hugh Dane and made periodic appearances throughout the show.
According to E!, Dane had been working as an actor since the '90s and made appearances on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and starred in "Bridesmaids." Sadly, Hugh Dane died in May 2018 with TMZ obtaining his death certificate which showed that he died at the age of 75 from pancreatic cancer. After learning about his death, several of his "The Office" costars took to Twitter to pay tribute to the actor.
Rainn Wilson, who starred as Dwight Shrute shared a hilarious clip from the show between their two characters and tweeted, "RIP Hugh Dane, aka Hank the security guard. He was one of the greats. So kind, funny, talented. We will all miss him." Wilson's co-star Steve Carell, who played Michael Scott retweeted his statement and added, "What a terrific guy."
Ranjit Chowdhry
When Michael Scott had to take up a second gig as a telemarketer, his sales at the Lipophedrine Diet Pill Company were no match to that of former surgeon Vikram. Scott was so impressed by Vikram's ability to sell diet pills, he even recruited him to be part of his very own paper company called the Michael Scott Paper Company in Season 5's episode "Dream Team."
While "The Office" fans all know him as Vikram, the actor behind the role was Ranjit Chowdhry, who made only two appearances on the show. According to People, Chowdhry landed acting gigs in shows like "Prison Break" and "Girls" and was a big name in Bollywood where he acted in director Sanjay Gupta's 2002 film "Kaante." The Economic Times and The India Tribune reported that the star had died in April 2020 in India during emergency surgery at the age of 65, which was a shock to those working in both Hollywood and Bollywood.
Several of his acting friends took to Twitter to pay tribute to Chowdhry with actor Poorna Jagannathan tweeting, "This guy made magic out of nothing, filling paper thin roles with so much depth. I always saw my father when I was with him – the same humor, stubbornness, and brilliance. Heartbroken, dear friend. RIP." Indian actor Rahul Khanna would call Chowdhry in a tweet, "a towering icon of Indian diaspora cinema and a master of his craft." To those who love "The Office," Chowdhry will always be the top salesman, Vikram.
John Ingle
The surviving co-founder of Dunder Mifflin, Robert Dunder, is seen in Season 4's episode "Dunder Mifflin Infinity" after Michael Scott claims that newly-appointed Vice President of Sales Ryan Howard is being ageist when he wants to spruce up the company by bringing in new technology. Scott later brings in a much older Dunder to prove that old people are still useful, but as viewers all know, when does anything work in Michael Scott's favor?
Robert Dunder was played by actor John Ingle whose one-episode appearance still made him quite the memorable character. According to The Hollywood Reporter, before he ventured into acting, Ingle was a high school acting teacher who taught future A-list stars like Nicolas Cage, David Schwimmer, and Richard Dreyfuss, to name a few. Ingle got his first acting job in his 50's, starring as Edward Quartermaine in the soap opera "General Hospital" and played the role from 1993 until 2012, making his last appearance in an episode broadcast in September, the same month in which he died at the age of 84, per The New York Times.
Ingle had also starred in television shows like "Days of Our Lives," "The Drew Carey Show," and starred in the films, "Batman & Robin" and "Death Becomes Her."
Marcus York
Marcus York starred in "The Office" as property manager of Scranton Business Park Billy Merchant who is first seen in Season 2 when Michael Scott gathers his employees in the conference room for a cringy disability seminar. York's character claimed to use a wheelchair since he was a child, and in real life, the actor was a paraplegic after a car crash left him disabled, per his website. York was seen sporadically throughout the show with the actor telling People in 2010 that he was happy with his role. "The letters I get about the character are great. One fan wrote, 'You're just trying to do your job and you shed light on how crazy office politics can be for [worked with disabilites] to interact with co-workers in a normal setting.'"
While York was best known for his role in "The Office," he was also a powerful leader in finding a cure for those with spinal cord injuries with The New York Times stating that he served as the Southern California representative for Spinal Cord Injury Research Advancement. York continued to work hard for people like him up until his death in May 2021 at the age of 55 "following a brief and unexpected illness," according to his obituary.