Stars From Designing Women You Didn't Know Died

When actor Dwayne Hickman died in January 2022, he was remembered not just for his acting but also for his time as an executive at CBS; he directed multiple episodes of "Designing Women," which starred Joan Roberts, his wife. The show was a television powerhouse from 1986 to 1993, minting bona-fide superstars out of actors like Jean Smart.

The sitcom, about the feisty women who ran an interior decorating firm, was notable not just for its strong ratings and memorable characters. When the leading ladies of Sugarbaker & Associates appeared on "The Joan Rivers Show" to promote the first season, the caustic comedian asked the main foursome — made up of Smart, Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, and Annie Potts — if they were friends. "So far," they all joked. "You know it's gonna start," Rivers said. And start it did. Casting shakeups, off-screen romances that became actual storylines, and rumors of behind-the-scenes bickering fueled years of entertainment gossip about the show, and by the time it went off the air, several of the original women had long since left the cast.

However, despite whatever may have happened back in the day, some of the surviving women reunited during the COVID-19 pandemic for a live reading of the show's pilot. Smart told Collider that, although the reunion was nice, they'd never be able to reboot the show. "We only have less than half the cast, so that would be very sad and pointless," she said. Read on to find out which "Designing Women" stars are no longer alive.

On "Designing Women," Meshach Taylor played Anthony Bouvier, a deliveryman who was initially intended to be a one-off role before he became one of the show's lead characters. Upon news of the show's cancellation, Taylor told the Los Angeles Times about its unique approach to comedy, explaining what made the series different from other shows on the air at the time. "I like comedy with an edge, humor that teaches and entertains, as opposed to just a lot of yuk, yuk, yuk. Punchline, one-liner, one-liner," he mused. "Satire is a sensory experience. You don't stumble on it, you develop it, look for ways to bring it out." 

One of the show's directors told People that Taylor had an especially good grasp on the show's particular brand of comedy. "Meshach is as strong as any of the women," David Steinberg said. "He never spills over into shtick — and he never misses a laugh line."

Taylor passed away in 2014 from cancer, per the Los Angeles Times. "It is with love and gratitude that we sorrowfully announce that our darling, amazingly brilliant and dynamic, Meshach, the incredible father, husband, son and friend has begun his grand transition," his family said in a statement, per CNN. 

"Designing Women's" main character, Southern belle Julia Sugarbaker, was the heart of the show. Designing Women Online calls her "a bold, independent, self-confident, sassy, no-nonsense Southern lady." She was played by Dixie Carter, who was previously known for her role as Maggie McKinley on "Diff'rent Strokes." Carter continued acting after "Designing Women" ended, going on to lead the cast of "Family Law" and guest-star on "Desperate Housewives," but she told The Washington Post that she really struggled after her long-time show was over. "I was just sick when 'Designing Women' ended, even after seven years," she recalled. "It was so well written. But... once the original cast had split up, the real chemistry of the show was gone." 

"Designing Women" affected her life in another way: the character she played was rather progressive, but Carter didn't consider herself left-leaning. She told Metro Weekly, "The role of Julia was pretty far away from who I am — I'm pretty conservative and traditional. But Julia made me think about things that I'd still not known. She opened my mind to her way of thinking."

Carter passed away in 2010 from complications due to cancer, per her CNN obituary. Her husband and "Designing Women" co-star Hal Holbrook told Entertainment Tonight (via Entertainment Weekly), "This has been a terrible blow to our family." Jean Smart remembered her friend and colleague in Entertainment Weekly, musing, "She was such a cool lady... If she loved you, you were a lucky person."

In the wake of the highly-publicized cast shakeup of "Designing Women," "SNL" star Jan Hooks was hired to play Carlene Dobber, a new character brought in to fill the void left by Delta Burke and Jean Smart's departures. She described the character to the Associated Press at the time, explaining, "She's someone who's eager to please. She's very unsophisticated. She's not stupid, but she has a lot to learn. She's very much in awe of her new friends. She manages to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, but she comes from a good place." 

Though there was anxiety about whether the show could continue without Burke and Smart, Entertainment Weekly reported that the first episode featuring Hooks hit a series high in the ratings. Remarking on the ratings bump, Hooks reflected, "It's alleviated a lot of pressure." She would ultimately stay with the show for its final two seasons.

Hooks passed away in 2014 at the age of 57 from cancer, per Grantland. Upon learning of her death, her former boyfriend and "SNL" co-star Kevin Nealon tweeted, "​​My girlfriend in the 80's and my friend forever, Janners. God, were you talented. Too soon and too sad." After her passing, "SNL" honored her legacy on-air; according to The Hollywood Reporter, Kristen Wiig told the audience, "She was one of the best that ever was and her influence is clear in every one of us who has been here since."

Richard Gilliland played former baseball player James Dean "J.D." Shackelford on "Designing Women," one of the recurring "Gentleman Callers" who wooed the ladies of the design firm. In particular, his character was one of the boyfriends of Annie Potts' character, but behind the scenes, Gilliland fell in love with a different cast member, Jean Smart.

Gilliland recalled meeting Smart while auditioning for the show. He told The Pantograph (via MeTV), "I was kind of stunned by her. She was quite an eye-opener. Very funny ... and with a great bawdy laugh." They were married within seven months and stayed together for many years, until his death in 2021. According to Today, Gilliland died due to a heart condition.

Smart praised her husband in The New Yorker, explaining that when he passed away, she still had a week left of filming on "Hacks," the show responsible for her 2021 career renaissance and Emmy win. She expressed her gratitude for his support throughout her career. "He was one of those actors who never got the chance to really show what he could do. A couple of times on stage, he did," she mourned. "But he really sacrificed his career for me to be able to take advantage of my opportunities. I wouldn't have all this if it wasn't for him."

Like several of her co-stars, series lead Dixie Carter was involved in a behind-the-scenes romance that made its way onto the show. Carter's husband, veteran actor Hal Holbrook, recurred on "Designing Women" as Reese Watson, one of Julia Sugarbaker's "Gentleman Callers." Designing Women Online describes the character as Julia's "perfect match," explaining, "His sense of humor enables him to equal Julia on every playing field, and their chemistry shines through in every scene."

Carter told Metro Weekly that she met her husband, whom she always called "Mr. Holbrook," on the set of a made-for-television movie titled "The Killing of Randy Webster." She gushed, "He wouldn't have anything to do with me and I was just crushed. I didn't think he liked me. But I really was smitten with him when I met him. He's an awfully good man. You know how nice you'd think he would be from having seen him on the screen? Well, he's nicer."

Holbrook, who was well-known for playing Mark Twain in various productions throughout his career, told the Television Academy Foundation that he especially enjoyed appearing on "Designing Women" alongside his wife. "Dixie loved doing that show, and I loved working with Dixie on it," he said.

The actor passed away in 2021 at the age of 95 from unspecified causes (via The New York Times). His "West Wing" co-star Bradley Whitford shared the news on Twitter, writing, "My God, what an incredible actor."

Sitcom legend Alice Ghostley, best known as Esmerelda on "Bewitched," played Bernice Clifton on 48 episodes of "Designing Women." Bernice was a widowed friend of their mother's that Suzanne and Julia Sugarbaker looked after, and she became a regular guest star on the show by the end of its run, according to Designing Women Online.

Discussing her character with Pop Goes the Culture TV, in what host David Levin called "possibly one of her last" interviews, Ghostley recalled, "Oh, that was fun. [Bernice Clifton] had an arterial flow above the neck, so I wasn't always with it... It was a good part. I loved it. ... I'm sorry it's gone."

Ghostley passed away in 2007 due to colon cancer and multiple strokes, per The Hollywood Reporter. At a memorial service for Ghostley and her sister years after her death, a friend told the Siloam Springs Herald Leader, "​​We laughed with Alice toward the end of her life because she started to act a lot like her character Bernice." Reflecting on whether "Designing Women" might be rebooted someday, co-star Jean Smart specifically called out Ghostley's passing as one reason why they could never reunite. "We couldn't remake that without... Alice Ghostley, who was just the funniest woman in the world," she proclaimed to Collider.

Character actor Charles Levin is best known for starring on the last few seasons of "Alice" as Elliot Novak, the policeman who wooed and eventually married Vera. He was also almost part of the regular cast of "The Golden Girls," having memorably appeared as a gay cook in the show's pilot episode, but the character did not stick around when that show was picked up, Jim Colucci explains in "Golden Girls Forever: An Unauthorized Look Behind the Lanai." Levin played the mohel in the iconic "Seinfeld" episode "The Bris."

In addition to his other work, Levin appeared on three episodes of "Designing Women" as three different characters. In a Season 4 episode called "The Girlfriend," he played Chuck; in the following season's "Charlene Buys a House," he played Marvin Sheinberg, the realtor who sold Charlene the titular house, which turned out to be haunted; and in Season 6's "Real, Scary Men," his character was named Simba.

Charles Levin was tragically lost in 2019, when his son Jesse reported him missing. His body was found in a ravine several weeks later, and his death was ruled an accident (via USA Today). Jesse told the Daily Mail that his father had "an enormous, wonderful, comedic personality" and "brought happiness to people's lives." Jesse got to watch his father perform live onstage and was with him on television sets.