People Are Mourning The Passing Of ‘Night Court’ Actress Markie Post

Markie Post, best known as easily flustered public defender Christine Sullivan on the about-to-be-revived Night Court, as well as The Fall Guy and Hearts Afire, passed away on Saturday following a ten-month battle with cancer. She was 70 years old.

Post’s career in the entertainment industry did not begin in front of the lens. It was behind it. She got her start behind the scenes of game shows during the ‘70s. She was an editor on Jeopardy! and an associate producer on Double Dare, which featured Alex Trebek. She eventually wound up in front of the camera, on Card Sharks.

She soon pivoted to acting, mostly on television. Her debut was on a 1979 episode of CHiPs, followed soon thereafter by appearances on The Incredible Hulk, Buck Rogers, Hart to Hart, B.J. and the Bear, Eight is Enough, and, like most TV regulars of the time, two episodes of The Love Boat.

Her first series regular gig was on The Fall Guy, the Lee Majors vehicle in which he played a stunt man who moonlights as a bounty hunter. She was on the show for three seasons, soon decamping for Night Court, which she joined in its third season. She was on the show for the rest of its nine-season run, until it ended in 1992.

When Night Court wrapped, she quickly moved to Hearts Afire, a D.C.-set comedy where she played a liberal reporter who clashes with a Republican senator’s aide, played by John Ritter. The show also featured Billy Bob Thornton, a few years before Sling Blade made him a star, and the legendary Ed Asner. It ran three seasons, ending in 1995.

Post made numerous appearances throughout the rest of her career, sometimes as one-offs, sometimes as recurring roles. She did three episods of Scrubs, a dozen and a half on Chicago P.D. In 1998 she played Cameron Diaz’s mom in There’s Something About Mary. Even as she got sick, she intended to keep pursuing acting gigs as a “side job.”

The news of her passing wasn’t made public until Sunday, and when it did she received widespread attention over social media. She was mourned by colleagues, including John Larroquette, with whom she frequently sparred on Night Court.

Others chimed in as well.

https://twitter.com/iSmashFizzle/status/1424357777552691208

https://twitter.com/BrianLynch/status/1424389330374561792

Some made sure to single out some of her great work.

https://twitter.com/MikeB83560953/status/1422341508951416837

Post will be missed. Night Court is not streaming as part of any subscription package, but you can purchase episodes on Amazon Prime. Hearts Afire, however, streams with ads on IMDb TV.

(Via Deadline)