Jerry Doyle

Jerry Doyle, an actor known best as a star of the sci-fi TV series “Babylon 5,” died July 27, 2016, according to multiple news sources. He was 60.

Doyle’s family announced his death on his official Twitter page. “The family of Jerry Doyle is sad to announce Jerry’s passing,” said the tweet. “The cause of death is unknown at this time.”

Doyle played Michael Garibaldi, chief of the space station's security, on the TV series and also played the character in the TV movie that preceded the series, “Babylon 5: The Gathering.” The series ran from 1994 until 1998. In 1999, Doyle was featured in a follow-up movie, “Babylon 5: A Call to Arms.” During the series' run, Doyle was briefly married to his co-star, Andrea Thompson, who played the telepath Talia Winters for the show's first two seasons.

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His first role was in the TV series “Moonlighting” with Bruce Willis. He also had roles in “NYPD Blue,” “JAG,” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.”

After the cancellation of "Babylon 5," Doyle turned to politics, mounting a 2000 run for U.S. Congress representing California’s 24th Congressional District. Running as a Republican, he was defeated by the Democratic incumbent. He later turned to talk radio, hosting his syndicated radio talk show, “The Jerry Doyle Show,” on Talk Radio Network. He founded the news website and podcast network EpicTimes in 2013 and also wrote a book titled, “Have You Seen My Country Lately? America’s Wake-Up Call” in 2009.

Upon hearing of Doyle's death, “Babylon 5” creator J. Michael Straczynski wrote a heartfelt statement that discusses Doyle as an actor and as a person. It includes the description: "He was funny, and dangerous, and loyal, and a prankster, and a pain in the ass; he was gentle and cynical and hardened and insightful and sometimes as dense as a picket fence ... and his passing is a profound loss to everyone who knew him, especially those of us who fought beside him in the trenches of Babylon 5."

Straczynski also noted a moment when Doyle's political views contributed to the writing of the show: "There is a line in Babylon 5 where his character, Michael Garibaldi, suggests that the way to deal with crime is to go from electric chairs to electric bleachers. That line is quintessential Jerry Doyle. I say this with confidence because I overheard him saying it at lunch then stole it for the show."

Doyle was also remembered by many of his "Babylon 5 co-stars." Bruce Boxleitner, who played Commander John Sheridan, tweeted: "I am so devastated at the news of the untimely death of my good friend @jerrydoyle. During the B5 years, he was a great pal, RIP Garibaldi." Claudia Christian, who played Commander Susan Ivanova, posted on Facebook, "It is with incredible sadness that we say goodbye to Jerry Doyle. He was a brilliant man, a joy to work with and a fantastically funny individual. We will miss him deeply. Please remember him with love.....I will miss his laugh and his light."

Other "Babylon 5" stars to remember Doyle include Bill Mumy, whose eloquent Facebook post includes, "It was easy acting with Jerry. He was a good natural actor. Despite the fact that he'd fly in from some ridiculous far away location having not slept for three days straight, he never messed up on camera. He once broke his arm filming a scene and insisted that he stay on set to finish the scene before going to the hospital. Yeah. He was a tough guy. For real."