In Remembrance: Glenn Quinn

Author: Ellen
Published on: Jan 19, 2003

Three years ago, this topic at Suite101.com was opened under the inspiration of the fans' passion to bring back Doyle, played by Glenn Quinn, to "Angel." In December, that hope was extinguished by the death of Glenn Quinn at the age of thirty-two. The cause of death has not been publicly released, but has been reported in the news media as a "suspected drug overdose."

Perhaps the only thing worse than being remembered as a tabloid headline is being remembered only as a tabloid footnote.

Glenn Quinn deserved better than that.

In 1988, when eighteen-year-old Glenn Quinn arrived in the United States with his mother and two sisters, every possibility in the world was open. This young man from Dublin, with his abundance of both talent and charm, was clearly going far. In what would have been a single guest appearance on "Roseanne" as Becky's boyfriend, Mark, Glenn Quinn made such a strong impression that he was brought back for a recurring role that lasted seven years. A small part in the 1991 John Travolta movie "Shout" brought Glenn Quinn together with Gwyneth Paltrow for her first on-screen kiss, and if viewers were placing bets on which one of the two of them would be a huge box-office draw ten years later, most of the money would have been on Glenn.

For a brief, hectic time, Glenn Quinn was a regular on two series at the same time, simultaneously shooting "Covington Cross" in the U.K. and "Roseanne" in the U.S. Few actors have managed the coup of being featured in two series simultaneously, much less shows recorded on different continents. Only the early cancellation of "Covington Cross" spared Glenn from the dreaded role of teen idol, at least for a few more years.

In that same year, 1992, Glenn Quinn co-starred with Holly Marie Combs in the campy thriller "Dr. Giggles." Anyone looking at Glenn Quinn's career in 1992 could predict with confidence that he was headed for overwhelming success. Ten years later, an issue of "TV Guide" with Holly Marie Combs (now of "Charmed") on the cover noted Glenn's death. What had happened during those ten years?

Much of Glenn Quinn's life remains hidden from public view, even now that he is gone. One thing which remains consistent is that everyone who knew him was dazzled by his warmth, humor, and charm.

Glenn Quinn was on a short break from "Roseanne" when he filmed the movie "Campfire Tales," which he described as "the worst thing I've ever done." The year of its release, 1997, was also the last year of the "Roseanne" series. After the conclusion of the show, Glenn took about a year off, going back to his roots in Dublin, where he may have re-established some long-severed connections. When he returned to Los Angeles, he auditioned for a role then known as "Whistler" on the planned "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" spinoff, "Angel." The role was then rewritten for him, and became the beloved Doyle.

Glenn Quinn and David Boreanaz immediately became great friends, and their friendship continued after Glenn Quinn left "Angel". Glenn was well liked by the cast and crew, and when the combination of planned changes in the overall structure of the series and other circumstances made it necessary for Glenn to leave, it was a painful blow for everyone concerned. Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) described Glenn's departure as "a thorn in my heart."

Although Doyle appeared on only the first nine episodes of "Angel," the character immediately became one of the most popular in Joss Whedon's fictional universe. For the next three years, the fans continued to demand Doyle's return and to support Glenn Quinn. After leaving "Angel," Glenn Quinn starred in two films, the VH1 movie "At Any Cost" (2000) and the independent thriller "R.S.V.P." (2002).

Glenn's many devoted fans, although we often worried about him, remained unaware of his private struggles. While the character of Doyle was coming to terms with having a demon father, learning to cope with his precognitive visions, teaching Angel how to fight the good fight, and then ultimately giving his life to defeat the fictional Scourge, Glenn Quinn was on a journey of his own, battling against a Scourge which was all too real. The fast Hollywood lifestyle, which has done so much harm to so many talented young people, also darkened Glenn's life.

While other actors were publicly disgraced for their troubles, Glenn's professional colleagues extended themselves well beyond the norm to protect his promising career from being derailed by personal crisis. He inspired great loyalty from everyone who knew him, and from everyone whose life was touched by him.

Even in his bleakest times, Glenn was always cheerful, making those around him smile, even when he himself had little to smile about. Although very few knew about the courageous struggle of his last years, everyone wished him a happy ending and fulfillment of all his promise. According to those close to him, Glenn never gave up, and we fans can say with pride that we never gave up on him, either. The fans believed in him to the end, whether he knew it or not.

Why was someone who was so greatly loved, and by so many, still lost? This is the unanswered question which haunts us all.

In the end, we are only fans. While it may feel to us as though part of our world came to a sudden stop with Glenn Quinn's passing, we do pick ourselves up and we move on, as fans always do. But for Glenn Quinn's family and friends, the loss will always remain immeasurable.

I doubt that Glenn Quinn himself fully realized how seriously we fans took the question of his life and death. He would probably have wanted us to do nothing more than laugh for a moment at the irony of it all, and then go on, without looking back.

But we look back, just the same, and we remember.

We will never forget Glenn Quinn.