Andreas Katsulas 1946-2006

February 14, 2006 6:52 PM

RIP Andreas Katsulas...and G'Kar, and Commander Tomalak, and the big screen's one-armed man, and ... damn.
posted by WolfDaddy (60 comments total)

Just played the hell out of G'Kar. What a shame.
posted by JDC8 at 7:13 PM on February 14, 2006

G'Kar turns to Vir. He slices his hand, letting the blood drip on the floor. "Dead... dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead..."
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:29 PM on February 14, 2006

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posted by slatternus at 7:34 PM on February 14, 2006

One of my favorite scenes ANYWHERE will always be G'Kar saying goodbye to Delenn before escorting Londo to Centauri Prime.

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posted by sbutler at 7:35 PM on February 14, 2006

Captain Sheridan. I've been instructed by my government to come to you and ask for... sanctuary.

RIP Andreas
posted by Palquito at 7:38 PM on February 14, 2006

"Put your face in the book."
posted by fleetmouse at 7:43 PM on February 14, 2006

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Damn. He and Peter Jurasik made me watch that show.
posted by selfnoise at 7:48 PM on February 14, 2006

This is very sad news. He stole the show on B5 :(
posted by kaemaril at 8:08 PM on February 14, 2006

selfnoise: too right. i always loved the little bits where either G'kar or Londo would go into fits of rage and, like, totally tear their rooms apart to pieces. hilarious!

1 ... 2 ... 3 ... ... 39 ... AAAAARGH!
posted by ginbiafra at 8:18 PM on February 14, 2006

Damn. He and Peter Jurasik made me watch that show.
posted by selfnoise at 8:48 PM MST on February 14 [!]


This is very sad news. He stole the show on B5 :(
posted by kaemaril at 9:08 PM MST on February 14 [!]

Yeah, definitely. There was something almost Shakespearean about the relationship between Londo and G'Kar, going from being the bitterest of enemies to being each other's salvation. A story arc like that is rare on any TV show, let alone an SF show that never found a comfortable network home. I'm not really all that familiar with any of Andreas' other work, but on the strength of B5 alone he was fantastic.
posted by arto at 8:22 PM on February 14, 2006

Echoing what was said above, Katsulas and Jurasik played two of the most nuanced and complex characters I have ever seen on TV. Their relationship was built so much on the subtlety of interaction those two actors had.

What a loss.

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posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 8:26 PM on February 14, 2006

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posted by cacophony at 8:26 PM on February 14, 2006

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G'Kar was the highlight of B5, especially his relationship with Londo, and Andreas was perfect. I tried to think of a quote for this comment, and there were too many, and they were all too perfect; but you also need his delivery to get the most out of it.
posted by andraste at 8:28 PM on February 14, 2006

Aw, damn.

RIP, G'Kar. You done good. You done real good.
posted by JB71 at 8:29 PM on February 14, 2006

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posted by jbrjake at 8:33 PM on February 14, 2006

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posted by tonelesscereal at 8:37 PM on February 14, 2006

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posted by wolftrouble at 8:40 PM on February 14, 2006

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posted by nooneyouknow at 9:17 PM on February 14, 2006

The first time I watched B5 I thought it was going to tank, in part because they had that Romulan guy in yet another make-up job playing a Klingon clone.

Well he proved me wrong, stole that show, and made me forget I was watching an actor in makeup. G'Kar rocked.
posted by JWright at 9:18 PM on February 14, 2006

I didn't watch much, but in what I saw, he was great.

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posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:31 PM on February 14, 2006

As G'kar, he had an amazing presence, and his evolution over the course of the show was fascinating. He was completely convincing as a fire-spitting villain... and he was also completely believable as the semi-unwilling leader of a bunch of religious nutcases.

Most of the characters in B5 were a bit wooden, but Andreas Katsulas and Peter Jurasik made that world live. As others have said, there have been very few relationships on television as deep or as interesting.... and in televised SF, none at all. Without them, I'm sure B5 wouldn't have made the full 5 years.

RIP, Mr. Katsulas... among the geeks, you will be long remembered.
posted by Malor at 9:36 PM on February 14, 2006

The best SF series, ever, and he was by far the best thing in it.

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posted by Jon Mitchell at 9:39 PM on February 14, 2006

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posted by NO_the_BLUE_wire at 9:40 PM on February 14, 2006

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which guy was he? the lizard guy (who i loved)?
posted by amberglow at 9:40 PM on February 14, 2006

*sentences amberglow to The Lurker's Guide for an undisclosed amount of time*
posted by WolfDaddy at 9:50 PM on February 14, 2006

Agreed with what's been said before. Andreas (along with Peter) was the life and soul of the show and he'll be greatly missed.

And with the passing of Richard Biggs, there are now two less of the core crew. I'm very sorry there wasn't a chance to make at least one theatrical movie before they went on.
posted by pandaharma at 10:04 PM on February 14, 2006

Wife and I are just now getting into an exhaustive re-view of B5 (just 10 episodes in), and, as others have suggested, there's something to G'Kar and Londo that gives the first season especially some lasting depth otherwise often lacking. Andreas could chew scenery with the best of them.
posted by cortex at 10:43 PM on February 14, 2006

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posted by redbeard at 11:40 PM on February 14, 2006

My favorite scene of his in B5 was when he got the prosthetic eye replacement and promptly took it out, turned it around back to him and waved at himself while laughing.

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posted by Talanvor at 11:43 PM on February 14, 2006

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posted by ltl at 11:45 PM on February 14, 2006

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posted by neckro23 at 11:47 PM on February 14, 2006

I was just talking with a friend yesterday about how far above the rest of the B5 "bar" he and Jurasik were. Most of B5's characters haven't aged so well for me, but G'kar and Londo were at the core of all the good stuff.

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posted by ipe at 11:50 PM on February 14, 2006

"There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. The war we fight is not against powers and principalities, it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope. The death of dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender."
posted by Anders Levant at 11:56 PM on February 14, 2006

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posted by Pseudonumb at 1:15 AM on February 15, 2006

Andreas Katsulas was a rather under-appreciated actor.
It was always a pleasure to see him pop up in things like Millennium and Hot Shots. Hell, he was the one-armed man in the Fugitive!

He'll be missed.

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posted by slimepuppy at 1:27 AM on February 15, 2006

Damn. Damn damn damn. I never even got to meet the guy.

One of my proudest moments was back in college, when I was guesting on my friend Steve's radio show, and he asked the trivia question, "Who played the One-Armed Man in the Fugitive?" When the answer was revealed, I turned to Steve and said, "You know, he also plays G'Kar on Babylon 5. Would you like to hear him sing?" I reached into my CD case and pulled out a disc of songs written by Bill Mumy and performed with the B5 cast. I stuck it in the CD player and the airwaves were filled with the melodious tones of Andreas Katsulas. The look on Steve's face was priceless.

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posted by Faint of Butt at 3:07 AM on February 15, 2006

There is no greater force in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power, governments and tyrants and armies cannot stand. The Centauri learned this lesson once. We will teach it to them again. Though it take a thousand years, we will be free.

I'm incredibly saddened by this excellent actor's passing. Farewell, Andreas: you will not be forgotten.
posted by Pallas Athena at 5:24 AM on February 15, 2006

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posted by Smart Dalek at 6:12 AM on February 15, 2006

His performance in B5 got me excited to watch SciFi again. After Next Gen ended, I became concerned that good actors don't do SciFi, or at least you couldn't find good acting in SciFi. G'Kar and Londo helped to make that series epic.

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posted by Numenorian at 6:23 AM on February 15, 2006

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posted by unreason at 6:24 AM on February 15, 2006

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posted by Ber at 6:30 AM on February 15, 2006

I'm truly saddened. The transformation of G'Kar was amazing to watch unfold. And to be able to emote under the makeup took talent, even for a great character actor. It was truly transcendental.

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posted by parilous at 6:33 AM on February 15, 2006

"Well, Captain, how long are we going to stare at each other across the Neutral Zone?!"
posted by Servo5678 at 6:56 AM on February 15, 2006

a great actor who, with Peter Jurasik, made B5 into a great, great show that vaulted the walls of the sci-fi ghetto.
his G'Kar had an animal muscularity to every gesture and utterance that conveyed alienness in a manner far beyond the ordinary trappings of latex and makeup.

ave atque vale
posted by the sobsister at 6:57 AM on February 15, 2006

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posted by stevis at 7:06 AM on February 15, 2006

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posted by adrianhon at 7:15 AM on February 15, 2006

Damn! Richard Biggs (Dr. Franklin) and G'Kar are bad enough, but apparently Zathras also died a couple of years ago, something I only discovered last nigh. :-(
posted by WolfDaddy at 8:06 AM on February 15, 2006

Damn! He brought some powerful stuff to B5. G'kar & Londo really made that show for me. Ditto what arto said - very Shakespearian.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 8:22 AM on February 15, 2006

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G'Quon wrote, "There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. The war we fight is not against powers and principalities, it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender. The future is all around us, waiting, in moments of transition, to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of that future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain."
posted by swerdloff at 8:27 AM on February 15, 2006

apparently Zathras also died a couple of years ago

Zathras may be dead, but Zathras is still alive and healthy, although Zathras is seriously ill. </geeky B5 reference>
posted by unreason at 8:33 AM on February 15, 2006

Now I have to go pull out my dvds of the series... We lost Richard Biggs (Franklin) last year or so, Zathras, now this. This sucks.
posted by Dome-O-Rama at 8:51 AM on February 15, 2006

G'Kar vs. Londo = mythic conflict, brilliantly played. Katsulas was one of my faves. Thankfully we can watch that brilliance again and again.

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posted by zoogleplex at 10:29 AM on February 15, 2006

I would have never gotten cable TV if it weren't for B5.

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posted by adamrice at 10:50 AM on February 15, 2006

Damn. I watched B5 from the very first episode (indirectly got Christopher Franke his gig doing the soundtrack, too) and my original "Accept no substitutes" B5 t-shirt is still one of my most prized possessions. The Katsulas/Jurasik chemistry was easily the best thing about that show. It made some of the more lame parts, and even an uber-fan like me has to admit they existed, bearable.

I, too, got cable TV for the first time to watch the final season of B5 on TNT.

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posted by kindall at 11:01 AM on February 15, 2006

Heh, until B5 was on TNT, I remember having to stay up til 1 or 2 AM every week to watch it on KCOP from LA...must see geek-TV for sure!

kindall, I think you and I have reminisced before about how close B5 staff and its fans were via GEnie roundtables, even before the pilot movie ever aired. I still miss that sense of camaradarie. I wonder if [e-mail] still works?? :-)
posted by WolfDaddy at 11:18 AM on February 15, 2006

Ya, jmsatb5 is still his main email address, at least for the Usenet stuff.

In case anyone hasn't seen it yet (and if anyone is still reading this thread), here's JMS's posting about Andreas: http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-17526
posted by pandaharma at 1:30 PM on February 15, 2006

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posted by Auz at 1:44 PM on February 15, 2006

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posted by bz at 4:05 PM on February 15, 2006

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posted by May Kasahara at 5:14 PM on February 15, 2006

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So very sad. I met him once. A true gent.
posted by pixeldiva at 8:04 AM on February 16, 2006