Ron Glass has passed away at age 71 - Cast&Crew

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November 26 2016

Ron Glass has passed away at age 71. In addition to his role as Shepherd Book, he was known for playing detective Ron Harris on Barney Miller. Our condolences to his family and friends.

libradude | Cast&Crew | 16:05 CET | 50 comments total | tags: rip, death, serenity, firefly, ron glass

Damn that is way too young. He will be missed.

JDL | November 26, 16:07 CET

This is so beyond sad. Rest in peace, Ron. You will fly in our hearts forever.

Spikesgurl | November 26, 16:07 CET

Oh no, that sucks! I will miss him.

electricspacegirl | November 26, 16:11 CET

Balls. I liked him :(. I was just remembering his role on AoS today.

Simon | November 26, 16:12 CET

RIP to a really good actor. My mom just told me and I rushed to Whedonesque in hopes it wasnt true :(

eddy | November 26, 16:27 CET

So sorry to hear this. An impressive actor and from all accounts a lovely man.

Gill | November 26, 16:35 CET

I'm just heartbroken. I loved him on both Firefly and Barney Miller. He just seemed like the happiest, nicest guy.

NYPinTA | November 26, 16:39 CET

I can't believe that we won't hear that wonderful laugh again.
He was such a generous soul. On the Browncoat cruise years back, someone asked him if it was true that he's given Nathan his shirt after Nathan had admired it. He said yes, that had happened. The next day I admired his Tshirt - it had Firefly on it and his handler said Joss had given them to all the cast and how rare it was as a result. I joked that if she liked it so much, she should ask Ron for it as he was known to give the shirt off his back. We all laughed, he signed something for me and I moved on.
That night we were all in the room set aside for us and Ron came up to me,knelt on one knee and handed me a bag. It was the shirt! He apologized that it wasn't clean but assured me that he had only worn it for a few hours that morning. I was stunned. It was only a couple of days after that I could find the words to thank him and he just shrugged off his generosity.
The world is much poorer place now.

[ edited by Lioness on 2016-11-26 23:04 ]

Lioness | November 26, 17:03 CET

Much too young. Keep flying, Mr. Glass.

aeval | November 26, 17:04 CET

That's horrible news :(. He was an awesome actor. Rushed to Whedonesque to double-check this news. So, so sorry to see it's true.

GVH | November 26, 17:06 CET

Oh no! I was rewatching AoS recently and wondering about him. My condolences to his family and loved ones.

[ edited by shelled on 2016-11-26 23:14 ]

shelled | November 26, 17:07 CET

Damn. I just read this, couldn't believe it until I came here. So sad now..:(
Although that is a lovely story Lioness. I always wished I could have been at more of the cast gatherings. (I've only met Nathan.) They'll never be the same now. Such a loss.
R.I.P Mr Glass...

Jas | November 26, 17:08 CET

My sympathies are with his family and friends, and fellow fans.

Craig Oxbrow | November 26, 17:09 CET

Very sad to hear.

Buffyfantic | November 26, 17:11 CET

Sadness.

And thank you Lioness for sharing that story. Sounds like he was just the kind of guy I imagined him to be.

jcs | November 26, 17:15 CET

That's a great story Lioness. Thank you for sharing, really speaks to the person he was.

GVH | November 26, 17:20 CET

RIP, sir. You're gone too soon.

ActualSize | November 26, 17:34 CET

As much as I loved Ron Glass as Book in Firefly and Serenity
My favorite memory of him will always be the episode I of Newton,
from Dec 13, 1985.

RobynH | November 26, 17:55 CET

Just tragic. He had such a warm and joyful presence. Infectious laughter and an obvious kind heart. Book was actually one of my favourite characters in Firefly, and my favourite religious character in film or tv hands down. As an atheist I went through the stage as a kid of being somewhat angry inside about everyone who was religious. I just couldn't wrap my head around their way of thinking. Book helped me let go of it because I came to understand religious belief better. Two of his lines. Paraphrasing here but... 'It's not about making sense, it's about believing in something and allowing that belief to be real enough to change your life' and 'when I talk about belief, why do you always assume I'm talking about god?' They helped me accept that some people need religion and that it can bring wisdom, not just pain and confusion. I'll never be religious but thanks to Book I don't have anything against those who are anymore. Great character, portrayed with heart, intelligence and just a sprinkling of badass by Mr. Glass. Heartbroken about this, wish I could have met him. Condolences to his family and friends.

Fivewordsorless | November 26, 17:55 CET

:"(

Ragondux | November 26, 18:04 CET

Grack21 | November 26, 18:34 CET

Terribly sad news. Such a loss to fandom.

I'll raise my glass to you, sir. Rest in peace.

Shep | November 26, 18:54 CET

😢

Nebula1400 | November 26, 19:42 CET

A wonderful human :(. Sadness.

zeitgeist | November 26, 19:47 CET

Such sad news.

Sunfire | November 26, 19:57 CET

O crap. I was also really hoping this was one of those bogus news stories. I loved him in Firefly - don't think I saw him in anything else. Lioness, thanks for your story. How lovely.

What an awful month this has been. The election, losing Leonard Cohen, now Ron Glass ....

OK, sending love and hugs to all. We'll get through this.

Jocelyn

Jocelyn | November 26, 20:02 CET

A friend told me about this in the pub earlier and I didn't believe him. Genuinely gutted! Then I saw Nathan Fillion's tweet which made it worse...

Nathan Fillion ‏@NathanFillion 4h4 hours ago

"Shepard, don't move."
"Won't go far."
We love you, Ron Glass. Don't go far. https://www.instagram.com/p/BNSiJUPDJHc/

RIP Shepherd Book :(

cdm22 | November 26, 20:52 CET

Deepest condolences to his family and friends. Ron, we miss you.

Eden | November 26, 21:31 CET

Nooooooo! Dammit.

Heartbreaking news.

punkinpuss | November 26, 21:36 CET

Such sad sad news. Even though I'm such a Firefly fan, whenever I hear his name I still picture Sgt. Harris.

Beatle | November 26, 22:03 CET

Sadness.

I never met him, but I know lots of people that had, and by all accounts he was truly a sweetheart - a gracious & lovely man. And obviously I love him on Firefly & in Serenity. So flippin' young. #RelativelySpeaking

I know what I'll be watching tonight.

(What a gawdsawful year.)

QuoterGal | November 26, 22:27 CET

I was hoping 2016 will end without even more bad news.

He was a gentle kind man who happened to be a symbolic character.

He shall be missed by all.

RIP Ron

Ps Nathan's Tweet pushed me over the edge to tears *sniff*

[ edited by Mirage on 2016-11-27 04:45 ]

Mirage | November 26, 22:44 CET

Deeply sad news. He seemed like a wonderful man.

Charlie | November 26, 23:26 CET

I'd always heard that Ron was a nice guy but it really hit home while watching the Firefly DVD commentaries. Every time he spoke you could just hear the love and kindness in his voice. Rest in peace.

lottalettuce | November 26, 23:41 CET

One of the best portrayers of a sincerely religious person that I've ever seen. He will be deeply missed.

brinderwalt | November 27, 00:04 CET

Deepest condolences to his family.

I loved him on Barney Miller and then to discover him again on Firefly was like my childhood meeting my adult fanhood.

[ edited by catalyst2 on 2016-11-27 07:19 ]

catalyst2 | November 27, 01:17 CET

Also hearing Ron's voice in Fable 2 made the game for me. And I never realised he did one of the voices on Rugrats.

Simon | November 27, 03:08 CET

As my son said, he's gone to the special heaven.

RBB | November 27, 04:05 CET

Clear Skies, Preacher.

Bad Karma | November 27, 05:13 CET

He was such a wonderful presence on Firefly, as part of one of the most remarkable ensemble casts ever assembled.

Toivo | November 27, 06:15 CET

My heart just broke :/

Krusher | November 27, 06:17 CET

Just got home from a trip and this is the first thing I read. Terrible. Always thought he was much younger still for some reason.

RIP!

This will make Serenity rewatches even more heartbreaking.

D-e-f- | November 27, 08:48 CET

@RBB, Thank you.

RobynH | November 27, 12:01 CET

I'm just so sad to hear this. I just loved him as Shepherd Book, and I have many fond memories of him in what was considered at the time a breakthrough role on Barney Miller. He will definitely be missed. And, yes, this will make Serenity rewatches even more heartbreaking.

palehorse | November 27, 13:34 CET

Very sorry to hear the news. It was always great to watch him, wherever he appeared.

Risch22 | November 27, 13:53 CET

forcorreo | November 27, 20:36 CET

@RobynH, you're welcome. I teared up when he said that. Sheesh, what a year for deaths of beloved celebrities.

RBB | November 27, 22:35 CET

On the Browncoat Cruise, my wife Sandy and I had the pleasure of having dinner with Ron Glass (along with several other folks). Ron was absolutely charming and a wonderful conversationalist! Sandy still has a framed picture of Ron that she won during the gift exchange and I'm sure it will be even more cherished.

Ron, you will be surely missed!

dcubed | November 27, 23:30 CET

He graced two of the best ensemble casts ever. Barney Miller and Firefly both raised the bar in writing for television, and he ably brought grace and humor to both. 71 is too soon to go.

Nebula1400 | November 28, 15:05 CET

Ron was superb as Shepherd Book, but to me, he will always be Sgt. Ron Harris of Barney Miller. What a great character: polished, witty, but with an underlying frustration about his lot in life that gave him an edge. (I loved that when his book was published, Harris turned into a bit of a dick, not-so-subtly lording it over his squadmates--until the realities of show biz brought him back to Earth.

And RobynH--yes to "I of Newton" from the 1980s Twilight Zone. The episode was barely seven minutes long, but Glass' Devil was so smooth, so sharp, so sinister, that he sticks in the mind 30 years later.

Ah Ron. You will be missed.

cjl | November 29, 11:09 CET

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