For fans of the television series Babylon 5 sad news arrived today about the sudden death of Richard Biggs, who played Dr. Stephen Franklin on the series. Biggs died unexpectedly at age 43 on Saturday morning due to what paramedics on the scene are describing as either a massive stroke or aneurysm.
The creator of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski, wrote the following:
I was awakened today with several phone calls from cast members and Doug to pass along the terrible news that this morning, Richard Biggs passed away.
Were still gathering information, so take none of this as firm word, but what seems to have happened, happened quickly. He woke up, got up out of bed…and went down. The paramedics who showed up suggested it was either an aneurysm or a massive stroke.
His family members have been informed, and all of the the cast have, as far as we can determine, also been informed.
This is a terrible loss for all of us. Richard was a consummate professional but more than that he was an honorable, stand-up guy. If he gave you his word on something, you never had to wonder about it afterward. He was always helpful and supportive of all the cast, even those who only came in for one episode, always with a ready smile and determined to do whatever it took to make the scene work. He was, quite simply, a terrific guy, and everyone here is just devastated at the news.
More word as this develops. We may try to have some kind of fund raiser to help give whatever assistance may be helpful for his kids.
We all miss him terribly.
jms