I adored Freddie Prinze and had such a crush on him!!! I never missed an episode of Chico and the Man. There was something so special about him and his giant heart. He was so brilliant and I cried for days when he died. 💔❤️
I was about 8 years old and I wrote to him telling him (or fan club president or publicist) how much I loved him. The day I got a 7 x 11 envelope with the return address of Hollywood, California, I was beside myself, I actually got a letter and an autographed photo of Freddie! Wow! Thrill of my life as a kid! The crappy thing was my brothers gave me so much shit about it that I hid it somewhere and then couldn't find it later. My brothers were a big kill joy when I was a kid. But that was pretty much how people were then. Fuckers 😂
I remember when it happened. He got very heavy (for the 70s) and was on "slimming pills" (ie uppers). I honestly believe he wasn't responsible for his actions at the time.
Part of an actor is to pretend to be someone that you are not. He did that too well. Doing drugs really is taking matters into your own hands. If they were not prescribed, he could have easily found them on the street anyways. IMHO
That's the thing. There is no set look for mental illness sufferers such as people with depression, many can be absolute riots in public yet suffer in private. The same thing goes for drugs. Sadly, many people remain ignorant on addiction and don't realize anybody can be a drug addict. Attractive, ugly, rich, poor, white, black, uneducated, smart/intellectual. Drug addiction does not discriminate.
I saw Freddie live in 1974. His stand up act without cameras was a little more raw than anything I have seen on the net. He was amazing that evening. Who knew he would be dead two years later. Just one of so many great comics who died too young!
Wow. 22 fucking years old here. It’s so amazing the paradox exhibited here. On the one hand his confidence and mannerisms are way beyond that of a 22 year kid. On the other, he was obviously emotionally broken and underdeveloped. I was four and remember getting excited when I heard that Chico and the Man song come on. He felt like a big brother. Then I asked my dad why he wasnt on anymore. I cried when my mom and dad told me he committed suicide.
What’s crazy is there’s a video of Jr talking about his dad saying that he was just a baby who took on too much. He remarked how weird it was that his dad is forever 22 and he himself is twice that age already. You could tell that he wished he could go back in time and talk his dad through his struggles
22? Well by my calculations if he said 'any day' that means his kid would be born March 10 ...as he said (due date)or March 8, 1976. (when he was actually born), Freddie was 21at this time. His birthday was June 22, 1954 and this was early 1976. He wouldn't have been 22 until June. Wonder why he said he was 22.
Depression + Success= Tragedy Freddie Prinze was an amazing comic and entertainer. Way ahead of his time in terms of his energy. His material was funny, real and groundbreaking, but ultimately, it was his energy and smile that captured all of us. It sounds cliche, but Hollyweird has claimed too many lives. Dark forces run that community and it's scary, toxic, corrupt and dangerous.
So sad, watched Chico and the Man as a kid, Freddie was so talented and could have had such a successful long career, and so so sad he never got to watch his son grow up, heartbreaking 💔 on so many levels
Be happy and supportive of who we follow and be in the moment time flies on this short lived planet so I feel lucky to have known all these wonderful talented beings such as Humphrey Bogart George Raft Frank Sinatra Judy Garland Betty Davis Lucille Ball Marilyn Monroe Burt Lancaster Kirk Douglas and some dogs Lassie Rin Tin Tin, Dog With a blog and their supporting cast members, Sidney Portia "Lillie's of the Field" "To Sir with love"Roy Rodgers Andy Griffith Rod Sterling Twilight Zone Star Trek Star Wars Battle Field Earth PT. Barnum Circus all this and so much more in my short life who can forget Michael Jackson and his family so we all need to thank and appreciate how lucky we are to have known them hopefully we get to meet them in heaven or next time somewhere somewhere!
I remember how he had become good friends with Tony Orlando. Tony went into his own depression after it happened. Just such a sad story that could have been much longer and happier. But we can really never know how much someone may be dealing with mentally. Try not to judge others.
After Elvis, I fell in love with Freddie Prinze. I mourned his death for a long time. Before and after he died, I’d cut out everything that I could from my grandparents Enquirer’s and magazines and stuff. I saved all the articles and photos in 2 paper bags. One day my MaMa threw them away while I was at school because she was concerned about me being so obsessed with him, since he’d committed suicide. I think she was just worried about me, but it broke my heart 💔 I listen to Dancing Queen by ABBA and for some reason it reminded me of Freddie Prinze.
I NEVER EVER heard Eddie mention Freddie as an influence. Who knows. Eddie was a teen during Freddie’s success so I’m sure he knew of him and watched him.
@@ghanasoulI could have imagined Freddie playing Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop had he lived and Eddie had turned it down. Could have imagined those guys working together. That would have been a fun duo.
Prinze was on the verge of superstardom by 1976 had he lived he would have been a major movie star.. instead of one of the big "What If?" Hollywood stories.
Loved him! Everything happened so fast for him. I don't like how other celebrities bad mouthed him without considering his problems and issues thrown at him at such a young age.
@Conway Twitty Stay off here moron. This was late night, not like shit now. You know one thing and one thing only. What you are told. not even your own decisions
Conway Twitty get the fuck out of here with that over used ridiculous comment. You have to be clinically stupid to still say that phrase, like people who have been alive 40 years longer than you don't know what they're talking about. Ok millennial. Fucking dolt.
I saw him at that Mill Run concert Johnny mentioned. My friends and I were in high school. We had such a crush. He mentioned that he now had a newborn son. He was so proud.
"I'm allright with being a grandfather, but I don't know about the idea of sleeping with a grandmother."(am paraphrasing) 😆 🤣 Joey Bishop is probably one of the most underrated comedians in history
I remember watching him all those years ago .....loved Chico and the Man! Haven't seen his standup in ever,and he reminds me of a young Eddie Murphy now!
I wasn't even born when Freddie prinze was popular but he was very funny. Freddie prinze Jr definitely has his similar features. Sad that he was so young and Freddie prinze Jr was only 10 months old
Freddie Prince was a smart young man. I watch concerts and music videos over and over of the great Blues and rock n roll players. Friends and family think I'm nuts. But thats how you learn. You learn what seperated them from the other kajillion musicians entertainers out there. No different than being an athlete. I can watch one moment of a saying, a movement, a facial expression whatever a 1,000 times in a row. I don't see how you can't !
One of the craziest stories I heard about Freddie Prinze was that he seriously wanted to kill John Travolta with a crossbow, because Travolta had become more popular in teen magazines. It should be noted that comedian Jimmie Walker has told this story because he was in his company when Prinze told him and there is no other corroboration.
Freddie Prinze was taking on too much. He was too young to be married at that age with a baby but then he did say she was already pregnant when they got married so that's probably why he married so young.
oh no you guys I didn't know he killed himself!!!! I was just starting to watch his videos on the Carson Show today now I'm very very very sad.He seemed sweet.
Alan Parker's "Fame" (1980) was recently inducted into the Library Of Congress in 2024 as "an artistically and culturally important" film. Nominated for six Academy Awards and winner of two Oscars, the core of the film centers around the character of Raul Garcia, a gifted and troubled young Hispanic teenager from the South Bronx ghetto aspiring to be a stand-up comedian, and going into the same downward spiral as his fallen idol Freddie Prinze. It was essentially a fictionalized "roman a clef" portrait of the then-recent Prinze tragedy,, and it remains to this day a relevant and undimmed cautionary tale about Hollywood, the young, and the dark underside of "The American Dream", with a powerful performance at its center (Barry Miller) that garnered the lion's share of the film's critical acclaim.
If you think about it though it is a short time.. Heck Freddie's career was only like 4 years long. Way to short, he was only 22 when he died. Baby, getting divorced, and had recently signed a deal w/ NBC for like 6 million dollars. That's almost 25 million today. He accomplished everything he did in only 4 years man.. That's crazy, yeah so really it all was short.
hagglefaen I agree. And the saddest part is that he looks so content making jokes, while achieving goal after goal and inside his body there was an endless confusion and a lot of sadness. It's simply heartbreaking. Having it all and still feeling empty inside. Sad.
I thought i was the only one who caught that ,everyone just laughed it off or thought he was joking...while I'm sitting here like "uh well that's actually rlly fucking depressing"
It wasn't him really, Joey hung out with Frank, Dean and Sammy IRL! The forgotten Rat Packer was Peter Lawford, No's 1-2-3&5 agreed to leave No. 4 alone, esp after Frank Jr's kidnapping and JFKs assassination. Except eventually 1-2-3&5 reconciled with 4 in their own way in the latter 60-70s.
Joey Bishop (nacido Joseph Abraham Gottlieb; Nueva York, 3 de febrero de 1918-Newport Beach, California; 17 de octubre de 2007) fue un conocido cómico estadounidense de los años 1960, cuando sus shows, tanto en el teatro como en la televisión, consiguieron un notable éxito. Sin embargo, su fama fue efímera, y una década más tarde ya se hallaba muy lejos de la primera línea de la escena pública. En una encuesta realizada por Comedy Central, Joey Bishop ocupa el puesto #96 entre los 100 más grandes comediantes de la historia en la Estados Unidos.
I had such a crush on this gorgeous guy back in the day. He was 10 yrs older than me. Couldn't believe when he killed himself as he had everything to live for.... but depression kills. He was trying to self medicate obviously but just made things worse. He was just a kid at 23. Very sad.
I don't necessarily see any signs of suicide being on the horizon...but I will say this...he does not look like a guy who is enjoying married life and even more so is just dreading the idea of becoming a father...
I meant no disrespect to mr. Joey Bishop he treated Freddie Prinze the best what I was trying to say was had Freddy married me he would still be very much alive and wouldn't have had to go through all that emotional crapola that drove him to pick up a handgun
we may never know, the real reason...could have been over drugs, and the manager with him, says he committed suicide...could have been jealousy...freddie signed, an NBC contract, the week before...could have had, somebody else, in the room, never revealed...then, make it look like he killed himself...find it odd, nobody staying at beverly comstock hotel 42 years ago, never heard, or saw anything...find that odd !? too odd...too bizarre...
@@rhondachristensen8619 That could be true but before the manager arrived he had already called friends and family and said goodbye throughout the day... At least that's what Google says. But I mean he had just gotten divorced and being on drugs with depression is a recipe for disaster. I think he was just sad and couldn't take it anymore.
Cara DeNalga Agreed. The soon to be ex wife was about to take him to the cleaners. Her lawyers were planning to wring him dry. This contributed to his depression and more drugs which led to his suicide.
I was a a big fan of Chico n the man when I was a little kid. No idea Freddie worked blue but I saw his HBO special and wow. Dude was hella funny. Such a shame he passed so young. I wonder if his son who he spoke about here knows what an amazing comic his dad was…
Frederick James Prinze Sr. (nacido como Frederick Karl Pruetzel; Nueva York; 22 de junio de 1954 - Nueva York; 29 de enero de 1977) fue un comediante y actor estadounidense. Durante los años 1970, protagonizó el papel titular de la serie cómica Chico and the Man, interpretando el papel de Chico Rodríguez, un mecánico chicano trabajando para un envejecido anglosajón intolerante y gruñón en su taller de automóviles.
Freddie Prinze was great comedian I wish you didn't do what are you done I like Joey Bishop watching Carson day he retired is the day I stopped watching The Tonight Show he was great at his job miss him too
It’s Crazy watching them talk about freddie prinze’s unborn son turning 18 knowing that he didn’t even see freddie prinze jr. turn 1. To Freddie at that time freddie prince jr. was just a baby about to be born and now he’s well known 90s hollywood actor with a wife and two kids
