Michael O'Hare

Michael O'Hare
Years Active	1968-2000
Born	May 6, 1952
Died	September 28, 2012
Place of Birth	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Character(s)	Jeffrey Sinclair

Michael O'Hare (May 6, 1952 - September 28, 2012) was an American actor. He portrayed Commander Jeffrey Sinclair in "The Gathering" and throughout season one of Babylon 5. He returned to play Sinclair in "The Coming of Shadows", "War Without End, Part I", and "War Without End, Part II", fulfilling the destiny originally planned for the character by series creator J. Michael Straczynski.

O'Hare suffered a heart attack on September 23, 2012. After being in a coma for several days, he passed away on September 28. Straczynski announced his passing in a Facebook post that evening.

Departure from the Series

After the end of the first season, it was announced that O'Hare would leave the series as a cast regular, to be replaced by Bruce Boxleitner as Captain John Sheridan in the role of the station's commanding officer. Straczynski's official announcement gave no reason for the abrupt change, but emphasized that it was "a mutual, amicable, and friendly separation" and that "we will be handling this in such a way that, down the road, Sinclair could potentially return to the story."

In May 2013, nineteen years after the departure and nearly eight months after O'Hare's death, Straczynski publicly discussed the decision at a twentieth anniversary Babylon 5 reunion at Phoenix Comicon. During the filming of season one, O'Hare was increasingly affected by paranoia and delusions brought on by mental illness, making the demands of series television increasingly difficult to manage. O'Hare accepted Straczynski's pledge to maintain the secret until after O'Hare had passed away, and to share the story of his struggle afterward.

External Link

• Michael O'Hare at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael O'Hare at Wikipedia