R.I.P. Markie Post from Night Court and The Fall Guy
Post also appeared in There's Something About Mary and Scrubs
TV News Night Court
As reported by Deadline, Markie Post—best known for roles on Night Court and The Fall Guy, as well as an appearance in There’s Something About Mary—has died. The news was confirmed by her manager, and it comes nearly four years after Post was diagnosed with cancer. She was 70.
Post was born in California in 1950, the daughter of poet Marylee Post and nuclear physicist Richard F. Post. Her first roles in the entertainment business weren’t onscreen, with her working behind the scenes on game shows like Split Second, CBS’ Double Dare, and Card Sharks. In the late-’70s, she started to land minor TV gigs, popping up on CHiPs, Barnaby Jones, The Incredible Hulk, Eight Is Enough, and The Greatest American Hero. Her first major role came in 1982 when she was cast on action show The Fall Guy, joining Lee Majors and his crew of Hollywood stunt performers/bounty hunters as Terri Michaels.
When The Fall Guy ended, Post joined the cast of NBC sitcom Night Court as a series regular in its third season, playing overly trusting public defender (and Princess Diana fan) Christine Sullivan. She stuck with the show until its end, reprising her role—though she was technically playing herself, alongside the rest of the Night Court cast—in the 30 Rock episode “The One With The Cast Of Night Court.”
After Night Court, Post had regular roles on Hearts Afire and Odd Man Out, and she also played Elliot’s overbearing mother in a recurring guest star role on Scrubs. More recently, she popped up on Chicago P.D., Santa Clarita Diet, and The Kids Are Alright. Post’s death comes just about a month after the death of her Night Court co-star Charlie Robinson, and she is survived by her husband, two daughters, and a young granddaughter.
62 Comments
Markie was very bright and very likeable onscreen, very sharp – she was also very underrated, as I think many took for granted how good she was, not to mention what a difficult task she had in joining Night Court as she was the third woman to take that public defender/female lead. As she had not really aged and also not appeared that frequently in recent years, I still see her as the woman I grew up watching on Night Court. And of course she was also on a lot of game shows in those years, which gave you more of a personal connection to TV names of the day .Very sad for her friends and family.
She’s defending criminals in God’s court now
Harry T. Stone: Fifty dollars and time served.
The usual.
Aw man, I watched so much night court in syndication. It was such a tight sitcom and the cast was great.
Night Court reruns seemed to always precede another syndicated rerun that I wanted to watch, so I ended up seeing far more of it than my interest in the show would suggest. But it did grow on me, and I think the cast was what did it.
It was always the last show in that killer Thursday night NBC 80’s sitcom lineup and never got the attention or love it got in relation to the Cosby Show, Facts of Life, and Cheers. It was almost a bit ahead of it’s time too in that it’s quirky sensibilities seemed more in tune with maybe even post-the Office sitcoms
I liked it because it was one of those shows like “Taxi” and “Barney Miller” which had a cast of actors who were skilled in comedy, and distributed the laugh lines to all of them.
What I always admired about Barney Miller was that it was a show that was confident enough that it didn’t have to be funny all the time—the writing and acting were so good that it felt more like a play with jokes in it than a comedy, if that makes sense.
The fact that Barney Miller was mostly set in the precinct, and rarely left that set, helped the “play with jokes” feel. One of the things I liked about it as well.
Barney Miller was often cited by real-life cops as the most realistic portrayal of police work on TV. Most of their time was spent with paperwork and dealing with the mentally ill.
Hulk6785 noted that most of the cast of Night Court are gone. I just watched that classic Barney Miller episode, “Jack Soo, A Retrospective,” and realized that most of them are gone, too. I think only Linden and Gail are still with us. Two great shows that made 1970’s and 1980’s television worthwhile… and still hold up.
Hash brownies served on a porcelain Charles and Diana dessert plate in tribute of Markie Post and those who preceded her. RIP to a lovely lady.
Currently watch back-to-back episodes of Barney Miller, M-F 8pm-9pm, on the Antenna network (17.2 Philly) sandwiched between back to back episodes of M*A*S*H (2.1, 7-8pm MeTV) & ST: The Next Generation (2.4, 9-10pm, Heroes & Icons Network‘I liked “Taxi” & “Barney Miller” which had a cast of actors who were skilled in comedy, and distributed the laugh lines to all of them.’
Wasn’t it Family Ties that came between Cosby and Cheers on Thursday nights?
It was. “Facts of Life” was never part of the Thursday night lineup and was never a well-respected show.
I don’t think Night Court was ahead of its time. It was almost a bit behind its time, like the last of the really raunchy sitcoms from the 70s and early 80s that would have kind of a vaudevillian-influenced sensibility. Totally sex-obsessed but also kind of innocent like Three’s Company. It was a great show, really funny, but they’d never make anything like that now.
I feel I grew up during the right time for prime time sitcoms, and Night Court was one that I made a point of watching every week. The banter, back and forth between Post and Anderson and Larroquette was always priceless.
Yeah back in the late 80s / early 90s one of the local stations (the CBS affiliate) ran a block of syndicated Cheers and Night Court just like over on NBC. While it took me awhile to warm up to Cheers, NC was a favorite from the get-go.
Goddamn! The Night Court cast is dropping like flies! Is John Larroquette okay!? And, what about Marsha Warfield!?
Good thing Bull is indestructible.
Good thing Bull is indestructible.
John Larroquette cannot die. He just becomes more distinguished.
Loved him in West Wing.
We’d better do something to keep Brent Spiner and Annie O’Donnell safe!
John Larroquette was also the narrator in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
John Larroquette has such a dry wit that it surprises me still that he never did anything bigger than Night Court. I know he had his own show in the late ‘90s (I think set in a subway or bus station??) and was actually pretty decent but on at a bad day and time. Markie Post was awesome. Between her and Harry Anderson and John Larroquette they made Night Court. And I’m just now remembering that Anderson passed away a couple years back. Way too soon.
He’s doing the Night Court reboot!
I’ve got bad news about Selma Diamond…
And Harry Anderson, too.
Marsha Warfield was able to survive Night Court’s “female bailiff” curse. Pretty sure she can survive almost anything.
That’s because she wasn’t a senior citizen when she took the role.
Warfield has a recurring gig on one of the Fox 9-1-1 shows. She looks good!
You may be able to look up the year of his death in that episode of Futurama.
RIP
Well damn. I’m gonna go watch that episode of Cheers where she and Shelley Long do the “cars that start with P” joke.
That just popped into my head yesterday, well before I heard that she’d died. Weird.
RIP
Her dramatic role on Chicago PD was a revelation to me, and this makes me sad.
They did such a great job playing up her looks on Night Court but being very clever and funny rather than creepy about it, and she was a great sport for it too.30 years later I still remember two off the top of my head. The flashing scene is a classic; she needs to help Harry win an arm wrestling bet for a good cause. He’s seconds away from losing, and so she flashes the guy, he’s stunned, and loses.But it’s brilliantly set up. Nobody but he sees her do so since they’re all gathered around looking down at the match, and the writing afterwards is just perfect. Her, “You won’t tell them will you?” Him, “Ma’am, where would I begin?” and Harry, completely oblivious, “He was in the presence of greatness.”The other was where Dan’s constant chase of her gets to the point where he does something to ‘win’ and she feels obligated to sleep with him. Except they have her throw on a face mud pack when she comes out of the bathroom and Dan finally realizes that she’s not been playing hard to get – she’s genuinely not interested.Pretty sophisticated stuff for a 1980s sitcom, and a pretty darned good actor too.
She was great on Night Court. They all were.
The flashing scene is a classic; she needs to help Harry win an arm wrestling bet for a good cause. He’s seconds away from losing, and so she flashes the guy, he’s stunned, and loses.Christine: Congratulations, sir.Harry: I guess we showed him!Christine: … we sure did.Sigh. She was also one of my TV crushes as a kid. What a great show with a great cast. RIP.
“He was in the presence of greatness.” “… Thanks.”
I remember both of those— she actually felt obliged to sleep with Dan because he had saved her life. I think she was choking and he gave her the Heimlich or something like that. The show really seemed to hit its stride when she joined the cast— Paula Kelly and Ellen Foley were fine but didn’t seem to click somehow. Post joinig was like the last puzzle piece fitting into place.It helped that she had a dynamite pair of legs, too. 🙂
New rule: No celebrities younger than my parents are allowed to die.*YouTube streamers and Republicans are exempt from this rule
My parents are at an age where this could be difficult.
I’m starting to get to the point where celebrities younger than me are dying.
Fall Guy. Night Court. Hearts Afire. And that classic bathroom scene from “There’s Something About Mary.”Suddenly 2021 can’t end fast enough.
“Suddenly 2021 can’t end fast enough.”Remember when everyone said that about 2016 up until November?
She was one of my TV crushes way back when. “But sir…” Seemed like many of her lines started with that. She was super adorable on Night Court, and super funny, too…
Back before Kinja infamously took over AV Clubs comments, I’d comment under the name “Biz Markie Post”. Strange that Biz and Ms. Post would pass away within about 3 weeks of each other. I was shocked when I read about it this morning. Night Court was one of my favorite shows as a kid, and I still believe that its peak (seasons 2-6) is some of the funniest TV I’ve ever seen, and I’m one of countless people who had a crush on her. Seemed like Markie was as kind, smart and caring as Christine Sullivan was. She’ll be missed.
I have fond memories of Biz, Post, and your username.
… all this plus a surprising turn in “Something About Mary.” Franks and Beans!
Biz Markie and now Markie Post?Marky Mark better watch out!
Me to the grim reaper as he makes for Marky Mark:
Our big Three Markies have passed this yearPrince Markie DeeBiz MarkieMarkie Postcue the conspiracy theories in 3, 2, 1…
Marky Ramone is going to stay alive until his wig manufacturer goes bankrupt!
I actually hadn’t heard about Charles Robinson before I read this so now I’m doubly depressed. 🙁
First Biz Markie! Now Markie Post! Who Next?
I loved her so much as a kid, seeing her and Heather Thomas on Fall guy when I was 8-10 years old was something. And then for a while Night Court was my favorite show as she was a close 3rd behind Dan and Harry.
RIP.
Well now I’m sad. Markie Post was my very first celebrity crush.
Does anyone remember her tv movie called “Chasing the Dragon”? I like to think that it’s a flattering tribute that I think of her dramatic turn as a heroin-addicted like soccer mom (?) as well as her Night Court role. Seriously- I checked IMDB. That was a thing that happened! And she was good!