Actor Stanley Kamel, whose most prominent role was as Adrian Monk’s psychiatrist on the USA comedy Monk, passed away yesterday at the age of 65. According to Access Hollywood, his agents found him in his California home, dead from a likely heart attack.
Though never a huge star, Kamel found steady work in Tv and movies for five decades. In all that time, it was his recent role as Monk’s cranky yet incredibly patient shrink that gained him the most fame. Appearing in more than 40 episodes, starting with the shows pilot, Kamel’s Dr. Charles Kroger was a staple of the show.
A representative for the USA network said, “USA is deeply saddened by the news of Stanley Kamel’s passing. Stanley was an amazingly talented and extremely kind man, and an important member of the USA family. He will be sorely missed.”
Thanks to USA’s rerun schedule, and the fact that NBC recently began airing repeats of Monk and Psych on Sunday nights, fans wishing to revisit Kamel’s work can do so. Tomorrow at 5pm, USA will re-air the fifth season episode “Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink,” in which Kamel’s Kroger plays a rather substantive role when he decides to retire from psychiatry when one of his patients becomes a suspect, forcing Monk onto the case to get his old shrink back. NBC is scheduled to air a fourth season episode this Sunday at 8pm that also features Kamel.
Monk completed its sixth season in February, and was picked up for a seventh season that will being airing this May. As of this time, it is unclear if or how Kamel’s death will affect the series, though it is clear to many fans that Dr. Kroger played an important and invaluable role in Monk’s life.
-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of USA)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
