When was the first time a major character in a television show ‘died’ because the actor wanted to leave the show?

I’m going to get a jump on the season and send off my annual letter to Santa Claus right now.

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas this year is for all of my readers to be happy and to receive anything and everything they want.

I already have everything I could possibly need.

I’ll leave the milk and cookies out, of course.

Love, Jack

There.  That’s done. Now, how about some early December trivia? I’m glad you asked, ‘cause I have some right here.  Enjoy!

Did you know …

… the planet Jupiter is larger than all of the other seven planets of the Solar System combined? (Yes, even if you count Saturn’s rings.)

… mosquitoes prefer children to adults? They also prefer blondes to brunettes. (So, since I’m old and white-haired, I’m safe, right? Right? Hello?)

… the oldest continually running newspaper in the United States has been published since 1764? The Hartford Courant, printed in Hartford, Connecticut, holds the distinction of being the longest running newspaper in the country. (I think someone should speak to them about carrying this column, don’t you?)

… your average friend has more friends than you do? It’s called the “Friendship Paradox” and it works something like this (and no, I don’t intend to go into the math about it): your social network consists of you and your friends. But while your friends are a major part of your network, you are only a minor part of their network. Statistically speaking, then, your friends have more friends than you do. (Why can’t I get the theme from the show Friends out of my head now?)

… a woman presumed lost was discovered in a search party looking for herself? In 2014, a traveler became separated from her sightseeing tourist group in Iceland. While apart from the group, the woman changed clothes, and when she returned to the tour bus in a different outfit, nobody recognized her. A description of the “missing” tourist had her dressed in the outfit she had been wearing, but the woman didn’t catch on that it was her, and she even participated in the search for the “missing” tourist – until a few hours later, when somebody figured out that the woman they were searching for was helping them in the search. (This one even I had trouble believing.)

… the first time a major character in a television show “died” was in 1956? Actress Jean Hagen (1923-1977) became unhappy in her role on the situation comedy Make Room For Daddy, which ran from 1953 to 1964. The show’s producers were worried about how to deal with Hagen’s departure, but they didn’t want to end the show.  So they decided to have her character “die” off-screen during the break between seasons. Divorce was not an option for television in that day and age. Star Danny Thomas (1912-1991) was concerned that the show would fail without Hagen’s character, but audiences became sympathetic to his character as a widower, and his character would re-marry in a year or so. The show was renamed The Danny Thomas Show following Hagen’s departure. (Thus proving that no one is irreplaceable – not even me.)

… a ninth-century warlord was killed by a man he’d

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