Robert Michael O'Hare Jr. (May 6, 1952 – September 28, 2012) was an American actor who performed on stage and television. He was best known for playing the lead role of space station Commander Jeffrey Sinclair in the first season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.
Early life and education
Robert Michael O'Hare Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in Chicago Heights. His father, Robert Michael O’Hare Sr., was of Irish descent while his mother, Sally O’Hare (née Crisanti) was of Italian descent. He attended Chicago's Mendel Catholic Preparatory High School,[1][2] where he played football, to defy his doctor who told him he would never be in athletics because of his asthma.[3][4][5] He received several awards and scholarship offers based on his football ability and scholastic performance.[6][7][8][9][10]
He was the first white actor nominated by the African-American theater community of New York for the AUDELCO Award for Best Actor, for his performance as Captain Jaap van Tonder[33] in Michael Picardie's play Shades of Brown, about apartheid in South Africa.[34][35]
In 1992, he was cast in the lead role of Commander Jeffrey Sinclair in the science fiction television series Babylon 5. He appeared in the pilot and throughout the show's first season in 1994. He left the cast for mental health reasons that were not disclosed at the time, but made guest appearances in the second and third seasons.
After 2000, he retired from acting and rarely made public appearances.
Illness and death
Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski revealed after O'Hare's death that the actor had had severe mental illness.[43][44][45] During the filming of the first season of Babylon 5, O'Hare began having paranoid delusions, and, halfway through, his hallucinations worsened. It became increasingly difficult for O'Hare to continue working, his behavior was becoming increasingly erratic, and he was often at odds with his colleagues. Straczynski offered to suspend production for several months to accommodate treatment; however, O'Hare feared that such a hiatus would put the series at risk, and he did not want to jeopardize others' jobs. Straczynski agreed to keep O'Hare's condition secret to protect his career, and O'Hare agreed to complete the first season, but would be written out of the second season so that he could seek treatment. His departure from the cast was announced without explanation, except that it was mutual and amicable.[46][47]
His treatments were only partially successful. He reappeared in a cameo appearance early in season two ("The Coming of Shadows") and returned in season three for a two-part episode ("War Without End") which closed his character's story arc. At that time, Straczynski promised O'Hare to keep his condition secret "to my grave". O'Hare told him to instead "keep the secret to my grave", arguing that fans deserved to eventually learn the real reason for his departure, and that his experience could raise awareness and understanding for people with mental illness. He made no further appearances on Babylon 5, but continued to support the show and appeared at conventions and signing events until his retirement from public appearances in 2000.
On September 28, 2012, Straczynski posted that O'Hare had had a heart attack in New York City five days earlier, and had remained in a coma until his death that day.[48] Eight months later, Straczynski revealed the circumstances of O'Hare's departure from Babylon 5 at a presentation about the series at the Phoenix Comicon.[43][45]
^Sun-Sentinel, BILL VON MAURER, Special to the (January 29, 1993). "'LIPS TOGETHER' ONSTAGE AT GROVE". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Straczynski, J. Michael (May 1994). "About Michael O'Hare's Departure". The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5. As a result of these discussions, it has been agreed that we will have a separation, in the role of the commander. Let me emphasize this very clearly, so there is no chance of miscommunication: this is a mutual, amicable, and friendly separation.
