Night Court Star Dead At 70
A cast member of Night Court has passed away at 70 years old.
This article is more than 2 years old
One of the leading stars in Night Court, the 1980s-90s court comedy, has died. Markie Post was 70 years old before dying of cancer. She was diagnosed four years ago. The news was confirmed to Deadline by the actress’ manager, Ellen Lubin Sanitsky.
Markie Post has 76 acting credits in movies and TV shows. Her career started gaining momentum on game shows like Split Second, Double Dare, and Card Sharks. Her TV debut came in one episode of CHiPS in 1979 that followed other small character roles in shows like The Incredible Hulk, The Lazerus Syndrome, Semi-Tough, and Cheers. Her first consistent role was in the mini-series The Gangster Chronicles in 1981. Then she was in The Fall Guy from 1982 to 1985. Shortly after her run on The Fall Guy, she got what would be her most notable role yet: Christine Sullivan, a public defender in the second season of NBC’s Night Court.
She is not the only cast member of Night Court to have died in recent years. Judge Harry T. Stone actor Harry Anderson (It) died in 2018, and Charles Robinson (Key and Peele, The Guest Book) played Mac Robinson and died last month. All three of them reunited in 2008 to play as themselves in an episode of 30 Rock that was simply titled The One With the Cast of ‘Night Court.’ In Night Court, Christine Sulivan would often butt heads with John Larroquette’s (Me, Myself, and I) Dan Fielding. She also had an intimate relationship with Anderson’s Judge Harry T. Stone.
When Night Court ended in 1992 after 193 episodes, 159 of which Markie Post starred in, she had a consistent run of other acting jobs. She was in Hearts Afire with Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade, Fargo) and John Ritter (Clifford the Big Red Dog). The actress was also seen in Odd Man Out with Erik Von Detten (Toy Story) and Jessica Capshaw (Grey’s Anatomy). The last big recurring roles for her acting career were in Chicago P.D. and Transformers Prime. She also had a short stint in Scrubs as the mother of Sarah Chalke’s (Rick and Morty) character Dr. Elliot Reid.
NBC has ordered for a follow-up series of Night Court that, as of this writing, is going by the same name. The announcement was made in May, 2021. John Larroquette is reprising his role that won him four Emmies. He will be joined by Melissa Rauch (The Big Bang Theory), who will play the optimist Judge Abby Stone, the daughter of the late Harry Stone. It will follow her as she follows in her father’s footsteps. Melissa and Winston Rauch will executive produce with John Larroquette as a producer.
Markie Post was born on November 4, 1950, in Palo Alto, California. The Night Court actress is survived by her husband, writer Michael A. Ross, who wrote and produced Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet; daughters, actress Kate Armstrong Ross (A Natural Disaster) and Daisy Schoenborn; son-in-law Bryce Schoenborn, and her and Michael’s five-month-old granddaughter.
