Charles Levin, Who Played Coco On “The Golden Girls,” Was Found Dead In Oregon
The afterworld was already a much, much better place than this world, because they’ve got no Trump, Jell-O 1-2-3 is still for sale there, and you don’t wake up 10 minutes before your alarm goes off with a bladder full of piss that desperately wants out of your body (that only happens in HELL). But the afterworld became an even better place, because 4 out of the 5 regular Golden Girls cast members are there.
Charles Levin, who played Coco the gay cook on the first episode of The Golden Girls, is believed to be dead at 70 years old. Living in a world without Coco from The Golden Girls is sad enough, but the details surrounding Charles’ death makes it even sadder.
The Oregonian says that Charles’ son reported him missing on July 8 in Grants Pass, Oregon, where he lived, after he hadn’t been heard from for a few days. Also missing was Charles’ orange Fiat and his pug Boo Boo Bear. Police and search crews had been looking in a rural area near the town of Selma after the GPS info from Charles’ cell phone led them there. Then on Saturday night, someone who lives in the area found the orange Fiat on a road that police say is very remote and isn’t passable. Boo Boo Bear was found dead inside of Charles’ car.
Since they found Charles’ Fiat and Boo Boo Bear, police searched around that area for him. They found the remains of a body several hours later, and believe that Charles is dead.
“Based on the circumstances, there is a high probability that the remains are those of Charles Levin,” the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety said.
Even though the police believe they found Charles Levin’s body, the Medical Examiner will, of course, have to confirm that. There’s also no reports about how Charles died. Charles was in the middle of moving to a new house at the time he disappeared.
Charles was married to Katherine De Hetre until she died in a car accident in 2007. They had two sons.
Charles Levin’s long list of acting credits go back to 1976, and is filled with roles in Annie Hall, This Is Spinal Tap, The Golden Child, The Facts Of Life, It’s A Living, Falcon Crest, Designing Women, Punky Brewster, and Thirtysomething. He was a regular on Alice during the show’s final season, and some may know him from Hill Street Blues, or as the mohel in an episode of Seinfeld.
I see some sites referring to Charles as “Seinfeld actor,” and honestly, those sites should shut down in shame! How the fuck are they going to call him the “Seinfeld actor” when the greatest and most important role of his career was playing Coco the gay chef in the very first episode of The Golden Girls?!
The original Golden Girls were made up of Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Coco. Coco was their gay houseboy (DREAM JOB ALERT) and was supposed to be a regular, but was dropped and never heard from again after the first episode. Writers believed that Coco would distract from the friendship of the GGs, so Coco was replaced with Sophia who was only meant to be a recurring guest star.
Yes, Coco only lasted for one episode, but he’s the second person to utter a line on that iconic jewel of a show and that gives him legend status!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNQxcVx7iDQ
Rest in peace, Charles Levin. May be the bellboy angels escort you and Boo Boo Bear up to the Legend Of All Legends Suite since that’s where anyone who was in The Golden Girls, The Facts Of Life, It’s A Living, Designing Women, AND Falcon Crest belongs!
Pic: NBC