Prinze suffered from depression, which deepened in the weeks after his wife filed for divorce. On the night of January 28, 1977, the night of the airing of this episode, after talking on the telephone with his estranged wife, Prinze received a visit from his business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder. As Snyder looked on, Prinze put a gun to his head and shot himself. He was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center and placed on life support following emergency surgery. His family removed him from life support, and he died at 1 p.m. on January 29.