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Re: "Degrassi" actor Neil Hope has died... five years ago
"Degrassi" actor Neil Hope died five years ago, and no one knew
by AP
TORONTO (AP) — Actor Neil Hope, who starred as Derek "Wheels" Wheeler on the popular 1980s TV series "Degrassi Junior High" and had little contact with relatives and friends in his final years, died alone in an Ontario rooming house in 2007, his former fiance confirmed Friday.
Ex-fiance Christina Boulard said Hope's family spent years trying to track him down after hearing rumors of his passing several years ago, but only learned last month from police in Hamilton, Ontario, that he had died.
Boulard said the former star of Canada's groundbreaking "Degrassi" series died on Nov. 25, 2007, of "natural causes" at the age of 35 but declined to elaborate, only saying Hope was diabetic.
Boulard, who last saw Hope in 2002, said it was not unusual for him to cut ties with friends and family for sometimes a year at a time.
"Neil was a very private person. He didn't have the best life, there were times when he would go a while without seeing or talking to his family," Boulard said.
She said she is angry that police took so long to inform Hope's relatives of his death. He apparently had not listed a next-of-kin in any official documents, she said, adding she doubted that was true.
"He deserved better and so did his family," Boulard said.
Hamilton Police Service Sgt. Terri-Lynn Collings said Friday that the force doesn't comment on "sudden death investigations where there's no suspicion of any foul play."
A spokeswoman for Ontario's Office of the Chief Coroner said that an unclaimed person would be buried by a municipality only after a next-of-kin search was conducted. Cheryl Mahyr said a search could include hospitals, physicians, pharmacies, community organizations and mental health facilities.
Hope was one of "Degrassi's" earliest stars, appearing as "Griff" on the first installment, "The Kids of Degrassi Street," in 1979.
On "Degrassi Junior High," which ran from 1987 to 1991 on PBS in the United States, he portrayed the troubled character Derek Wheeler — known as "Wheels" — who struggled with alcoholism. The actor was candid about his own difficult childhood growing up with alcoholic parents.
"Degrassi Junior High," was acclaimed for its realistic portrayal of topics such as drug use, child abuse, teen pregnancy, homophobia, racism and divorce. The show followed the lives of teens who eventually graduated to "Degrassi High," another incarnation of the show.
Hope later guest starred on "Degrassi: The Next Generation" in 2001 and 2003, but details of his final years were scarce. The "Degrassi" series has won two International Emmy Awards and two Teen Choice Awards, along with several other awards.
Facebook members who said they were relatives of Hope first posted a notice of Hope's death last month, but online reports of his death only began circulating Thursday morning.
Twitter was abuzz with tributes as word of his death spread. A memorial page from a fan in Israel featured photos of Hope and a guest book for other fans to share condolences.
Film director Kevin Smith, a longtime "Degrassi" fan who appeared on the show as a guest star, tweeted that Hope "will be missed."
"Degrassi Junior High" creator Linda Schuyler said she was "terribly saddened to hear the news."
"Neil made an important contribution to our lives, to the lives of our television team who are like a family to us and indeed to the lives of the many Canadians and others around the world who were influenced by Neil and the roles he played, starting from the early days of 'The Kids of Degrassi Street,'" Schuyler said in a joint statement with executive producer Stephen Stohn.
"His life was not an easy one but the time he spent with us was a shining example of determination, hard work and hopeful optimism and he is sorely missed."
Boulard is planning a private memorial in June for Hope's old "Degrassi" colleagues and close friends.
Re: "Degrassi" actor Neil Hope has died... five years ago
How in the hell does in ACTOR of all things spotlight, in the modern social-media era die, and it takes five years for his family or the industry to even know about it.
Maybe some of the Canadians here could answer that question. Does Canada not keep track of their actors the way the U.S. does? If you notice on imdb.com information on Canadian actors, especially the lesser known ones, information can be spotty. Combine that with his extremely reclusive nature...
Damn, dead for five years, and your family doesn't even know. Sounds like something from 100 years ago.
Re: "Degrassi" actor Neil Hope has died... five years ago
Trust me dude it has nothing to do with being Canadian. This is a weird story in the sense that it went completely unnoticed for five years. Degrassi was a world wide phenomenon pretty much. The series got a massive reboot and relaunch with the next generation and continues on today. Hell the most popular rapper of the moment Drake is from Degrassi. It's almost unfathomable that this could play out this way. First of all his family didn't even know so you can't say it's an issue of canadians not paying attention to their home grown celebriites. I mean if you family doesn't know you've died why should imdb ya know.
I think it's a sad story. I posted an article about it on my facebook on Thursday and again on Friday because nobody had commented on it. That shocked me. Everybody my age knew who 'Wheels" was and the fact nobody had anything to say was almost as weird as the circumstances surrounding his death.
I loved the original Degrassi junior High and Degrassi high. I remember the Kids of Degrassi Street but not much. I saw reruns of it in the early 80's but I dont think many episodes were made.
The Zit Remedy ruled!!!
Re: "Degrassi" actor Neil Hope has died... five years ago
Thanks for the insight. I was unaware of the show (short of knowing about it's existance, and the modern revivals), and just thought it was one of the most bizarre stories i've ever heard with ANY death in the modern era, but especially a former TV star.
And it's not like he was out of the business since the original Degrassi, he had done some guest work on the newer one, and still... no one knew.
Re: "Degrassi" actor Neil Hope has died... five years ago
That is what's so fucked up about it. Like you said for anybody to die and nobody know about it for five years si weird let alone a former tv star and he was one of the biggest stars on the show. He was in the Zit Remedy with Snake and Joey Jeramiah(the most popular character in the history of any Degrassi)
I'd post a youtube video fo the Zit Remedy's music video for Everybody Wants Something but I'm on a stupid mac and I have no idea how to copy and past.
The old Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High were honestly ground breaking television for teens and young adults. It dealt with real stuff you just didn't see on any other shows geared towards that demographic including American shows. It's cheesy as hell to watch it now but the issues they dealt with were/are real and it was something REAL that kids could relate to.
Re: "Degrassi" actor Neil Hope has died... five years ago
That is what's so fucked up about it. Like you said for anybody to die and nobody know about it for five years si weird let alone a former tv star and he was one of the biggest stars on the show. He was in the Zit Remedy with Snake and Joey Jeramiah(the most popular character in the history of any Degrassi)
I'd post a youtube video fo the Zit Remedy's music video for Everybody Wants Something but I'm on a stupid mac and I have no idea how to copy and past.
The old Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High were honestly ground breaking television for teens and young adults. It dealt with real stuff you just didn't see on any other shows geared towards that demographic including American shows. It's cheesy as hell to watch it now but the issues they dealt with were/are real and it was something REAL that kids could relate to.
To copy paste on a mac AppleKey+C to copy. AppleKey+P to paste.
Also this story is just weird. Like something out of the Twilight Zone.
Re: "Degrassi" actor Neil Hope has died... five years ago
To copy paste on a mac AppleKey+C to copy. AppleKey+P to paste.
Thanks dude! 
Everybody Wants Something - Zit Remedy (featuring "Wheels"[Neil Hope], "Snake", & Joey Jeramiah") 
Claude's suicide scene.... kids shows today won't even show this stuff. Just one of many issues Degrassi was the first to tackle when to came to kids shows.
[youtube]VfwWjdMZcHE&feature=related[/youtube]
Re: "Degrassi" actor Neil Hope has died... five years ago
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybre … 17913.html
"..Degrassi’s Neil ‘Wheels’ Hope: The lost years of a Canadian TV icon
By Chase Kell | Daily Brew – Tue, 28 Feb, 2012........
Neil Hope, who played Derek (Wheels) Wheeler on the long-running series.During his time in Hamilton, Ontario, fallen Degrassi star Neil Hope would frequently visit Cheapies Records and Tapes. His good friend, Scott Bell, who works behind the counter, vividly recalls a visit in early November, 2007 - the last time Neil would set foot in the shop.
The man affectionately known as "Wheels" was sporting an eye patch and his speech was rather incoherent, says Bell in a Toronto Star story. "That was the last time I saw him."
But Hope's peculiar behaviour was nothing new for Bell. Every now and then, Hope would visit the music story with his PlayStation 2 in hand. He'd sell it for some quick cash, only to return a few weeks later to buy it right back. Hope was a diabetic and suffered the occasional blackout, and as he explained to Bell, he'd often wake up to find his money had gone missing.
It's been nearly two weeks since the news broke of Hope's inconspicuous death, and the emerging details of his final years continue to add tragedy to this already tragic tale.
His body was discovered on November 25, 2007, in a rooming house in Hamilton, Ontario. A victim of a heart attack at 35, Hope had been dead for nearly two weeks. His room was littered with insulin vials, which were filled two months prior yet never used.
"Hope was, on the surface, an upbeat and personable guy but he struggled with bouts of depression and severe diabetes made worse by alcohol," reveals Katie Daubs in the Star. "He was a private man, and his final years were a mystery to many — a rarity in a digital age. It would take just over four years for his family to learn he was buried in an unmarked plot and even longer to learn the details of his final days."
Unlike many of his Degrassi peers, Hope slipped into obscurity after the show fell off the air, failing to leave a typical paper trail of car loans, home purchases and the like. He had a couple of unresolved GO train infractions, a slew of acquaintances with couches to crash on and a distant family that feared for his well-being.
"He got a taste of the limelight early. He was a little bit spoiled, and once it was gone he didn't know how to handle it," explains older brother Danny Hope.
The Hope family had been searching for Neil for years, which had loved ones growing more worried with every passing day. Though Neil was a drifter, it wasn't like him to not check in from time to time. When the family got wind of Neil's passing, they refused to sugar-coat his many struggles. Neil was a kind soul that loved his Toronto Maple Leafs, Warren Zevon and his nieces, but he drank too much, didn't take care of his health and never seemed to embrace responsibility.
"I don't think he wanted to face reality," shares sister-in-law Tracy Hope. "I don't think he ever really grew up either. He was just a big kid."
Hope found himself travelling across the country, bouncing between jobs that included stints at Pizza Pizza and Money Mart. His financial situation was far from stable and his health on the back of his mind. When in Hamilton, Hope would often stop by Bell's house to watch his beloved Leafs. As Bell recalls, Hope would drink about 12 beers in a couple of hours while checking his blood pressure incessantly. Bell and his wife used to call him 'Neils,' a clever pun on the his Degrassi character, which almost seemed to mirror the the troubled actor's life.
"Like many actors on the show, he found his Degrassi character followed him — a source of annoyance, humour and occasional joy, depending on who you ask," shares Daubs in the story. "On Degrassi, Wheels was a complex character. His adopted parents were killed by a drunk driver, he fended off the advances of a travelling salesman, and he routinely blamed others for his problems."
in 2007, Bell and his colleagues at Cheapies had noticed Hope was no longer popping by for his routine visits. Bell sent a curious text but got no response. A friend came into the shop a few weeks later and informed the crew of Hope's untimely death. Word didn't get back to his family until five years later.
Hope was buried anonymously in a location that remains private. Daubs notes that the family is finalizing the details on a gravestone, with an epitaph that will reportedly read: "In loving memory of Philip Neil Hope — Wheels — September 24 1972 to November 2007."
As Daubs so eloquently states, "in death, Hope will have the permanence that proved elusive in life.""-
- afridinazneen
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Re: "Degrassi" actor Neil Hope has died... five years ago
thank you for sharing, It is a great post.
