Sam Lloyd, best known for playing Ted Buckland, the mopey, follicly-challenged, a cappella-singing dud of a lawyer on Scrubs and later Cougar Town, died on Friday at the age of 56. He learned he had an inoperable brain tumor in January 2019, soon after his wife, Vanessa, gave birth to their first child.
Lloyd, who was Christopher Lloyd’s nephew, had frequent work as a television guest all through his career, making his debut in the late 1980s on Night Court. He had a double appearance as Ricky, the mannequin designer infatuated with Elaine on Seinfeld. Other recurring roles included U.F.O. enthusiast Bob on The West Wing and Dr. Goldfine on Desperate Housewives.
Lloyd’s co-star Zach Braff took to Twitter to praise Lloyd’s comic ability and even share a Scrubs meme.
Braff also gave a shout-out to Lloyd the musician, with a track from one of Lloyd’s groups, The Blanks. The band appeared on Scrubs sometimes credited as The Worthless Peons or, simply, Ted’s Band. (Lloyd’s other group, The Butties, is a Beatles cover band.)
Scrubs writer and Cougar Town creator Kevin Biegel singled out a specific moment of physical comedy.
Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence shared that he did what so many of us do when great performers pass away — he stayed up all night watching clips.
More Great Stories From Vanity Fair
— Behold Dune: An Exclusive Look at Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, and More
— How to Watch Every Marvel Movie in Order
— David Simon on The Wire and His Equally Pissed-Off New Show, The Plot Against America
— Beyond Tiger King: 8 True-Crime Documentaries That Sparked a Second Look From the Law
— Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes on His New Series and the Beauty of a Scheming Woman
— All the New 2020 Movies Streaming Early Because of Coronavirus
— From the Archive: The Notorious Rivalry of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons, Hollywood’s Dueling Gossip Columnists
Looking for more? Sign up for our daily Hollywood newsletter and never miss a story.