David Strickland was a rising star of American film and television in the 1990s – known for his wholesome image, clean-cut looks and comedic flair.
But the Suddenly Susan star was hiding a dark secret – he was fighting a losing battle with mental health and substance abuse issues which would culminate in his lonely death by suicide in a seedy Las Vegas motel aged just 29 on March 22, 1999.
At the time of his death Strickland had hit both professional and personal highs. His final film Forces of Nature – released only three days prior – had topped the box office and he had recently begun dating Saved By The Bell star Tiffani Thiessen.
His hit show Suddenly Susan – in which he starred with Hollywood titan Brooke Shields – was heading into its fourth season with Strickland lauded for his portrayal of loveable music critic Todd Stites.
The first public tarnish on Strickland’s image had come months before, when he was arrested on October 31 1998 for alleged possession of cocaine and pleaded no contest on December 21.
Suddenly Susan star David Strickland was a rising star of American film and television in the 1990s – but his life ended in tragedy with his shock suicide aged 29 on March 22 2009 (pictured with co-star Brooke Shields two months before his death)
But the Suddenly Susan star was hiding a dark secret – he was fighting a losing battle with mental health and substance abuse issues which would culminate in his lonely death by suicide in a seedy Las Vegas motel (seen with the Suddenly Susan cast)
For reasons unknown and days before he was due to appear in Los Angeles Municipal Court for a progress report on his drug treatment, Strickland flew from LA to Las Vegas with comedian Andy Dick and engaged in days of hardcore partying in strip clubs (pictured 1999)
He was placed on 36 months probation and ordered to attend rehabilitation.
For reasons unknown and days before he was due to appear in Los Angeles Municipal Court for a progress report on his drug treatment, Strickland flew from LA to Las Vegas with comedian Andy Dick and engaged in days of hardcore partying in strip clubs.
Strickland suffered from bipolar disorder and according to reports at the time had stopped taking anti-depressant drug lithium prior to his death.
After checking into the Oasis Motel, a budget motel located at the end of the Las Vegas Strip – Strickland spent his final hours with a prostitute before the recovering alcoholic drank six bottles of beer and then hanged himself.
His best friend and co-star Shields, growing increasingly concerned for his welfare after he missed his court appearance, hired a private investigator to track him down.
The investigator discovered Strickland’s body in his hotel room – he had hanged himself with a bed sheet.
The Clark County coroner confirmed Strickland’s wrists bore scars from previous suicide attempts.
Strickland did not leave a note or make any long-distance calls from his room, with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police saying at the time: ‘We found nothing to indicate anything but a suicide.’
The Oasis Motel has a grim history – murder suspect Theodore Sean Widdowes shot himself to death with a .357-caliber Magnum in 1996 at the hotel.
At the time of his death Strickland had hit both professional and personal highs. His final film Forces of Nature – released only three days prior – had topped the box office (pictured with Maura Tierney in the film)
He had also recently begun dating Saved By The Bell star Tiffani Thiessen (pictured December 1998)
After checking into the Oasis Motel (pictured), a budget motel located at the end of the Las Vegas Strip – Strickland spent his final hours with a prostitute before the recovering alcoholic drank six bottles of beer and then hanged himself
His best friend and co-star Brooke Shields, growing increasingly concerned for his welfare after he missed his court appearance, hired a private investigator to track him down. The investigator discovered Strickland’s body in his hotel room
Professional poker player Stu Ungar in 1998, died aged 45 in room six at the motel in November 1998. An autopsy showed traces of drugs in his system with the medical examiner concluding his death was caused by a heart condition brought on by years of drug abuse.
The Las Vegas Sun reported Strickland had left the motel room but returned before dawn on Monday – the day of his death – to rent the room again.
Cheri Alvarez, a clerk at the motel, said Strickland walked down the motel driveway wearing a khaki shirt, jeans and black tennis shoes with glasses at around 9pm on Sunday, March 21.
She said: ‘I was sitting with this girl (Jasmine) and he started talking to us. I asked him what he was doing in that area and he said he was just out walking. He did not seem disturbed. He had a smile on his face.’
‘She (Jasmine) told him he looked like a movie star and he said, ‘No, not me.”‘
Alvarez claimed Strickland was carrying magazines advertising call girls which could be found in racks along the strip – to which Jasmine told him ‘their services were a “ripoff,” adding, “Why don’t you just give me the money?”
Alvarez said Jasmine later came in and rented room four for an hour of $20 – but added the man was acting ‘kind of weird’..
Both Strickland and Jasmine left the room separately around 1am- with Strickland reportedly telling her: ‘Some important changes are going to happen in your life.’
Jasmine told the hotel owner the pair had had ‘no sexual contact’ but talked for a while.
Strickland returned to the motel around 90 minutes later and rented a $64-a-night room for himself – before walking to a 7-Eleven to purchase a case of beer.
The empty beer case would be found next to his body when he was discovered around 11am that morning.
A November 1999 episode of Diane Sawyer’s 20/20 revealed Strickland’s past suicide attempt in 1998, with Sawyer telling the NY Post: ‘His mother says that much of David’s behavior was a detective story for her in terms of his life’ (seen in Forces of Nature)
A November 1999 episode of Diane Sawyer’s 20/20 revealed Strickland’s past suicide attempt in 1998, with Sawyer telling the NY Post: ‘His mother says that much of David’s behavior was a detective story for her in terms of his life.
‘His mom says he was like a wounded animal who would go off to be by himself.’
Shields said: ‘There’s rarely a minute in any day that I don’t have [David] in my mind.’
Suddenly Susan co-star Nestor Carbonell added: ‘I was really comforted by the fact that everything was going so well. And unfortunately, it proved to be the calm before the storm. It really was a very deceptive period … almost like the disease had gone into remission.’
Sawyer said: ‘I think they were all there for [Strickland] in every way they knew how.
‘This report raises real issues of how to keep people on medication and what people can do as a group to initiate that … and how, as a community, we can react to protect someone from themselves.’
Strickland was born in Glen Cove, New York before moving with his family to Princeton, New Jersey and later Pacific Palisades, California.
He became an actor in Los Angeles where his boyish good looks and talent saw him land guest star spots on shows including Dave’s World, Roseanne, Mad About You, and Sister, Sister.
His star hit the stratosphere in 1996 when he landed his starring role as rock music critic Todd Stites who worked for a San Francisco magazine called The Gate alongside Brooke Shields as magazine writer Susan Keane.
Strickland and Shields’ characters had been set to have an on-screen romance in the fourth season of Suddenly Susan before his death – his character Todd Stites was killed off in the third season finale A Day in a Life (pictured the cast in the fourth and final season)
The death was brought back into the spotlight in 2012 when renowned paranormal investigator Zak Bagans released album NECROFUSION with Praga Khan – and claimed to have captured the voice of Strickland in the hotel room in which he died
Strickland and Shields quickly forged a close friendship and the pair’s characters had been set to have an on-screen romance in the fourth season of Suddenly Susan before his death.
Forces of Nature – starring Sandra Bullock and Ben Affleck – was released just three days before his death. In the film Strickland played Bridget Cahill’s (Maura Tierney) ex-boyfriend Steve who tries to win her back before her marriage to Ben (Affleck).
Strickland’s Suddenly Susan character Todd was killed off on the show’s third season finale, A Day in a Life.
In the episode Todd fails to appear at work and when Susan calls him regarding tickets to a show, his pager vibrates on his desk.
In a chilling echo of Brooke’s search for David, Susan spends the day looking for Todd and learns about the previously undiscovered good deeds he had done.
The episode ends with police informing the group about Todd’s death – the cause of which is never detailed – while they are gathered in a prayer circle for him.
The death was brought back into the spotlight in 2012 when renowned paranormal investigator Zak Bagans released album NECROFUSION with Praga Khan – and claimed to have captured the voice of Strickland.
Ghost Adventures star Bagans used recording devices to capture EVP (electronic voice phenomena) – and said Strickland spoke to him in the hotel room in which he spent his final moments – with the conversation heard on album track Room 20.
Bagans said: ‘After hours of recording sessions, I felt a sudden, intense presence of energy, and I knew I was not alone. I began communication with mind-blowing responses.
‘One of the responses I got was when I said ‘hello’ to David, and a male voice who I believe was his, replied “Hi, Zak”.
I asked if he could hear me and he said “yea.” At this point, I was hearing these intelligent responses, one after the other.
‘I asked how many other spirits were present, and a female voice began shooting off numbers for me – “seven, eight” – at which time I asked “Do you see other dead people?”
‘And the male voice came through again, telling me he “sees the Lord.” I asked him if he knew where he was, and told me the name of the hotel… “Oasis.” This was one of the most powerful spirit communication sessions I have ever conducted.’
In Shields’ 2023 documentary Pretty Baby, the actress said the shock loss of Strickland had left a scar on her heart – and added she would ‘never recover’ from it
In Shields’ 2023 documentary Pretty Baby, the actress said the shock loss of Strickland had left a scar on her heart – and added she would ‘never recover’ from it.
She said: ‘Losing my best friend to suicide was just … you just don’t recover, really, from those things.
‘A lot of therapy, a lot of tears,’ helped with the healing, she says. And, eventually, Shields was able to get through ‘a whole day without crying.’
‘I’m forever changed, but there’s nothing I can do about it (but) try to break up the scar tissue.’
If you or someone you know is struggling, please contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at 1-800-662-4357
