Markie Post: Night Court star passes away at 70

Last Updated on August 10, 2021

Another Night Court alum has passed away, with Deadline reporting that the great Markie Post has passed away at age seventy after a long battle with cancer. Post famously played public defender Christine Sullivan, who was the romantic foil of court judge Harry Stone (the late Harry Anderson), while also lusted over by the lovably lecherous Dan Fielding (the great John Larroquette – who’s currently working on a Night Court sequel series with Melissa Rauch). 

It’s been a rough couple of years for Night Court fans, with Anderson passing away in 2018 and Charles Robinson (who played court clerk Mac) dying just under a month ago, also due to cancer. 

Post was a third-season addition to the show, with many noting that the cast only really gelled once she was added, as she was the perfect foil to both Stone and Fielding while also possessing some tremendous comic chops of her own. As a kid, I vividly remember watching this show in reruns, and all of the classic episodes come from Post’s run, which continued until the show had its finale in 1992. 

In addition to Night Court, Post also had a long run on the Lee Majors series The Fall Guy and co-starred with the late John Ritter on another childhood favorite of mine, Hearts Afire. She also had a memorable role as Cameron Diaz’s mother in There’s Something About Mary and memorably participated in a Night Court reunion episode of 30 Rock with Anderson and Robinson. 

Post had been battling cancer for close to four years while still maintaining a pretty busy acting career. I imagine she likely would have reprised her role on the new Night Court as she and Larroquette always had such great chemistry. Unfortunately, the deaths of so many of the show’s beloved alum certainly cast a tragic shadow over the new series, with only Larroquette, Richard Moll, and Marsha Warfield remaining of the core cast. 

Post’s death is yet another tragic loss, and I strongly urge anyone who might have never seen Night Court to check out a few episodes from the Post-era, as it’s a show that holds up well.