"Angel" star Andy Hallett dies at 33

Fans of the Buffyverse were saddened this week with the news that Angel star Andy Hallett died Sunday night from heart failure at the age of 33. Hallett played Lorne, the telepathic demon who ran a karaoke bar and sometimes helped Angel.

While Lorne's sexual orientation was never explicitly addressed, he certainly had his flamboyant qualities, frequently flirted with Angel and knew how to make use of a gay pop culture reference, inspiring fans to speculate about Lorne's sexuality. (He wasn't the only Buffyverse character to inspire such speculation, around the same time, Buffy viewers were wondering about Andrew.)

By the time Lorne became a part of the show, an overseas move (and, later, recaps from an ex-boyfriend who didn't know the difference between Glory and Darla) made trying to keep up with Angel a daunting task for me. Still, the fun Hallet brought to the show as Lorne made sifting through the confusion worthwhile.

Sadly, Hallett isn't the only Angel star to die so young. In 2002 Glenn Quinn, who had a memorably short run in Angel's first season as Doyle, died at the age of 32.

Our condolences go out to his family and friends.