David Gordon Strickland Jr. (October 14, 1969 – March 22, 1999) was an American actor, best known for his role as the boyish rock music reporter Todd Stites in the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan (starring Brooke Shields).
Strickland was born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA. He moved to Princeton, New Jersey, with his family, before relocating to California.
His earlier TV roles during the 1990s included Dave's World, Roseanne, Sister, Sister, and Mad About You. He also co-starred in the film Forces of Nature (starring Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock), which had just opened in U.S. cinemas at the time of his death.
Strickland suffered from bipolar disorder and had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. He was arrested in October 1998 for the possession of cocaine, pleaded no contest in December and was sentenced to 36 months probation and ordered into rehabilitation. He was due in court on the day of his death for a progress report.
News reports of events leading up to his death, at the age of 29, suggest that he had chosen to stop taking the lithium he was prescribed to control his bipolar disorder.
Strickland checked in to the Oasis Motel in Las Vegas during the early hours of March 22, 1999. He consumed several bottles of beer and then hung himself with a bed sheet over the ceiling beam. His body was discovered by a maid.
He left no note, and evidence of drugs was found in the room. The Clark County coroner's report stated that his body bore the marks of a previous suicide attempt. At the time of his death, he was romantically linked with actress Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (Saved By The Bell and Beverly Hills 90210).
After not much discussion, the producers of Suddenly Susan decided to deal with Strickland's death rather simply. Todd simply did not show up to work one day. When Susan, played by Brooke Shields, called him regarding tickets to a show, his pager vibrated on his desk. Susan spends the day searching for Todd, finding out about a number of good deeds he did throughout his life that Susan had no idea about. As the episode comes to an end, the police visit Susan and the office staff as she asks hopefully if they know where Todd is. The exact details of Todd's fate are left ambiguous.
The entire episode was interspersed with interviews of Shields as well as fellow Susan costars Judd Nelson, Kathy Griffin, Barbara Barrie and Nestor Carbonell.
