Actor Cory Monteith has passed away; he was found dead of an apparent drug overdose in a Vancouver hotel earlier on Saturday evening. The Glee actor has been very open about his past history of drug abuse and had admitted himself into a rehab facility just a few months ago. Cory had been cast in bit parts in a few horror movies such as Final Destination 3 and Bloody Mary as well as a bunch of TV shows including Smallville, Kyle XY, Supernatural and Stargate: Atlantis,, but he really came into the spotlight playing the character Finn Hudson in the Fox TV show Glee. Police have said that there is no evidence of foul play.
I’m sure more than a few readers are wondering why I’m doing an In Memoriam for an actor from Glee, and I get where they’re coming from. It’s definitely true that the show has jumped the shark over the last few seasons, but we would be remiss to forget the humble beginnings it had that should reverberate within the geek community.
Mostly in the first season, Glee was a show about outcasts in high school – something I’m sure that almost every geek completely understands. High school is hell, especially if you were one of the unlucky ones (and with few exceptions, who wasn’t?) who didn’t completely fit in with what the status quo was supposed to look like. Whether you liked comics, had glasses, were fat, gay, did shows in theatre class or were just the smart kid everyone picked on, most of us can identify with being the kid who hated school in our adolescent lives. Glee took that experience and helped the masses understand.
What was great about Cory’s character was that he WASN’T the outcast; he was one of the popular, good looking guys who had every ‘right’ to be the alpha male and make their lives hell. But he didn’t. He joined in with and became one of the kids no one liked and stood up for them. And through it all, he stayed true to his real friends despite the peer pressure — a trait most people don’t learn until college or well into adulthood.
Sure, this was just a character in a TV show, and it doesn’t really have bearing on the life of the actor, but it’s still true that he brought that character to life and delivered an experience that has made a huge difference in the lives of people across the world. Whether that be in the kid who found strength in knowing they could be strong just being who they are, or that jock or popular person who came to understand that they are equal to their peers and don’t need to look down upon or bully them.
Cory Monteith died due to some horrible decisions and mistakes he made in his life, but the legacy Finn Hudson left behind will impact and make a difference in kids’ lives for years to come.
You were a talented guy, Cory, and it’s sad that you’ve passed on, but hopefully you were able to understand just how much you were able to touch the hearts and lives of countless people in the brief time you had on earth.