Laurel Harris’ Instagram post about Scott J Campbell

Just wanted to share this post she made regarding Scott and the mental illness he had. It must’ve taken a lot of courage for her to mention this and I applaud her. 
 

“I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Scott Campbell today, since he was a member of our company and a part of this show’s history. He took his own life last year under very tragic circumstances. You won’t find much about his suicide if you search the web but he played Gerry Goffin in our show and suffered from bipolar disorder, just as Gerry did. Scott’s face appeared in commercials and ads for Beautiful long after he passed away. Even recently I saw him in an ad...so bizarre and frankly, disrespectful. I believe as a community, we all could have done more to possibly prevent this from happening and I believe our show could have and should have handled the whole situation differently. I think about you often Scott, and am celebrating your life today, alongside the great memories we all shared with you at the Sondheim.  #scottjcampbell #gerrygoffin #rip#mentalhealthawareness #beautifulonbway”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4JFlHVpMjn/?igshid=14hgsnhbn0o2d

 

Moderator Note:

A general reminder we allow discussion of mental illness and its impact on the theatre community but speculation about a specific individuals diagnosis and behind the scenes impacts in their work life is against our rules.

A reminder anyone in crisis is encouraged to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline toll-free at 1-800-273-8255 or visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/.

Teens and youth can reach out to The Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or https://www.thetrevorproject.org/.

Updated On: 10/31/19 at 11:55 PM

It was haunting to me to see him in ads and b-roll for the show long after his association with the show, but we're certainly not in a place to say whether the producers of the show reached out to him during his time in the show, or to his family afterward to discuss continuing using his image. 

I do have a bone to pick with her "our community and our show should've done more" comment though. Yes, in retrospect, perhaps they could've if the higher-ups knew, but she certainly leaves out a lot of details, including if she did anything, at the time. 

poisonivy2 said: "Speaking as someone who has come close to the brink several times and still thinks that the world would be better off without me:

There is nothing, repeat, NOTHING, anyone can say to someone to stop suicidal ideation. Any words discouraging suicide are likely to be seen as phony and even sinister. Attempts to help by suggesting therapists are viewed with hostility. The only thing one can do is call the ambulance and have the person hospitalized immediately.

I can say though that cruel comments and taunts do absolutely feed into suicide ideation and may give the person that extra "push" to end it all.

Without knowing anything about the situation it's hard to tell if either course of action happened here. But people who believe the world is better off without them are likely to keep on believing that no matter what anyone says."

First off, I'm glad you're here and posting. I feel your pain, as I have been there numerous times myself. I think what you have said is correct, but also pertains to a particular person's situation. I do believe people can be helped, I have seen it happen from people I know from mental hospital visits, there is a true road to recovery through support and guidance. It takes a long time, often years, but it happens. So to say that NOTHING can be changed to me tells other people don't bother with suicidal people, they can't be helped. That, I think is wrong. Everyone needs support regardless of their mental health status but especially suicidal people. I can only speak for myself, but the support of the few friends I've had have helped me tremendously. I hope you find the help you need, and am glad you are here today. 

 

poisonivy2, I am so very sorry you carry so much pain.

I hope you find a way out.