February 18, 2012
An interesting story of interest that caught on world wide is the reported death of actor Neil Hope best known for the character of Wheels on the original Degrassi High. The fact that the death took place nearly five years ago, and was just reported this week give an example of some the pitfalls of the acting profession, and the enduring popularity of Degrassi.
I never really have bought into Degrassi myself. I was in elementary school when Degrassi Junior High was becoming all the rage. All through out my school days it was a a huge hit either the new epiosdes or repeats. The only time I really watched was the whole Spike's pregnancy storyline which was being plubicized like crazy. However I never really enjoyed soaps. Never got on the bandwagon and didn't watch for much longer though my class mates did.
Hope's life pretty much read like a Degrassi story line. Both his parents suffered from alcholism, his father dying of serocious. While the rest of the cast managed to stay connected he seemed to drop out of everything. In the articles written about him there were people trying to get in touch with him and were unsucessful. Basically those who did know had kept his death a secret until now.
Degrassi's popularity worldwide I find staggering. Degrassi was a huge hit on the CBC, but at the titme wasn't airing anywhere in the US. It was wasn't until years later that the shows began apearing on PBS stations. I was not aware of the American popularity of Degrassi until Kevin Smith began refering to the show in his films.
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