Shalhoub remembers Stanley Kamel

 Posted on July 2, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  704 words  |  Valentine Belue

'Monk' star reflects on colleague's impact

Stanley Kamel, who played psychiatrist Dr. Charles Kroger to Tony Shalhoub‘s neurotic Adrian Monk, died April 8 after suffering a heart attack at age 65. Shalhoub told Variety how Kamel’s life and death affected the show and staff:

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The loss of Stanley Kamel was so sudden and shocking, it caught all of us really off guard, and happened just at the time we were about to begin the season. Stanley made such an enormous contribution to the whole thing; he was there right from the pilot and helped … to define my character. So the loss of Stanley is hard, but I have to say he left … me with this amazing gift, really, a lesson: … He’s one of those rare actors today that didn’t have an ounce of cynicism about the business. He’s not so jaded like so many people have become, I think. He came in, he loved it, he loved to talk (about) the work, he was appreciative of the job and of the opportunity, he respected the actors that he was working with on the show. Late in the season, when my ass was starting to drag a little bit, he would bounce in, and he would just sort of reinvigorate the whole thing. And I would be: What am I whining about, how can I be tired, how can I be complacent? I have to be so mindful of the fact that we’re in this amazing situation, we’re (in) a great profession, and we’re in a great job, in a successful series, with a devoted audience, and Stanley’s having a ball — I’ve got to remember to have a ball again. He left me with that, that reminder: It’s all good, it’s all good.

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