Editing Freddie Prinze (section)

== Death ==
Prinze suffered from depression. On the night of January 28, 1977, after talking on the telephone with his estranged wife, Prinze received a visit from his business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder. During the visit, Prinze put a gun to his head and shot himself.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914757-1,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080130034740/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914757-1,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 30, 2008|title=Freddie Prinze: Too Much, Too Soon|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=February 7, 1977|access-date=May 20, 2009}}</ref> He had purchased this gun in the presence of fellow actors  [[Jimmie Walker|Jimmie "JJ" Walker]] and Alan Bursky, although it was long rumored that Bursky gave him the gun.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keller |first=Joel |date=October 5, 2020 |title=Stream It Or Skip It: 'The Comedy Store' On Showtime, A Docuseries About The Sunset Strip Comedy Club Where Legends Were Born |url=https://decider.com/2020/10/05/the-comedy-store-showtime-review/ |website=Decider}}</ref> Prinze was rushed to the [[UCLA Medical Center]] and placed on [[life support]] following emergency surgery. His family removed him from life support, and he died at 1 p.m. on January 29.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18734066/freddie_prinze_buried_on_hill/ |title=Freddie Prinze buried on hill overlooking NBC studio |first=Vernon |last=Scott |agency=[[United Press International|UPI]] |newspaper=The Capitol Journal |location=[[Salem, Oregon]] |page=6 |date=January 31, 1977 |access-date=March 29, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

Prinze made farewell phone calls to numerous family members and friends prior to shooting himself and left a note stating that he had decided to kill himself.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=prinzefredd |title=The Museum of Broadcast Communications |publisher=Museum.tv |access-date=May 20, 2013 |archive-date=June 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602111316/http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=prinzefredd |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Wilkins, Frank. [http://www.franksreelreviews.com/shorttakes/prinze.htm "The Suicide Death of Freddie Prinze"]. Reel Reviews. Retrieved May 23, 2015.</ref> In 1977, the death was ruled a suicide. However, in a 1983 civil case brought by his mother, wife, and son against Crown Life Insurance Company, the jury found that his death was medication-induced and accidental, which enabled the family to collect $200,000 in life insurance. This followed a $1 million out-of-court settlement with his psychiatrist and doctor to end a malpractice suit for allowing him access to a gun and overprescribing him [[Quaalude]] (as a tranquilizer).<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 20, 1983 |title=Freddie Prinze death ruled an accident |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/01/20/Freddie-Prinze-death-ruled-an-accident/4154411886800/ |website=UPI}}</ref>

When ''Chico & the Man'' went into hiatus due to Prinze's death, a new mid-season series, which would go on to become highly successful, ''[[Three's Company]]'', gave its star, [[John Ritter]], Prinze's dressing room for its pilot episode. 

Prinze is interred at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]] in the [[Hollywood Hills]] of Los Angeles, near his father, Edward Karl Pruetzel. His son, [[Freddie Prinze Jr.]], who was under one year old when his father died, did not speak publicly about his father's death until he discussed it in the documentary ''[[Misery Loves Comedy (film)|Misery Loves Comedy]]'' (2015), directed by [[Kevin Pollak]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/432941-interview-kevin-pollak-tells-us-why-misery-loves-comedy |title=Interview: Kevin Pollak Tells Us Why Misery Loves Comedy |first=Max |last=Evry |website=comingsoon.net |date=April 23, 2015 |access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>