Good Night, Sweet Prince
Josh Ryan Evans, 1982-2002
by Stephanie Kuenn

Characters die with some regularity on "Passions," NBC's surreal supernatural soap opera. But they never stay dead, no matter how awful the blow. The show's main villain, Julian Crane, came back to the land of the living even though he fell into a vat of boiling tuna after someone shot him.

That's right. Boiling tuna.

So it wasn't too shocking when Timmy, the beloved talking doll that turned into a real boy, died during the August 5 episode as a result of injuries suffered while fighting a zombie trying to kill his beloved neighbor.

Timmy, arguably the show's most popular character, was "Passions'" calling card. Although the show ranks low in overall soap opera viewership, anyone plugged into pop culture knows who Timmy was. His presence helped make "Passions" a cult favorite and the second-highest rated soap among the key demographic of women ages 18-34. Timmy, the evil witch Tabitha and the demons brought soaps back to the campy, horror-inspired fun demonstrated by "Dark Shadows." The producers would never alienate the fans by killing him, and surely, they would provide Tabitha with the means to bring him back.

But then, as it often does, show-biz tragedy dovetailed with real life, and Josh Ryan Evans, the actor who played Timmy, died the very same day. Evans, 20, died at a San Diego hospital from complications related to a congenital heart defect. He also suffered from a rare disease that stunted his growth at 3-foot-2.

The next day, producers announced that all future scenes with Timmy would be edited out, and fans mourned. They knew that the show would never be the same.

"Passions'" appeal isn't that of a typical soap opera. If its fans wanted to watch the town scion's lost daughter secretly marry her sister's boyfriend before poisoning him, or some other over-done soap plot, they have plenty of better-acted and better-directed options. The charm of "Passions" lies in its silliness and insanity. Unlike other soaps, it doesn't take itself seriously.

Its success comes from its embrace of camp and its zest for integrating the completely unexpected, from introducing a zombie as a main character to making a closet a portal into hell. "Passions" won't give up its anything-goes supernatural bent, but without Evans, a crucial element of will be missing.

Timmy gave "Passions" its soul. He loved his good-hearted neighbor Charity, but remained a loyal sidekick to her arch-enemy, Tabitha, the witch who created him. He served as her conscience and tried to stop the evil that lingered over the town. His innate sweetness guided his every decision, and in the end, it was his good nature that killed him.

Evans played the part with aplomb, donning crazy costumes and wigs, fighting demons and taking off on strange adventures. He reveled in his popularity, and the fact that his role allowed him to do anything: hang out with a 300-year-old witch, fight a zombie that froze his beloved neighbor and outwit an evil scarecrow while dressed as Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz." He conveyed Timmy's pure heart and managed to maintain his dignity while bringing to life what may be the most whacked-out soap character of all time.

And for that, he'll be remembered. In most soap operas, several actors often play a single character, because the actor is replaceable. But when it comes to Timmy, there isn't anyone else. No one but Evans could fill out that tiny Don Ho wig and win over viewers' hearts. He will be missed.

E-mail Stephanie Kuenn at smkuenn at gmail dot com.