Happy Gilmore Stars Who Have Passed Away

Fans are excited for the highly anticipated sequel to Happy Gilmore.

Happy Gilmore 2 will premiere on Netflix on July 25, 2025, with Adam Sandler, Julie Bowen, and Christopher MacDonald all reprising their roles. However, some fan-favorite characters will sadly be missing (but not forgotten).

Here's a look back at the Happy Gilmore stars who have passed away.

Rocky actor Carl Weathers was perfectly cast as Happy's mentor and coach Chubbs Peterson. Sadly, he passed away in February 2024 at the age of 76.

In an interview about Happy Gilmore 2, Adam Sandler revealed Carl was expected to return for the sequel before his untimely death.

"We had a painful change. Carl Weathers had a massive part,” Adam told Collider. “I would talk to Carl, and we were excited, and then Carl passed away."

He continued, "We made a lot of nice references to how great Chubbs was in the movie. That was the biggest change.”

Before his role as Mr. Larson, Happy's intimidating but friendly former boss, Richard Dawson Kiel, who stood at 7 feet, 5 inches, was best known for his portrayal of the henchman Jaws in the James Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.

Richard died on September 10, 2014, three days before his 75th birthday, from heart disease. His last role was voicing the character Vlad in the Disney animated feature Tangled.

Frances Bay was everyone's favorite grandmother way before Happy Gilmore. Frances began her career as a radio actress in the 1930s, and then transitioned to television and movie acting in the '70s. Her first major television role was as Fonzie's grandmother in Happy Days.

Tragically, Frances was involved in a car accident in 2002, which resulted in her leg being amputated. However, she would continue to act, last appearing in ABC's The Middle in 2009. She would pass away on September 15, 2011, due to complications from pneumonia. She was 92 years old.

Actor Joe Flaherty portrayed Donald, an unruly fan hired by Shooter McGavin to heckle Happy in the comedy. He is also best known for his role as Harold Weir on Freaks and Geeks.

Joe died on April 1, 2024, at the age of 82, after a short illness. He is survived by his two children.

Who can forget the brawl that took place between Bob Barker and Happy Gilmore? The Price Is Right host played himself at a celebrity golf tournament that turned ugly after a heckler taunted Happy and turned on his famous partner.

Bob hosted The Price Is Right until his retirement in 2007, but continued to advocate for animal rights until his death on August 26, 2023, at the age of 99.

In May 2025, the Colorado Gator Farm announced Morris the Alligator's death at 80. The 640-pound gator appeared in several movies, including Interview With a Vampire and Doctor Dolittle 2.

However, he will always be remembered as Chubb's archnemesis from Happy Gilmore. The Farm also shared that his body had been taxidermied "so he can continue to scare children for years to come."