‘Land of the Lost’ Stars Pay Tribute to Late TV Dad Spencer Milligan
We recently shared that Spencer Milligan, who played Rick Marshall, the father of Will and Holly (Wesley Eure and Kathy Coleman respectively) on Land of the Lost has died at the age of 86. He died on April 18, 2024 and his death was confirmed after his obituary was found on the Huehns Funeral Home website, located in his adopted hometown of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
After the news broke, Eure shared a post on Facebook, attaching the link to Milligan’s obituary. He wrote, tagging Coleman and Phil Paley, “Kathy, Phil and I are heartbroken to announce our dear friend and TV dad, Spencer Milligan, has died. We heard rumors but today we got the sad confirmation. For many of us, and Spencer’s many fans, he was the perfect dad. We loved his kindness, talent and huge sense of humor. We are just processing this news and will post more in the coming days. Our hearts go out to his lovely wife and Spencer’s many friends and family. He was a very private man who lived a wonderful life away from the world of Hollywood. Our loss is great…. Rest in peace my dear, dear Papa!” They also came together to do a loving video tribute.
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Remind Milligan is best known for his role in Land of the Lost but also appeared on shows such as General Hospital, Gunsmoke, Alice, The Bionic Woman and Quincy M.E. He left Land of the Lost after two seasons due to a contract dispute. He saw the incredible sales of Land of the Lost merchandise and asked for the cast to be compensated. He was replaced by Ron Harper, who played Will and Holly’s uncle Jack. Harper passed away just about a month before Milligan this year.
Eure and Coleman have a podcast but shared a video saying that they would not release an episode this week due to their grief over Milligan’s passing but plan to dedicate an episode to him. They have also been seen at the convention circuit this year, including the recent Hollywood Show (check out photos here!).
Feel free to share your condolences below.
1970s Fall TV
September 2023
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