In memoriam title cards are one of the highest honors a TV or film production can give to a late cast or crew member. Sometimes, the words “in loving memory” pop up at the end of a series or movie based on a true story, making it all the more poignant by quietly confirming the death of one or more subjects. Other times, it’s a key member of the creative family that built the story being honored — a screenwriter, actor, director, producer, author, musician, stunt-person, or any number of other crew members.
Then there are the cases where a movie or show honors someone whose name audiences don’t immediately recognize or can’t connect to the show in question. Taylor Sheridan’s ratings behemoth “Yellowstone” has included several unexpected in memoriam tributes over the years, celebrating the lives of everyone from bit and spur maker Billy Ray Klapper (who did, to be fair, appear once in the show) to singer-songwriter John Prine and Wilford Brimley, the former Liberty Medical spokesperson who had plenty of on-screen cowboy roles to his name yet never showed up on “Yellowstone” at all.
“Yellowstone” also paid tribute to uncredited crew member and possible transportation and location coordinator Melanie Olmstead in one episode, and it’s far from the only show to highlight someone in death who didn’t seem to appear in the project’s credits in life. The same thing happened on the Fox medical drama “The Resident” in 2022, when someone named Chris Harrell was referenced in a dedication at the end of the season 6 premiere.
The Teamsters member passed away in 2022
Harrell’s name appears at the conclusion of “Two Hearts,” an episode that sees Leela’s twin sister Padma (Aneesha Joshi) undergo a risky procedure when she discovers she’s pregnant with twins and one is underdeveloped. At the end of the episode, the words “”In Loving Memory of Chris Harrell” come up on screen. According to Looper, Harrell’s name never appeared in the official credits of “The Resident,” and although there are several Chris Harrells — a production assistant, a producer, an actor, and a director — listed on IMDb, none of them seem to be deceased.
Thanks to research done by Looper and other sites, we do know that Harrell was a member of Teamsters Local 728, an Atlanta-based union that often works with film and TV productions. On a national level, Teamsters is a massive labor group with a rich history, and its members include everyone from delivery drivers to sanitation workers to on-set animal wranglers and location scouts. A public GoFundMe fundraiser set up to honor Harrell includes a comment indicating that he was a member of the film community, and it also discloses details about his cause of death. The fundraising organizer, listed on the site as Michael Freeman, wrote that Harrell “passed away unexpectedly during a medical procedure and leaves behind a loving family and a countless number of friends.” The loving tribute noted that Freeman was part of the “auto racing community,” and stated that he “worked hard at whatever job he was tasked with, but was equally as driven when he pursued his hobbies. Anyone he met,” it added, “was a friend.”
Fans of “The Resident” don’t know specifically how Harrell contributed to the medical drama, making his in memoriam – and so many others like it — a reminder to recognize the work that goes on behind-the-scenes of our favorite movies and shows on all levels. It’s also a much-needed reminder, in line with the life and death drama of the medical show itself, for each of us to give the people who help us through life their flowers when they’re still with us.