Jim Troesh dies at 54

Publish date: 2024-07-05

Writer-actor worked on 'Highway to Heaven'

Writer-actor and entertainment industry disability advocate Jim Troesh died on Oct. 1 at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. He was 54. Troesh played a three-season role as a quadriplegic attorney on “Highway to Heaven,” a show he also wrote for. His screenwriting credits include the 2006 film “Color of the Cross.”

He was an active member of the Writers Guild of America West’s Writers with Disabilities Committee and the first quadriplegic actor to join the Screen Actors Guild. He served on the Performers Executive Committee of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Troesh was also former national chairman of AFTRA’s Performers with Disabilities Committee and former president of the Media Access Office.

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“What Jim brought to the disability equation was an irreverent, disarming sense of the absurd. Humor kept him going for 41 years,” said WGA Writers with Disabilities Committee chair Allen Rucker.

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Troesh received the Michael Landon Award from the Media Access Office and was also a recipient of the ABC/Disney Writing Scholarship.

Troesh also created TV pilot “The Hollywood Quad,” which he wrote, produced, directed and starred in.

His other acting credits include “Boston Legal,” “Special Unit,” “Notes From the Underground,” “Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story” and “Airwolf.”

Skilled in improv, Troesh trained with Avery Schreiber, Theatersports and Off The Wall and performed with the Moving Targets, a political satire/sketch comedy/improv troupe he also co-produced and wrote for.

As a teenager, he aspired to be an electronic technician and wanted to work with his hands. At age 14, he fell off a roof and sustained a spinal injury that left him paralyzed. While Troesh was in high school, one of his teachers encouraged his interest in writing, and he began composing action-adventure short stories.

A memorial service will be held Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. in North Hollywood at a location to be determined.

Donations may be made to Total Improv Kids – Jim Troesh Scholarship. Checks can be sent c/o Linda Fulton, Avery Schreiber Theater, 11050 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601.

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