Monty Brinton/CBSThe Big Bang Theory said goodbye to a beloved character last night, Howard's (Simon Helberg) mom Mrs. Wolowitz's, but her death will have some long-lasting impressions on the hit CBS comedy and the characters at its heart.
Carol Ann Susi, the voice of Mrs. Wolowitz's who was never seen on screen, passed away in November 2014 and her character also passed away suddenly in the Thursday, Feb. 19 episode of The Big Bang Theory. The show decided to kill the character off rather than send her away, which would have felt "false and fake," according to Steve Molaro. But don't expect to see a funeral.
"There will not be a funeral episode. This is so tricky for us and for the tone of the show to let things get too dramatic and too sad. The way we handled it enabled us to deal with it and also jump over a funeral-type episode," Molaro told The Hollywood Reporter. "But we will certainly continue to deal with—Wolowitz and Bernadette in particular—with the fallout of her passing away for a number of episodes down the line."
The episode featured a toast from Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and off-screen the actor helped with a special tribute.
"After we had that impromptu memorial the morning she passed away, Johnny and I were hugging—like everybody was—and right then we found our prop person and asked to get a little picture of Carol Ann and we put it on the refrigerator [in Leonard and Sheldon's kitchen] so she's there in every episode now. It's so small you wouldn't even see it, but on the fridge is this tiny little wallet-size picture of Carol Ann that's been there since the day she passed away."
See the scene above.
The Big Bang Theory airs Thursdays, 8 p.m. on CBS.