‘Roseanne’ Revival Keeps Late Star Glenn Quinn’s Memory Alive With Poignant Tribute You May Have Missed

Roseanne fans were recently reunited with the Conner family for the long-awaited reboot of the ABC comedy series, but one family member was definitely missed: Becky Conner’s (Lecy Goranson) boyfriend turned husband Mark Healy, previously played by late actor Glenn Quinn. Glenn died of an accidental drug overdose at age 32 in 2002, but his presence was felt on the set of the Roseanne revival.

Not only is Darlene Conner’s (Sara Gilbert) son named Mark, after his late uncle, in the revived show, but the death of Glenn Quinn’s character was mentioned in the premiere episode. And according to PopSugar, Mark will be mentioned again in future episodes throughout the first season of the ABC revival series.

“We all had great affection for Glenn. We really wanted to say something,” Roseanne executive producer Bruce Helford told TCA press tour reporters. “He comes up a couple times. It isn’t just [the premiere episode]. He comes up a couple times in the course of the nine episodes.”

Not only is Mark mentioned in the first episode, but eagle-eyed viewers may have actually seen him in the Roseanne revival debut, titled “Twenty Years to Life.” In a sweet tribute, Glenn Quinn’s photo was displayed prominently in the Conner living room. You can see Quinn’s photo on the table behind Roseanne and Dan Conner in the photo below, right next to the family’s beloved Godzilla toy.

After the premiere of the revival, Roseanne star Michel Fishman, who plays D.J. Conner on the show, promised fans that his late co-star would be honored on future episodes of the ABC reboot.

Only blemish on tonights @RoseanneOnABC return was not having Glenn Quinn here to celebrate with.

We will honor him in future epsiodes of #Roseanne

So much more to come

— Michael Fishman (@ReelMFishman) March 28, 2018

Indeed, Roseanne Barr previously told Pop Sugar of the late actor, “We all missed Glenn so much, because he was just a great part of the show, and it’s not something we wanted to just gloss over.”

Roseanne executive producer Bruce Helford added that from a writing standpoint for the reboot, “when you have a show that’s so naturalistic, we had to deal with that and that Becky was going to be single.”

From the archive: The tragic story of Irish actor Glenn Quinn who played Becky's boyfriend in the original series of Roseanne – https://t.co/GqxmUsLnFK pic.twitter.com/HrX97Q1fdt

— Independent Ents (@IndoEnts) March 28, 2018

In the premiere episode of the Roseanne revival, Becky’s aunt Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) makes note of the struggles Becky has gone through since her husband died. Mark’s cause of death is not mentioned in the episode, and it is not revealed how long he has been dead. But considering the fact that Darlene named her child after him, it is safe to assume that Mark died at least a decade ago.

On the Roseanne reboot, a 42-year-old Becky Conner is still single and getting ready to be a surrogate for a wealthy couple. And now that Roseanne has already been renewed for a second season (the 11th season overall for the series), there’s a good chance that viewers will eventually find out much more about how Mark Healy died.

You can see Glenn Quinn in a scene from the original Roseanne below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQTnMNz_PRM

The Roseanne revival airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.