For millions of people who grew up watching the Disney Channel in the early 2000s, Robert Carradine was simply “Mr. McGuire,” the warm, bumbling, lovable dad who anchored the McGuire household in Lizzie McGuire. The news of his passing on February 23, 2026, at the age of 71, sent shockwaves through Hollywood and broke the hearts of fans who had grown up with him on their television screens. His family confirmed that Carradine had struggled with bipolar disorder for nearly two decades, and that the illness ultimately claimed him. In the hours and days following the announcement, the people who knew and worked with him best stepped forward to honor a man they described as funny, generous, eccentric, and deeply beloved.
Hilary Duff, who played Lizzie McGuire opposite Carradine’s on-screen father character, Sam McGuire, was among the first to speak out. “This one hurts,” Duff wrote on Instagram. “It’s really hard to face this reality about an old friend.” She reflected on the warmth that Carradine brought to the set and said she always felt genuinely cared for by her television parents. “I’ll be forever grateful for that,” she wrote. Duff also addressed his mental health battle directly: “I’m deeply sad to learn Bobby was suffering. My heart aches for him, his family, and everyone who loved him.”
Jake Thomas, who played Lizzie’s little brother Matt McGuire and Carradine’s on-screen son, shared an equally emotional tribute. “My heart hurts today,” he wrote. “I was fortunate to know Bobby for most of my life. And he was one of the coolest guys you could ever meet. Funny, pragmatic, sometimes cranky, always a little eccentric.” Thomas described Carradine as family in the truest sense of the word, saying he had fond memories of “good moments, challenging moments, and lots of laughs between.” He signed off the tribute with warmth and simplicity: “Rest easy, Bobby. Love you, ‘Jaker.'”
Hallie Todd, who played Jo McGuire, Lizzie’s mom and Carradine’s on-screen wife, offered perhaps the most intimate window into just how close the cast had become over the years. “My heart is broken. I’m going to miss my sweet buddy so much,” she wrote on Instagram. “He was a generous and loyal friend. He was brave, strong, kind and had a wicked sense of humor. He was a champion for the people he loved and always wanted the best for us.” Todd went on to describe Carradine as not just a gifted actor but also a brilliant guitarist and “the most incredible and devoted father.” She revealed that the two families had grown extremely close over the past 25 years, celebrating birthdays, graduations, Halloweens, and Thanksgivings together. “My friendship with Bobby and his family is probably my most treasured personal gift from working on Lizzie McGuire,” she wrote. “He was my family on screen and off.”
The grief extended far beyond the Lizzie McGuire set. Carradine’s real-life daughter, actress Ever Carradine, known to audiences from The Handmaid’s Tale and Major Crimes, shared a deeply personal tribute on Instagram. “My dad died today,” she wrote. “My sweet, funny dad, who’s only 20 years older than I am, who never missed an opportunity to drive me to the airport or tell me how much he loved my homemade salad dressing, is gone.” She painted a picture of a man who was always present, always showing up: at Little League games, at the airport, at every moment she needed him.
His niece, actress Martha Plimpton, remembered him with equal tenderness. “My Uncle Bobby was the best one of all 8 brothers; blood, adopted, and step,” she wrote on Instagram. “Out of all of them, he was the absolute best. He was the one who cuddled me when I came to visit my father in LA for the first time at 8 or 9 years old.” It was a reminder that Carradine’s warmth wasn’t reserved for the screen. It was simply who he was.
His older brother and manager Keith Carradine, speaking on behalf of the family, addressed his brother’s mental health battle with candor and love. “We want people to know it, and there is no shame in it,” Keith said. “It is an illness that got the best of him, and I want to celebrate him for his struggle with it, and celebrate his beautiful soul. He was profoundly gifted, and we will miss him every day. We will take solace in how funny he could be, how wise and utterly accepting and tolerant he was. That’s who my baby brother was.”
The family’s official statement echoed that same spirit of openness, noting that they hoped Carradine’s story would help chip away at the stigma surrounding mental illness. “In a world that can feel so dark, Bobby was always a beacon of light to everyone around him,” the statement read. “We hope his journey can shine a light and encourage addressing the stigma that attaches to mental illness.”
Before he became the beloved dad at the center of the McGuire family, Carradine had already built an impressive Hollywood legacy spanning more than 150 film and television credits. Older audiences know him best as Lewis Skolnick, the nerdy, lovable lead of the iconic 1984 comedy Revenge of the Nerds and its sequels, a role that made him an enduring symbol of the underdog. Before that, he appeared in the critically acclaimed 1980 war film The Big Red One, directed by Samuel Fuller, alongside Lee Marvin. He was part of a true Hollywood dynasty; his half-brother, the late David Carradine, was famous for Kung Fu and the Kill Bill franchise.
But for the generation who discovered him on the Disney Channel, he will always be Sam McGuire, the goofy, sweet dad who made the McGuire house feel like home. Fans flooded social media with memories of watching the show growing up, with one Reddit user writing that Carradine represented the “quintessential goofy dad” for an entire generation of kids. Another remembered him as the “ultimate underdog icon” whose roles across different decades spoke to people who felt like outsiders.
He was 71 years old. He would have turned 72 in March.
If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out. You can contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or text “988” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.