The news came that actor Stephen Furst (photo ©Lois Benton) died on June 16 following complications related to the diabetes he had long been suffering from.

Stephen Nelson Feuerstein, this was his birth name, was born on May 8, 1954, in Norfolk, Virginia, USA.

After starting his acting career with some small roles, Stephen Furst was cast to play Kent “Flounder” Dorfman in the movie “National Lampoon’s Animal House”, a role he remained famous for also because he reprised it in the TV show “Delta House”.

During the 1980s, Stephen Furst had many roles in both cinema and television productions and lent his voice to animated shows’ characters. In 1994 he started playing another of the roles he remained famous for, Vir Cotto in the TV show “Babylon 5“.

Over the years, Stephen Furst has also started working as a director, often of low-budget independent movies, sometimes of telefilms, and in some cases of TV show episodes. In fact his directorial debut was directing some “Babylon 5” episodes. Occasionally he was also a producer.

Throughout his life, Stephen Furst faced several health problems. Since childhood, he’d been overweight and was obese for several years. At some point, he was able to lose a lot of weight and his change is noticeable watching “Babylon 5”. Unfortunately, he also had to deal with diabetes, a disease present in his family, so much so that both of his parents also died from its consequences.

Stephen Furst was active as a spokeswoman for the American Diabetes Association and spread useful tips and recipes to keep diabetes under control. For years he used his fame to help other people suffering from the same disease, unfortunately for him his problems turned out to be too serious. He’s survived by his wife Lorraine, their sons Nathan and Griff, and a lot of fans who appreciated him as an actor.