One of the last remaining stars of CBS’ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is leaving the long-running show. Paul Guilfoyle, who has played Captain Jim Brass for all 14 seasons, will be leaving at the end of the upcoming season finale in May.
Guilfoyle and George Eads were the last remaining members of the regular original cast. Eric Szmanda and Robert David Hall have also been a part of the show since the beginning, but were only bumped to series regulars later on. David Berman was also a recurring star since day one and was only made a regular in Season 10.
Sources for The Hollywood Reporter, which first confirmed the news, said that Guilfoyle was only notified that he was leaving last week. He gave an emotional speech when production on season 14 wrapped Friday. Producers ultimately decided to write him out of the show.
“Paul made Capt. Brass a standout character," CSI exec producers Carol Mendelsohn and Don McGill told THR. “He is not just an original cast member, he is an original. In a show about forensics, fans always looked forward to the handcuffs coming out, and Capt. Brass putting his spin on the crime of the week, just as Paul Guilfoyle put his indelible stamp on the character and the show. He will be missed.”
According to Entertainment Weekly, Eads will be the last original castmember in season 15. CBS renewed the show earlier this month.
CSI, which is one of the most lucrative TV franchises in the world, airs Wendesdays at 10 p.m.
Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved