Adam Sandler Pays Tribute to ‘Happy Gilmore’ Co-Star Joe Flaherty
Adam Sandler took to X (formerly Twitter) to pay tribute to late actor Joe Flaherty, who played "Jeering Fan" in the 1996 comedy Happy Gilmore.
Sandler wrote, "Oh man. Worshipped Joe growing up. Always had me and my brother laughing. Count Floyd, Guy Caballero. Any move he made. He crushed as border guard in Stripes. Couldn’t be more fun to have him heckle me on the golf course."
He concluded, "The nicest guy you could know. Genius of a comedian. And a true sweetheart. Perfect combo. Much love to his kids, and thanks to Joe for all the greatness he gave us all."
Flaherty died on Monday, April 1 at age 82. His daughter, Gudrun, confirmed the news of his death in a statement to Variety. Gudrun said in the statement, "After a brief illness, he left us yesterday, and since then, I’ve been struggling to come to terms with this immense loss ... n these last few months, as he faced his health challenges, we had the precious opportunity to watch many of those classic movies together — moments I will forever hold dear."
Besides Happy Gilmore, Flaherty was notably an original cast member on SCTV with John Candy, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Harold Ramis and Dave Thomas.
Additionally, Flaherty was in the cult classic, coming-of-age TV series Freaks and Geeks. He played Harold Weir, the father of Lindsey (Linda Cardellini) and Sam Weir (John Francis Daley).
Adam Sandler's Other Happy Gilmore Tribute
Sadly, this isn't the first death from the Happy Gilmore cast this year. In February, Carl Weathers, who played golf pro Chubbs, died at age 76.
Sandler shared in tribute, "A true great man. Great dad. Great actor. Great athlete. So much fun to be around always. Smart as hell. Loyal as hell. Funny as hell. Loved his sons more than anything. What a guy!! Everyone loved him. My wife and I had the best times with him every time we saw him. Love to his entire family and Carl will always be known as a true legend."
