Michael Fishman is best known for his iconic role in Roseanne and most recently in the reboot known as The Conners. However, while Fishman is usually responsible for making people laugh, in reality, the father has been grappling with the loss of his son.
As the dad revealed while a guest on The Tamron Hall Show, he recently suffered the loss of his adopted son, Larry. Larry had passed away following a drug overdose.
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According to Fishman, Larry wasn’t struggling with drug abuse, but rather he was experimenting when something went wrong. “It wasn’t so much a struggle for him. People try things over time and that wasn’t really an issue overall.”
As the father, who also has a biological daughter Isabelle and son Aaron with his ex-wife, explained, Larry had tried the drugs that multiple people had “a very serious reaction” to, as well, after he was transitioning into a new house after living with his sister for some time.
“I feel like I came to Larry, maybe later than I wish I could,” Fishman explained. “And I think for parents, you know, you wish you had more time. You don’t always get the time that you want.”
Larry was Fishman’s youngest son, and reportedly just a teenager when he passed away in June. Fishman was still in the process of making Larry’s adoption final when he died. The actor also adopted Larry’s biological sister.
“I think he chose me, to be fair,” he replied when Hall said he was a parent who “chose this child to be a part of” his life. Fishman also explained how Larry and Camille came into his life.
“We kind of took Camille into my home. We became this family unit,” Fishman explained after a friend had told him Camille could used some guidance and a mentorship.
“She came to me and said, ‘I’ve never had a dad, would you be my dad?’ I had to talk to my two kids, my son Aaron and my daughter, and see that that was okay with them. And then I had to have the conversation with Camille, ‘Do you understand what that means? I’m going to have high expectations for you, family rules, and you being there.”
Michael Fishman said he is sharing Larry’s story now in hopes that someone else can relate to it and have a better outcome.
“A couple of years ago, I probably would have never shared this,” he told Tamron Hall. “But if one other person can relate, can help you talk to your kids in some way, if it opens up a dialogue where you just listen … the really important part is that you’re brave enough to admit when you struggle and that you need help or that you aren’t strong. People are struggling.”
In honor of Larry and National Son’s Day, Fishman shared a photo of Larry on his Instagram to say he will “always” be in his heart.
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