One of the most oddly specific sitcom tropes is the invisible character. These range from Maris, the increasingly physically impossible wife of Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce) in “Frasier,” to gentler approaches to the subject, like Wilson (Earl Hindman) in “Home Improvement.”
“The Big Bang Theory” is no exception to the trope’s ubiquitous presence, courtesy of Howard Wolowitz’s (Simon Helberg) unseen but much-heard mother, Debbie Wolowitz. An abrasive and imposing presence in Howard’s life, Mrs. Wolowitz is nonetheless a force for good and an important figure to both him and most of the show’s other main characters.
Since the character is, for all intents and purposes, just a voice on “The Big Bang Theory,” fans may have noticed a marked difference in the way she sounds in “Young Sheldon.” That’s not because the actress who plays Mrs. Wolowitz on “The Big Bang Theory,” Carol Ann Susi, was asked to change the character’s sound to reflect her younger age. The real reason is much more tragic, since Susi died in 2014. For this reason, Pamela Adlon plays Mrs. Wolowitz in the prequel series.
Carol Ann Susi’s Tragic Death in Real Life Impacted Ms. Wolowitz’s In-Universe Fate
Naturally, every character from “The Big Bang Theory” who makes an appearance in the 1980s and ’90s setting of “Young Sheldon” had to be recast to avoid the kind of situation in which 40-year-olds with permanent stubble play 13-year-olds . old. However, after Carol Ann Susi died in 2014, at just 62 years old, things were very, very different.
“The Big Bang Theory” never shows Howard’s mother, but due to Susi’s death, the show never recast her either. Instead, the people behind the show addressed the situation with an emotional farewell from the character in season 8, as Debbie Wolowitz became one of the show’s major character deaths. In a 2015 interview with The Hollywood Reportershowrunner Steve Molaro discussed the shock of Susi’s death and how the show’s creatives arrived at the decision to bring it in-universe with the death of Mrs. Wolowitz:
“It took a while for this devastation to subside before we could even think about it. We couldn’t bring ourselves to start thinking about it. Eventually, the needs of the show were addressed. [forced the issue] and we had to come up with a plan, and I don’t think we could bring ourselves to replace the actor. This thought seemed horrible to us. That left us with two options: We fire the character – which seemed wrong and wrong – or we go straight in and write him into the show, so that’s what we chose to do. “
The character’s appearance in “Young Sheldon” can hardly be called a recast either. When the show’s montage of “The Big Bang Theory Characters as Kids” in the Season 2 episode “A Swedish Science Thing and the Equation for Toast” needed a cameo from Ms. Wolowitz , Pamela Adlon simply stepped in to provide the necessary voice work.
