‘Talladega Nights’ Actor Houston Tumlin Dies by Suicide at 28

Houston Tumlin, who starred in Talladega Nights 15 years ago as Walker Bobby, the back-talking son of Will Ferrell’s character Ricky Bobby, died by suicide Tuesday at the age of 28, TMZ reports. Houston reportedly died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at about 4:30 p.m. while inside his Pelham, Alabama home, according to Shelby County Coroner Lina Evans. Tumlin’s girlfriend was reportedly also in the home at the time of his death.

Tumlin’s character was a hit in the 2006 comedy, and his scene with Grayson Russell’s Texas Ranger Bobby at the dinner table has become one of the movie’s most famous. Tumlin didn’t go on to act in any other major parts, and TMZ reported that in 2015, he was serving in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell. More recently, Tumlin’s social media suggests he was working with telephone lines, as he shared a number of photos on the job, which have turned into a place for fans, family and friends to pay their respects.

Talladega Nights‘ portrayal of the racing world became one of Ferrell’s fan-favorite movies, but the actor insisted that the movie was never intended to mock NASCAR or its fans. “We were real adamant upfront that our goal wasn’t to make fun of NASCAR,” the actor shared with ESPN in 2016. “We wanted to have fun with NASCAR. We were fascinated by this idea of drivers being teammates but also competing, like Ricky and Cal [Naughton Jr.]. Shake and bake, by the way. So, we said give us the inside jokes from the people who do this for a living and we’ll roll with it.”

People who loved NASCAR were some of the target audience for the film, as Ferrell thought they would identify and be in on the jokes. “We found that no one loved Anchorman more than the people who actually work in television news,” he said at the time of the film’s intentions. “I always felt like people in NASCAR could laugh at this, too. And if they didn’t … well, I’m a pretty big guy and most race car drivers are pretty small, so they knew what was up.”

If you or someone you know are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.