It was Douglas Emerson who played Scott Scanlon on the original incarnation of "Beverly Hills, 90210," and despite it being the biggest role of his career, it was also his last.

Perhaps he took it hard that, though a star and regular character in the first season, he was downgraded to a guest by Season 2 as his character's role in the soapy plot steadily shrank.

Or perhaps he just found a new job that he liked more. He's reported to have gone to Pepperdine University after leaving the series in 1991, and then later joining the U.S. Air Force.

Though it was a breakout hit when it premiered on Fox in 1990, "Beverly Hills, 90210" was just hitting its stride in 1991, just approaching phenomenon status, when Emerson's character accidentally shot himself at his own birthday party. It was a fitting result for his character, who grew increasingly obsessed with guns as his former best friend David (Brian Austin Green) steadily grew away from him and toward the show's popular crowd.

The story allowed the show to tackle the issue of kids and gun safety, a popular one at the time that would lead to a few controversial laws being passed a few years later, at a time when "Beverly Hills, 90210" was still very much issue-driven. The early seasons saw the show tackling such other weighty issues as drugs, AIDS and date rape.

Though "90210" was his last role, when he landed it Emerson was an established child actor with quite a few roles under his belt already. He had roles in a large number of popular TV series, such as "Night Court" and "Highway to Heaven," as well as a few big-screeners, though the most notable of these was the not-very-notable 1988 remake "The Blob."

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