Prinze suffered from depression, which deepened in the weeks after his wife filed for divorce. On the night of January 28, 1977, after talking on the telephone with his estranged wife, Prinze received a visit from his business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder. While Snyder was visiting him, Prinze put a gun to his head and shot himself. He had purchased this gun in the presence of Jimmie "JJ" Walker and Alan Bursky, although it was long rumored that Bursky gave him the gun. Prinze was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center and placed on life support following emergency surgery. His family removed him from life support, and he died at 1 p.m. on January 29.