Background and career
Sam Lloyd (November 12, 1963 – April 30, 2020) was an American actor and singer who played lawyer Ted Buckland on the comedy-drama series Scrubs and the sitcom Cougar Town.
Lloyd was born in Springfield, Vermont, on November 12, 1963, the son of Marianna McGuffin and Samuel Lloyd Sr., an actor. Sam and his four siblings Laurel, Robin, Sandra, and Jackson have a famous uncle, actor Christopher Lloyd. Sam attended Syracuse University in the 1980s. There he starred in his friend Paul Perry's student film Fan Mail, which Lloyd described as a "clever, fun, kind of homage to silent films".
Lloyd played lawyer Ted Buckland on the comedy-drama series Scrubs and the sitcom Cougar Town. He and his uncle Christopher both guest-starred on Malcolm in the Middle: Lloyd as a housing lawyer, and his uncle as Hal's father. The two also guested on The West Wing: Lloyd requesting the White House to release information about UFOs, and his uncle as a constitutional law expert. He also appeared in Desperate Housewives as Albert Goldfine, and in two episodes of Seinfeld as Ricky, a man who is obsessed with TV Guide and develops a crush on Elaine. Aside from acting, Lloyd was an accomplished singer with the a cappella group the Blanks, who made many appearances on Scrubs under the name The Worthless Peons (also known as Ted's Band). He also played the bass guitar in a Beatles tribute group called the Butties; although right-handed, he learned to play bass left-handed like Beatles bassist Paul McCartney to maintain authenticity.
In January 2019, Lloyd was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, which was subsequently found to be metastatic lung cancer that had spread to his liver, spine, and jaw. His wife Vanessa had given birth to their son, Weston, in November 2018. He died in Los Angeles on April 30, 2020, at the age of 56.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
