CSI loses Gary Dourdan

By M&C Smallscreen Apr 15, 2008, 15:44 GMT

01/26/2008 - Gary Dourdan - Las Vegas, NV, USA © PRN / PR Photos

Green-eyed son of Philly, handsome Gary Dourdan, who portrays investigator Warrick Brown on CSI, has come to a "mutual decision" with producers and will be exiting the long-running CBS franchise series, C.S.I., which is into its eight year.

New reports cite the reason for the split as a "mutual one made by the actor and CBS/Paramount."

CBS/Paramount has not announced the date of Dourdan's last episode, though it will happen in the next month as Dourdan's contract expires this season. The possibility of Dourdan to reappear as a guest star was left open in reports.

Dourdan's departure is on the heels of Jorja Fox's leaving the series last year.

As we reported a few weeks back, the star of the series, Bill Petersen, has renewed his contract; he is one of the highest paid actors in television.

Various trades report that Dourdan will portray rocker Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzie in an upcoming film based on Lynott's mother's book titled "My Boy."

Lynott was the son of a Black Brazilian father and his Irish mother, Philomena Lynott, who was born in England but then raised by his mother in Ireland.  He died from complications causing heart failure and pneumonia caused by longterm drug and alcohol abuse at the age of 36.