How did Tom & Hollis die on The Bold and the Beautiful? Cause of death explored

The Bold and the Beautiful, set in Los Angeles and first airing on March 23, 1987, has seen many changes in its plotlines and characters over the years.

In the recent episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful, between July 8, 2024, and July 12, 2024, the show showed the deaths of two characters: Tom Starr, played by Clint Howard, and Paul Hollister, also known as Hollis, played by Hollis W. Chambers.

Tom Starr's death was attributed to a drug overdose, which seemed plausible given his struggles with addiction. Shortly after Tom’s death, another death took place on the show at Il Giardino, where Hollis also died from a drug overdose.

While Tom's death was expected due to his history with drugs, Hollis’ death raised questions about whether both deaths were due to drug overdoses or if it was a planned murder.

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The Bold and the Beautiful: What led to the two deaths?

Tom Starr’s recent plotline on The Bold and the Beautiful showed that he was trying to become a better person and restart his singing career by performing at the restaurant Il Giardino.

Just before his performance, Tom visited the Spencer House to see Poppy, which raised questions about his connection with her. Poppy was not happy to see Tom and wanted him to leave before anyone else could see him.

A few days after this incident, Tom was found dead under mysterious circumstances due to a drug overdose. While many believed his death was linked to his history of substance abuse, some characters, like Paul Hollister, did not believe it completely.

After Tom’s death on The Bold and the Beautiful, his bag was discovered at Il Giardino with a letter in it. Though the suspense of the letter was not revealed, the letter led Hollis to doubt Tom’s death. Subsequently, Hollis wanted to talk to someone about the letter, and he believed Tom’s death was not an accident but a planned murder.

During a night scene, it is shown that Hollis met with someone unexpectedly and said:

"What are you doing here?"

He also mentioned that he wanted to talk to that person about the letter found in Tom’s bag. However, the following morning, Hollis was found dead. Although there is no proof of the actual culprits, the main suspect in the alleged murders is Sheila Carter, played by Kimberlin Brown.

Hollis and Sheila’s relationship ended on a bitter note after he found out about her criminal history, Sheila is suspected of killing Hollis because of the grudges she held for him.

In the episode that aired on July 15, 2024, Steffy, played by Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, publicly pointed out Sheila and blamed her for the killings. In the same episode of The Bold and the Beautiful, the police called Sheila to question her.

This blame on Sheila would affect her and Deacon’s lives. Deacon supported her as he knew that Tom saved her life and performed their marriage ceremony. Hence, Shiela would never do something like this to him.

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Viewers can watch the new episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful on weekdays on CBS.