Cyrus O'Dell

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Cyrus O'Dell
Ed Begley, Jr as Cyrus O'Dell
First appearance	Witchita Linebacker
Last appearance	Papa's Cabin
Cause/Reason	Murdered in Spit & Eggs but later returns in flashbacks
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Dean of Hearst College
Relationships	Mindy O'Dell (Wife, deceased)
Children	Gram O'Dell (Son) Jason O'Dell (Stepson)
Portrayed by	Ed Begley, Jr.
Created by	Rob Thomas

Cyrus O'Dell is a fictional character on The CW television series, Veronica Mars, which debuted during the fall 2004 season on UPN. He is portrayed by Ed Begley, Jr.

[edit] Background

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Veronica first met Dean O'Dell after she wrote an article for the student paper and the Dean demanded to know her source for the article. After Veronica refused, the Dean threatened to expel her. Veronica eventually made the Dean a deal: Veronica found someone (Weevil) who would repair the Dean's recently vandalized car for free and in exchange Veronica did not have to reveal her source and she was not expelled. The Dean accepted the deal.

The next time Veronica saw the Dean, he needed some help. His stepson needed a bone marrow transplant to live and the only person who could donate on such short notice was Steve, the boy's biological father. Dean O'Dell hired Keith Mars to track Steve down. Upon being found, Steve was unwilling to help his son despite pleas from Dean O'Dell and Mindy, the Dean's wife. Soon after this meeting, Steve went missing and Keith was one of the top suspects in his disappearance. After investigating, Keith discovers that the Dean and his wife knocked Steve out and brought him to the hospital to take the bone marrow forcibly. After Steve gave the bone marrow, the Dean agreed to give him Mindy's car as payment.

The Dean also hired Veronica to discover the location of Selma, the granddaughter of Hearst's founder and one of the members of the Board of Directors, who had gone missing just before a crucial vote about the fate of the Greek system at Hearst. After Selma was found, the vote went through and the Greek system was removed. The Dean was then visited by a wealthy 'benefactor' who pressured Cyrus to reinstate the system. The Dean found a loophole where he was able to cast a final vote and reinstated the Greek system. The Dean was greeted back at school by a bunch of the Lilith House girls who threw spit and eggs at his car.

In Hi, Infidelity, Veronica discovered that Mindy had been having an affair with Hank Landry, Veronica's criminology professor. Veronica kept this information to herself until Spit & Eggs, when the Dean hired Keith Mars to find out if Mindy was having an affair. When Keith told Cyrus the news, they drank together until Keith left the Dean to go home. Later that night, the Dean loaded his revolver and went to the hotel room where his wife and Hank Landry were having their affair to confront them. It is currently unknown what happened in the hotel room between the Dean, Prof. Landry and Mindy. The Dean returned to his office and fell asleep on his couch. He was woken up in the middle of the night to the sound of eggs hitting his window. He then saw someone in his office and said, "What are you doing here?" The next morning the Dean was found murdered sitting at his desk by Weevil.

As of Show Me the Monkey, Dean O'Dell's death is believed by the police and his life insurance provider to have been a suicide. A note reading, "Goodbye, cruel world" was left on his computer screen, presumably by the murderer and matching the technique Veronica describes in her "perfect murder" criminology paper. Mindy O'Dell has hired Keith Mars to investigate her husband's death in order to challenge the insurance company's refusal to pay compensation. Keith believes that Dean O'Dell was murdered because the bottle of forty-year-old Scotch whisky the Dean told him he "lived in anticipation of tasting" was unopened.

In Papa's Cabin, we learn that Dean O'Dell was murdered by Hank's TA, Tim Foyle.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Season 3

Veronica Mars
Episode List \| Cast \| Official Website
Current Main Characters	Veronica Mars \| Logan Echolls \| Wallace Fennel \| Dick Casablancas Parker Lee \| Stosh "Piz" Piznarski \| Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie Eli “Weevil” Navarro \| Keith Mars
Former Main Characters	Mallory Dent \| Duncan Kane \| Cassidy Casablancas \| Jackie Cook \| Don Lamb
Family	Kendall Casablancas \| Terrence Cook \| Aaron Echolls \| Lynn Echolls \| Trina Echolls Alicia Fennel \| Celeste Kane \| Jake Kane \| Lilly Kane \| Lianne Mars \| Charlie Stone
Neptune High	Van Clemmons \| Vincent Clemmons \| Corny \| Gia Goodman \| Hannah Griffith Rebecca James \| Meg Manning \| Madison Sinclair \| Felix Toombs \| Troy Vandegraff
Hearst College	Tim Foyle \| Mercer Hayes \| Hank Landry \| Cyrus O'Dell \| Moe Slater
Residents of Neptune	Leo D'Amato \| Liam Fitzpatrick \| Woody Goodman \| Abel Koontz Cliff McCormack \| Mindy O'Dell \| Vinnie Van Lowe \| Clarence Wiedman
Places	Neptune, California \| Neptune Grand \| Camelot Motel Neptune High \| Hearst College