My favorite Paul McCrane role was that gross guy he played on the X-Files--he could re-grow his whole body. The special effects were amazing.
He's a good actor and I hope he turns up somewhere else, but Romano really was an SOB.
I, too, am weary of such sad and hideous dea ths on TV. I've been a Days of Our Lives viewer since I was a kid and now they are killing off almost every character over 40 in the most vile ways possible.
I can watch the news for blood and misery. There is so little on TV that you can escape with these days.