Anyone who has rewatched It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia knows Dennis Reynolds is the last person you would trust with anything. Glenn Howerton, the actor who plays him, is a different case: he stepped back from the show he co-created per Us Weekly’s celebrity profile, dealt with a round of health rumors, and quietly built a family with actress Jill Latiano — this is the documented version of what happened, what never got confirmed, and why he is back with the gang.
Net worth: $25 million ·
Birth date: April 13, 1976 ·
Known for: Dennis Reynolds on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia ·
Spouse: Jill Latiano
Quick snapshot
- Howerton co-created the series and stars as Dennis Reynolds (Us Weekly’s celebrity profile).
- His net worth is estimated at $25 million (TheBiography.org’s net-worth profile).
- No reliable medical source confirms a serious illness (Australian News Desk’s feature on the health rumors).
- The exact season 13 reason is reported as scheduling, not officially confirmed (per Australian News Desk’s report). (Australian News Desk’s feature on the health rumors)
- The wedding date is listed as September 5 (Wikipedia’s biographical entry) or September 8 (per TheBiography.org’s biographical profile).
- Howerton returned after season 13 and continued as Dennis Reynolds (ScopePress’s coverage of Howerton).
- FXX announced a season 17 renewal, per ScopePress’s report (ScopePress).
Six biographical details, one pattern: the numbers attached to Howerton come from celebrity bio trackers and net-worth estimates, not from medical records or official statements.
| Detail | Value | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Glenn Franklin Howerton III | per TheBiography.org’s biographical profile |
| Born | April 13, 1976, in Japan | Wikipedia’s biographical entry for Howerton |
| Net worth | $25 million (estimated) | per TheBiography.org’s biographical profile |
| Spouse and family | Jill Latiano, married September 2009; two sons | per Us Weekly’s bio of Howerton |
| Known for | Dennis Reynolds in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia | per Us Weekly’s celebrity profile |
| Season 13 role | Reduced screen time while AP Bio took priority | per Australian News Desk’s report |
What is Glenn Howerton’s illness?
If you search Howerton’s name online, the loudest results are health rumors. The story that keeps surfacing — a benign brain tumor diagnosed in 2018 — is not confirmed by any reliable medical source, and Australian News Desk’s review found no evidence of a serious illness in the available record.
The tumor story is the loudest rumor and the thinnest claim. What is documented is a back problem and a heavy schedule — not a medical crisis.
Did Glenn Howerton Have a Benign Tumor?
- No reliable medical source confirms the diagnosis (per Australian News Desk’s feature on the health rumors).
- The story lives in forums and aggregator content, not in medical reporting or major entertainment coverage.
- The available results also do not establish that back problems caused him to leave the show permanently (per Australian News Desk’s review).
The most likely driver of the rumor is timing: Howerton’s reduced role in season 13 needed a story, and “he’s sick” traveled further than “he’s shooting another show.”
What Has Howerton Said About His Health?
- A 2018 profile described him as having “trained away a bad back” (per Australian News Desk’s feature).
- Back problems are the health topic with the most documentation in his public record.
- Nothing in that record links his back to a tumor or to a permanent exit from the show.
So the honest answer to “what illness does Glenn Howerton have?” is: no confirmed serious illness. The verified detail is a back problem he worked through, not a diagnosis that changed his career.
The bottom line: Glenn Howerton’s health record shows a back problem, not a serious illness. The rumor of a tumor outpaced the documented facts.
The implication: the rumor mill wanted a dramatic medical story, and the record offers a mundane one. That gap is where the misinformation lives.
Why did Glenn Howerton come back to Its Always Sunny?
The short answer: he never really left. Howerton’s season 13 absence was exaggerated in the retelling — he stayed a credited lead and producer, and the show kept running with Dennis in fewer scenes (per ScopePress’s coverage of Howerton).
Season 13’s real story is logistics: AP Bio took the time, the show kept the credits, and the return was just the schedule opening up again.
Did He Leave to Star in AP Bio?
- AP Bio is the sitcom Howerton led, and it is the reason his season 13 availability shrank (per Australian News Desk’s report).
- Australian News Desk attributes the reduced screen time to scheduling conflicts involving AP Bio and other commitments (per Australian News Desk’s report).
- He also reportedly considered leaving after season 12 to pursue other opportunities — a career move, not a health crisis (per Australian News Desk’s report).
In practical terms, a lead role on a new comedy takes a different time commitment than an ensemble show you have been doing for more than a decade. Something had to give, and it was Dennis’s screen time.
Why Did AP Bio End?
- Once AP Bio wrapped its run, Howerton’s Always Sunny calendar opened back up (per ScopePress’s coverage of Howerton).
- ScopePress reports that he returned after season 13 and continued playing Dennis Reynolds (per ScopePress).
The bottom line: Glenn Howerton returned to the show because his schedule cleared when AP Bio ended — his departure was never a break from the bar.
The return was not a twist; it was the plan. The schedule cleared, and the co-creator walked back into the bar.
The pattern: the “comeback” was really a return to normal. AP Bio was the detour, and the bar was always the destination.
Why did Glenn Howerton leave Always Sunny season 13?
Season 13 is where the confusion started. Dennis barely appears, so fans filled the gap with theories ranging from illness to fallout with the cast.
Was His Departure Permanent?
- No — he returned after season 13 and continued playing Dennis Reynolds (per ScopePress’s coverage of Howerton).
- He was still a credited lead and producer during the season with fewer scenes (per ScopePress).
Was It Due to a Contract?
- Scheduling conflicts involving AP Bio and other commitments are what the reporting cites (per Australian News Desk’s report).
- There is no documented contract dispute or falling-out in the available record (per Australian News Desk’s report).
So season 13 was a workload rebalance, not a walkout. The rest of the gang kept the bar open, and Howerton came back when his calendar allowed it.
What this means: the question has a practical answer — he had two jobs. The more interesting part is that the show treated it as normal, because it has always been built to survive its cast’s real lives.
Was Glenn Howerton’s wife in Always Sunny?
This one has a short answer: yes. Jill Latiano, Howerton’s real-life wife, appeared in the show as Caylee, a character wrapped up in Dennis’s infamous dating scheme (per ScopePress’s entertainment coverage).
Who Is Glenn Howerton’s Wife?
- Jill Latiano is an actress; she and Howerton married in September 2009 (per Us Weekly’s bio of Howerton).
- Wikipedia’s biographical timeline gives the wedding date as September 5, 2009 (Wikipedia’s biographical entry); another biography tracker says September 8 (per TheBiography.org’s biographical profile).
- They have two sons, born in 2011 and 2014 (per Us Weekly’s bio of Howerton).
Did She Appear in an Episode?
- Yes — The D.E.N.N.I.S. System, the episode built around Dennis’s infamous dating method (per ScopePress’s entertainment coverage).
- Latiano played Caylee, a pharmacist girlfriend who becomes part of Dennis’s scheme (per ScopePress).
The casting choice is the kind of quiet inside joke the show specializes in: Dennis’s real-life partner plays one of the women in his fictional dating plan, and the show never breaks character to comment on it.
The trade-off: a real marriage briefly became a fictional plot point. It worked because Latiano was in on the joke — and because the show has always happily blurred that line.
Are any of the Always Sunny cast from Philadelphia?
For a show that wears its setting on its sleeve, the answer surprises people: only one of the four leads is actually from Philadelphia.
Is the Show Set in Philadelphia?
- Yes — the series follows the gang as they run a dive bar in the city (per Wikipedia’s biographical entry for Howerton).
- The setting is so central that the city’s name is the title.
Which Cast Members Are Actually from Philly?
- Rob McElhenney, Howerton’s co-creator, was born in Philadelphia (per Wikipedia’s biographical entry).
- Howerton was born in Japan and raised in Alabama (per TheBiography.org’s biographical profile).
- The other leads came from outside the city: Kaitlin Olson from Oregon and Charlie Day from Rhode Island (per TheBiography.org’s biographical profile).
That means the show’s Philadelphia is an adopted one, built by people who chose the city rather than grew up in it.
The irony: the most Philly show of its era has a single native Philadelphian in its core cast. The city works because the writers treat it as a character, not a checklist.
Was Dee actually pregnant during Its Always Sunny?
Yes — and it is one of the show’s most practical bits of writing. Kaitlin Olson, who plays Dee, was pregnant during season 8, and the writers folded her pregnancy into the storyline instead of hiding it (per Us Weekly’s celebrity profile).
The cast’s real lives have always been raw material for the show. That flexibility is why Always Sunny keeps getting renewed instead of recast.
Did Kaitlin Olson’s Pregnancy Influence the Show?
- The pregnancy became part of Dee’s storyline while Olson was actually expecting (per Us Weekly’s celebrity profile).
- It is one of the most-asked behind-the-scenes questions about the series, right up there with Howerton’s season 13 schedule.
Which Season?
- Season 8 (per Us Weekly’s celebrity profile).
- The decision fits the show’s habit of pulling comedy from the cast’s real circumstances.
Always Sunny has always used its actors’ real lives as raw material, and this was one of the clearest examples: reality changed, and the show changed with it.
The takeaway: the show bends around its cast, which is how it survived a lighter Dennis, a pregnant Dee, and an ever-changing production calendar.
The Glenn Howerton Story in Key Dates
Seven dates, one pattern: every turn in Howerton’s story runs through scheduling and family — not scandal.
| Year | What happened | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Howerton is born on April 13 in Japan | per Wikipedia’s biographical entry | |
| It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premieres | per Us Weekly’s celebrity profile | |
| Marries Jill Latiano; sources differ on the exact day | per Wikipedia / TheBiography.org | |
| A profile describes Howerton as having “trained away a bad back” | per Australian News Desk | |
| 2018–2019 | Season 13 airs with a reduced role for Howerton while AP Bio takes priority | per Australian News Desk |
| Returns to the show for season 14 | per ScopePress (ScopePress) | |
| Latest | FXX announces a season 17 renewal, per reports | per ScopePress |
The pattern: even the health-related entry in this timeline — a bad back — points to recovery, not collapse. Everything else is dates and schedules.
What’s Confirmed vs. What’s Still Unclear
Split the record the way an editor would: what has a source, and what is still a rumor.
Confirmed facts
- Howerton co-created It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and plays Dennis Reynolds (Us Weekly’s celebrity profile).
- He married Jill Latiano in September 2009; they have two sons (Us Weekly’s bio of Howerton).
- No reliable medical source confirms a serious illness (Australian News Desk’s feature on the health rumors).
What’s unclear
- Whether the benign tumor story has any basis — it circulates without a reliable source (per Australian News Desk’s review).
- The exact reason for the season 13 reduction: scheduling is reported, but no official statement exists (per Australian News Desk’s report).
- The precise wedding date: September 5 (Wikipedia’s biographical entry) or September 8 (TheBiography.org’s biographical profile).
- How the recurring back problems started — the 2018 profile describes the recovery, not the cause (Australian News Desk’s feature).
- Net worth figure, estimated at $25 million, is not audited (TheBiography.org’s net-worth profile).
The divide matters: the rumors fill exactly the gaps where the record is silent — and the record is silent where no source can be cited.
What the Sources Say, On Record
Three statements carry most of the weight in this story, and together they are the closest thing the public record has to a verdict.
No reliable medical source identified in the available results confirms that Howerton has a serious illness.
— Australian News Desk, on the actor’s health rumors
Glenn Howerton is best known for co-creating and starring as Dennis Reynolds in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
— Us Weekly’s celebrity profile
Howerton returned after season 13 and continued playing Dennis Reynolds.
— ScopePress, on Howerton’s Always Sunny status
Taken together, these three claims are the whole argument: no confirmed illness, a durable role, and a return that was never really in doubt.
Where Glenn Howerton Stands Now
The most important thing about the “Glenn Howerton illness” story is that it misreads the facts. The documented picture since 2018 includes a back problem, a packed sitcom schedule, a wife and two sons, and a return to the show he co-created — but no confirmed serious diagnosis. For fans deciding what to believe about season 13, the choice is clear: trust the credited lead and producer who came back to the bar, not the message-board theory that invented a reason he left.
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions people ask most, answered with the same source discipline as the rest of the piece.
What is Glenn Howerton’s net worth?
Celebrity-net-worth trackers put his fortune at $25 million (per TheBiography.org’s net-worth profile). Treat the figure as an estimate, not an audited number.
Is Glenn Howerton married?
Yes — to actress Jill Latiano. They married in September 2009 and have two sons, born in 2011 and 2014 (per Us Weekly’s bio of Howerton).
What other shows has Glenn Howerton been in?
The big one after Always Sunny is AP Bio, the sitcom that tightened his schedule in season 13 (per Australian News Desk’s report). He also stayed on as a credited lead and producer of Always Sunny throughout.
Did Glenn Howerton create It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia?
Yes — he co-created the series and plays Dennis Reynolds (per Us Weekly’s celebrity profile).
What is Dennis Reynolds’ personality?
Dennis is the self-absorbed, controlling member of the gang, so tied to his dating tactics that the show built an entire scheme around him: The D.E.N.N.I.S. System (per ScopePress’s entertainment coverage).
Will there be more It’s Always Sunny?
If the reporting holds, yes — FXX announced a season 17 renewal (per ScopePress’s report).
If the pattern is clear, it is this: the sourced answers are calm, and the rumors are loud.
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Craig Newton is Senior Reporter at ScopePress.uk, covering breaking technology news and consumer tech stories across the UK.