‘Glee’ fans bid farewell to Cory Monteith during tribute episode

Thursday night’s episode of “Glee� finally brought an end to quarterback-turned-singer Finn Hudson’s story, as the show paid tribute to actor Cory Monteith, who died over the summer.

The episode drew “Glee’s� highest ratings in a year and brought more than one fan to tears as the cast mourned the character of Finn and the real-life death of Monteith, who died from an overdose of heroin and alcohol at age 31. The episode, titled “The Quarterback,� grew “Glee’s� audience 68% over last week in total viewers, with 7.4 million people tuning in.

“American Idol� winner Jordin Sparks wrote on Twitter, “This is such a touching tribute on Glee. I am bawling.�

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Her tears were shared with “Modern Family� star Sarah Hyland, who wrote, “Cried the entire episode of tonight’s Glee. Beautifully done.�

And “Real Housewives of Atlanta� star NeNe Leakes was fully prepared to cry when she wrote, “Watching Glee wit my tissues in hand! I hope u all are tuning in & supporting.�

“Super Fun Night� star Rebel Wilson wrote, “My heart went out to all the GLEE family watching the Farewell to Finn tonight x.�

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The show’s cast was also watching and sharing their warm thoughts of Monteith.

Dot-Marie Jones, who plays Coach Beiste on the show wrote, “EVERYBODY ON TONIGHTS EPISODE WAS WONDERFUL! I AM SO PROUD TO BE A PART OF IT BECAUSE ITS ONE HELL OF A FAMILY, FOREVER BE GRATEFUL!�

And Kevin McHale, who plays wheelchair-bound Artie on the show, wrote, “Tonights Glee was made out of a lot of love & a lot of tears by our incredible crew, cast & creators for our friend Cory. We miss you Cory.�

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