Grizz Chapman, who starred as a bodyguard for Tracy Morgan’s character on 30 Rock, died in his sleep this weekend. He was 52.
The Brooklyn-born actor had long been “just struggling to stay alive” by the time he died Friday (May 22), his manager, Renee Glicker, told TMZ Saturday.
The 7-foot-tall (2.13m) actor was in need of another kidney transplant, following the one he received in summer 2010, though that was a tough task because of his physical stature. However, Glicker believed there were multiple contributing factors to his passing.
Saideh A. Brown, a longtime representative of Chapman, first confirmed his death to the outlet the day before.
Chapman’s wife and two kids “are devastated,” Brown told TMZ at the time.
In a statement to People, cousin Donte Harrison remembered Chapman for having “carried himself with resilience, humour, and heart despite the battles faced behind closed doors,” among them “his own health battles and dialysis.”
“A lot of people knew Grizz Chapman from his unforgettable role on 30 Rock alongside Tracy Morgan, but to our family, he was much more than a television star. He was somebody we looked up to.”
Kevin Dotcom Brown, who on the Emmy-winning NBC hit played bodyguard Dot Com, alongside Chapman’s Grizz, paid tribute to Chapman on Facebook.
“I regret to inform you that Mack Chapman aka Grizz Chapman passed today,” Brown wrote over the weekend, captioning stills of the pair on the show, acting with Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey. “May he RIP.”
More tributes were posted to Chapman on his last Instagram post, a May 17 video of the actor dancing alongside Sean Astin.
Chapman made his screen debut in 2006, when he joined 30 Rock. He acted in 80 episodes between then and 2013.
He also had credits in Blue Bloods, The Blacklist, a handful of Common Sense Police episodes, and The Good Fight.
Chapman last appeared in a 2021 short, Diving In Stilettos First. At the time of his death, was in post-production on the film Use Me: The Life Of Guy Whitcam. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
