Actor Grizz Chapman, best known and widely applauded for his role in the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, has died. He was 52.
His cousin, the Harlem Globetrotter Donte Harrison, confirmed Chapman’s death on social media.
A cause of was not given but Harrison shared Chapman died in his sleep “after years of fighting illness and dialysis,” the New York times reports.
The NYT report notes several acting credits listed to Chapman’s name on IMDb, however his role on 30 Rock as a member of Tracy Morgan’s entourage was arguably the breakout part for the towering actor.
Chapman met Morgan while working as a bouncer at a strip club and the two thereafter formed a lifelong bond.
File/Actors Grizz Chapman and Tina Fey on stage at the TNT/TBS broadcast of the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on January 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Michael Caulfield/WireImage)
Speaking to CBR in 2012, the NYT reports Chapman said he worked hard to get the part, and credited Morgan with being “an integral part in me keeping my job.”
30 Rock, which starred Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, chronicled the behind-the-scenes production of a fictional sketch comedy television show and was known for its rapid-fire jokes.
“There were four members of the entourage originally, but NBC came to Tina Fey and Tracy and said they couldn’t pay for all four,” Chapman said in the 2012 interview. “So Tracy said we’re gonna keep just two guys, which included me. I made the cut. I worked hard to get there. I worked really hard.”
In 30 Rock, Chapman appeared in 80 episodes between 2006 and 2012, playing Grizz, the childhood friend and assistant to Tracy Morgan’s character, Tracy Jordan.
TMZ reports the actor — who towered at 7-feet tall — appeared in several other films and shows, including Blue Bloods and The Blacklist.