The creators of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Gilmore Girls” are mourning actor Brian Tarantina, who died early Saturday morning at age 60.
Laurie Smith, Tarantina’s representative, confirmed to USA TODAY that the actor died “just after midnight” while recovering from complications of a “severe health crisis he experienced a few months ago.”
CNN and a local CBS affiliate say Tarantina was found dead in his New York City apartment. People.com and several other sources are reporting the officers and paramedics allegedly found a white powdery substance near his body, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. An official cause of death has yet to be determined.
Smith called him a “gifted New York born and bred character actor” who lived in the same Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood apartment he grew up in.
Tarantina was best known as Bootsy on “Gilmore Girls” and Jackie on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” He joined the cast of the latter onstage at the 2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards, when the show won for best comedy series ensemble.
The Gaslight won’t be the same without you. Thank you Brian Tarantina for sharing in all of the laughs. Sending love to his family and friends in this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/J1R1ijF3tE
— The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (@MaiselTV) November 2, 2019
He also appeared on Broadway and in Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” and the “Law & Order” franchise.
“The Gaslight won’t be the same without you,” the official “Mrs. Maisel” Twitter account wrote Saturday night. ”Thank you Brian Tarantina for sharing in all of the laughs. Sending love to his family and friends in this difficult time.”
The official account also tweeted a story from Deadline, which shares a joint statement from “Maisel” and “Gilmore Girls” creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino.
“For over twenty five years, Brian Tarantina has been in our lives. He was in Amy’s first pilot. And he’s been in every significant thing we’ve done since,” the statement said. “He came in with that voice and that timing and he made every scene better. And weirder. Every moment was completely unique. You can’t describe a guy like Brian, you just had to be there. And lucky for us, we were. We love him and will forever miss him.”
Read more at usatoday.com
