Grizz Chapman, 1974 – 2026

Big, burly actor Grizz Chapman—who played Tracy Morgan’s bodyguard Grizz on 30 Rock—died on May 22. He was 52; no cause of death has been announced, though he had suffered from kidney disease since 2010. He was working as a strip-club bouncer when befriended by Morgan, who cast him in 30 Rock in 2006 (he appeared in 80 episodes, along with fellow bodyguard “Dot Com,” played by Kevin Brown). He went on to play small roles in the movies Life of the Party, Home, Are You Joking?, The Cobbler, Lucky Number, and Money Monster, and showed up in the the TV shows Blue Bloods, The Side Car, Step 9,  The Blacklist, and The Good Fight. Chapman also hosted a YouTube comedy series, Grizz Chroniclez. He said about his typecasting: “I get a lot of the time, ‘We don’t know how to market you or you’re too big.’ Or, ‘We have one of you already.’ But you don’t have one of me already; you don’t have a seven foot, lovable guy. I mean, why can’t a seven-foot guy play a doctor? Why can’t I be a teacher? Why can’t I be a football coach? Why can’t I be a cab driver? Anything. I can do those things that they think the big guys can’t do.”