Willie Garson, a veteran actor best known for his long-running role as Stanford Blatch on Sex and the City, died on Tuesday afternoon not long after coming down with some kind of illness.
He was 57 years old.
The tragic and surprising news was broken by Garson’s son, Nathen.
“I love you so much papa,” Nathen wrote on Instagram on September 21.
“Rest In Peace and I’m so glad you got to share all your adventures with me and were able to accomplish so much.
“I’m so proud of you.
“I will always love you, but I think it’s time for you to go on an adventure of your own.”
Concluded this mournful message:
“You’ll always be with me. Love you more than you will ever know and I’m glad you can be at peace now.
“You always were the toughest and funniest and smartest person I’ve known.
“I’m glad you shared [your] love with me. I’ll never forget it or lose it.”
Garson starred for years as the close friend of Sarah Jessica Parker’s iconic Sex and the City lead character, Carrie Bradshaw.
He will appear on the upcoming remark (titled And Just Like That…) and was recently photographed on the New York set of the spinoff with Parker and Mario Cantone, who portrayed Garson’s on-screen husband, Anthony Marentino.
Following the actor’s death, Cantone tweeted that he “couldn’t have had a more brilliant TV partner,” adding:
“I’m devastated and just overwhelmed with Sadness. Taken away from all of us way soon. You were a gift from the gods. Rest my sweet friend. I love you.”
After filming on Sex and the City wrapped in 2004, Garson went on to appear on such hits shows as White Collar and Hawaii Five-0.
He also had parts in movies that included Freaky Friday, Groundhog Day and Little Manhattan.
Garson was last active on social media on September 4, tweeting at the time:
“BE KIND TO EACH OTHER……ALWAYS. LOVE TO ALL. APRROACH [sic] KINDNESS.”
Just this past summer, the star wrote that adopting his “little devil,” Nathen, and being his father has been “the honor of my life.”
He said on Instagram that Nathen — who now attends The College of Wooster and who is pictued below in 2015 — was “more than any concept of son I could have imagined, with the best heart I know,” continuing as follows:
Love you more than I could imagine I am able to. May this next year of college be the springboard to your future, and know that I and many others are with you always.
I adore you.
TMZ, meanwhile, now reports that Garsen had been diagnosed with cancer — although no cause of death has been confirmed.
Tweeted veteran actor Titus Welliver very shortly after he learned of Garsen’s passing:
“There are no words. I love you dear brother. We are fewer.”
Back in 2016, Garson explained that he wanted to do right by the LGBTQ+ community while portraying Stanford on legendary HBO hit.
As he told Huffington Post:
“I didn’t want to offend the community at all, and that was a really big concern of mine… But, the gay community really rose up, and said ‘we know people like this, this is real.’
“And so that made me feel great.
“It was also very important to the show, to show someone having fun being gay, being proud, open and comfortable with who they are.”
We send our condolences to the friends, family members and loved ones of Willie Garson.
May he rest in peace.