Willie Garson’s cause of death has been confirmed publicly.
The actor died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 57, his loved ones mentioned in his obituary published in The New York Times on Thursday. The death was confirmed on Tuesday.
In the loving obituary, his family said that they always knew Willie was destined to act as they claimed that “nothing could better describe” him than the term “working actor.”
“A working actor has been defined as ‘an actor who while never achieving stardom, has a long and productive career and earns a better than decent living and has the admiration of his peers,” the obituary states. “Nothing could better describe Garson. For the last four decades, he appeared in over 300 television shows and over 70 films.”
On top of his filmography, Willie also acted in theater productions, working with known companies like Naked Angels, Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, and the Geffen Playhouse.
“Garson was a ubiquitous presence in American pop culture,” his loved ones wrote in the obituary. “He could be a classmate of Michael J. Fox on Family Ties or a waiter on a Cheers episode, or L. Harvey Oswald in an independent film Ruby or Bill Murray’s assistant in Groundhog Day. He could just as easily be a TV executive in Soapdish as a man with mysterious luck in The X-Files as the president of an apartment board on Friends.”
Willie was best known for his portrayal of Stanford Blatch, the best friend of Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw, in Sex and the City and the several spinoff movies.
After the news of his death, people all over the world including celebrities across Hollywood expressed their sadness over the loss and remembered his legacy.
Sex and the City creator Darren Star described Willie as “sweet, soulful and hilariously funny,” as he talked to PEOPLE.
“Willie touched all of us with his big heart and generous spirit,” Darren remarked. “The man behind Stanford was a loving father, a mensch to his friends and radiated kindness to all. He is gone much too soon.”
Cynthia Nixon also dedicated a tribute to her co-star on Twitter,
“So deeply, deeply sad we have lost @WillieGarson. We all love him and adored working with him. He was endlessly funny on-screen and in real life. He was a source of light, friendship and show business lore. He was a consummate professional – always.”
So deeply, deeply sad we have lost @WillieGarson. We all loved him and adored working with him. He was endlessly funny on-screen and and in real life. He was a source of light, friendship and show business lore. He was a consummate professional— always. pic.twitter.com/G63EJIj8lG — Cynthia Nixon (@CynthiaNixon) September 22, 2021
Who was Willie Garson?
William Garson Paszamant was born on February 20, 1964, in Highland Park, New Jersey to Muriel and Donald M. Paszamant.
Best known for his appearance on Sex and the City, Willie was also famous for his role of Mozzie in the USA Network series, White Collar from 2009 to 2014.
People also remember him as Ralph from the 2005 romantic comedy, Little Manhattan, Martin Lloyd in the sci-fi series, Stargate SG-1, and Gerald Hirsch in the reboot of Hawaii Five-0.
When Willie bade goodbye to the world, he left behind his son, Nathen, who he adopted in 2009.
