Willie Garson, an actor best known for playing Stanford Blatch on Sex and the City and Mozzie on White Collar, has passed away at age 57.
News of his passing was confirmed by his son Nathen Garson on Instagram:
“I love you so much papa. 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. 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 you’re love with me. I’ll never forget it or lose it”
While no cause of death has been shared or confirmed, TMZ reports that he had struggled with cancer.
In HBO’s insanely popular Sex and the City series, Garson portrayed talent agent Stanford, the witty and stylish best gay male friend of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) in over 300 episodes. Garson reprised the role in the franchise’s films, Sex and the City and Sex and the City 2, and had recently been filming HBO Max’s upcoming revival series, And Just Like That.
He is also known for his long runs on television as Mozzie on White Collar and Henry Coffield on NYPD Blue . He also appears as the “grifter with a heart of gold”, Gerard Hirsch, on Hawaii Five-0.
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In addition, Garson was also on episodes of Quantum Leap, Girl Meets World, Mr. Belvedere, Just Shoot Me!, Big Mouth, and Supergirl.
Born William Garson Paszamant on February 20, 1964 in Highland Park, N.J., he started training at the Actors Institute In New York, before majoring in psychology and theater at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After graduation, he quickly started landing guest roles on such shows as Cheers, Family Ties, Thirtysomething, L.A. Law, as well as continually recurring in a wide array of shows including The X-Files, Twin Peaks, Two and a Half Men, Stargate SG-1, Pushing Daisies, The Practice, Ally McBeal, and many more. Garson also appeared in many episodes of Boy Meets World.
Willie Garson has collaborated with the Farrelly brothers on three films, There’s Something About Mary, Kingpin, and Fever Pitch, as well as appearing in Soapdish, Groundhog Day, Mars Attacks!, The Rock, Being John Malkovich, and many others. He has often been used by such varied directors as Spike Jonze, Michael Bay, the late great Mike Nichols, and Ron Shelton.
Aside from acting, Garson is known as a world-class poker player, having been nicknamed “Evil Willie” on the first episode of Celebrity Poker Showdown in 2003.
Sex in the City stars Mario Cantone, who played his on screen partner, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Catrall, and Chicago Fire’s David Eigenberg all took to twitter to share their condolences:
Garson is survived by his son Nathen, whom he adopted in 2009. He remained an active voice in the adoption community, having served twice as a spokesperson for National Adoption Day.
