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Charles C. Stevenson Jr.
‘Will & Grace’ Bartender Dead at 95
Published
Charles C. Stevenson Jr. — the actor most famous for playing Smitty the bartender on “Will & Grace” — has died.
He died of natural causes on Jan. 19 in Camarillo, California, his son Scott confirmed to TMZ. Variety was first to report the news.
Aside from playing the beloved barman, Stevenson was known for portraying preachers, priests, and pastors in supporting roles throughout his decades-long career.
He is also recognized for his role as Sheriff Ryan in the 2008 Disney movie “Snow Buddies.” Other notable projects include “Murder, She Wrote,” “The Middle,” “My Name is Earl,” “Men in Black,” “Glee,” “Ghost World,” and “Pleasantville.”
Scott tells TMZ his father “had a blast every minute” of his career and said he was “proud to have been part of such a landmark show [‘Will & Grace’] and very happy to have made a lot of people laugh.”
He added … “I’m sure that if time hadn’t caught up with him he’d still be out there heading to casting calls, ready for another role to play and for a few more punch lines to deliver.”
Interestingly, Stevenson didn’t start acting until the 1980s, after he graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in English and served in the Navy during the Korean War. He lived in Los Angeles for about 20 years, working on public service announcements and event coordination for Hollywood bigwigs such as Henry Winkler before jumping in front of the camera himself.
He is survived by 2 children — Charles III and Valerie — from his first marriage to Barbara Keller, and 3 kids — Catherine, Scott and William — from his marriage to Joy Stevenson. He is also survived by 8 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.
He was 95.
RIP
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