TV and film actor and acting coach, Corey Parker, known for having a recurring role on NBC’s Will & Grace, has died at the age of 60. According to Deadline, Parker died of cancer on Thursday.
The news was shared in a statement via his sister, Noelle, in an Instagram post with The BGB Studio. The post featured photos of Parker throughout his career, featuring a final quote from Parker himself stating, “I think actor are the gold mine, the source of authenticity and creativity…I love teaching and I really do remember each actor who has come through class. While the industry is impersonal, our class is a place where we make personal connections and we feel safe to take risks and to grow. The payoffs from out class are many, for our work and for our journey forever.” View the full post below via Deadline.
“I believe he left this world weightless, at peace & surrounded with love,” Parker’s sister’s statement reads according to Deadline. “I am writing to you, Corey, here, directly, because this is how I…we…keep you with us. I have known and loved you for the past 45 years, since our E.S.T days in NY as hungry wild artists. You were a massive part of my creative work, my creative family, for decades. It meant everything full circle when you joined our BGB community as a teacher, and we navigated the work together, all of us, always coming back to the truth and the potential of storytelling, of the actor’s endless power. You kept us all honest and brave and about art.”
Noelle finished saying, “And so we celebrate your incredible talent, your unparalleled passion and joy in the work and in your family, your huge gift for and devotion to teaching, your generosity, your love. All our lives are so much richer for knowing you, and you carry on in each of us, and in what you gifted and inspired in us… forever. Goodbye but not farewell, dear friend. Live and love to the fullest, fellow travelers. Sending light and love to Corey’s family and all those who knew and were touched by his genius.”
Deadline reports Parker was a NYC native, born in July of 1965. He began acting at the age of 4, and later attended New York’s High School of Performing Arts. His first onscreen role was an episode of As the World Turns in 1983. Soon, he’d make appearances in several sitcoms from The New Leave it to Beaver and Thirtysomething to Touched by an Angel and The Love Boat: The Next Wave.
Many will recognize him for his role as Josh, Debra Messing’s (The Starter Wife, The Alto Knights) boyfriend on the NBC comedy Will & Grace. Deadline lists his other major role was in the 1985 Friday the 13th sequel A New Beginning, where he played Pete. His other film credits included The Rainmaker, Big Man on Campus, Encino Woman, Biloxi Blues and 9 1/2 Weeks.